Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below.  A 
charge  is  made  on  all  overdue 
books.  r  T  T  u 

U.  of  I.  Library 


m  ^'i 


M32 


[ 


L'r^lVERSITY  OF  ILUNUlS 
LT.3ANA 


Ube  Sterling  Edition— "IFUustrateb 


GUY  MANNERING 


•  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 

BY 

Sir  WALTER  SCOTT,  Bart. 


NEW  YORK 
THE  UNIVERSITY   PRESS  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


GUY  MANNERING. 

PAGE 

The  Departure  of  the  Gypsies,  ....  Frontispiece, 
Dominie  Sampson's  Descent  from  the  Pulpit,  .  .  .11 
Hatteraick  and  Meg  Merrilies  Surprised  by  Mannering,  25 

Dominie  Sampson  in  his  Schoolroom,  31 

Attack  on  Woodbourne  by  the  Smugglers,  .  .  .  175 
,  The  Attack  on  Portanferry,  312 

ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 

J  Duel  between  Donnerhugel  and  Arthur,       ...  62 

Arthur  in  the  Dungeon  of  La  Ferette,      ....  163 

Anne  of  Geierstein  in  the  Dungeon,       ....  164 

The  Interview  with  Charles  the  Bold,      ....  307 


^  Discovery  of  the  Body  of  Charles  the  Bold,       .       ,  425 


I  18206/ 


The  novel  or  romance  of  **Waverley"  made  its  way  to  the 
public  slowly,  of  course,  at  first,  but  afterward  with  such  accumu- 
lating popularity  as  to  encourage  the  Author  to  a  second  attempt. 
He  looked  about  for  a  name  and  a  subject ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  novels  were  composed  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than 
by  reciting  the  simple  narrative  on  which  Guy  Mannering  "  was 
originally  founded  ;  but  to  which,  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  the 
production  ceased  to  bear  any,  even  the  most  distant,  resemblance. 
The  tale  was  originally  told  me  by  an  old  servant  of  my  father^s — 
an  excellent  old  Highlander,  without  a  fault,  unless  a  preference 
to  mountain-dew  over  less  potent  liquors  be  accounted  one.  He 
believed  as  firmly  in  the  story  as  in  any  part  of  his  creed. 

A  grave  and  elderly  person,  according  to  old  John  MacKinlay's 
account,  while  travelling  in  the  wilder  parts  of  Galloway,  was  be- 
nighted. With  difficulty  he  found  his  way  to  a  country-seat, 
where,  with  the  hospitality  of  the  time  and  country,  he  was  readily 
admitted.  The  owner  of  the  house,  a  gentleman  of  good  for- 
tune, was  much  struck  by  the  reverend  appearance  of  his  guest, 
and  apologized  to  him  for  a  certain  degree  of  confusion  which 
must  unavoidably  attend  his  reception,  and  could  not  escape  his 
eye.  The  lady  of  the  house  was,  he  said,  confined  to  her  apart- 
ment, and  on  the  point  of  making  her  husband  a  father  for  the 
first  time,  though  they  had  been  ten  years  married.  At  such  an 
emergency,  the  Laird  said,  he  feared  his  guest  might  meet  with 
some  apparent  neglect. 

*^Not  so,  sir,'/ said  the  stranger  ;  *'my  wants  are  few  and 
easily  supplied,  and  I  trust  the  present  circumstances  may  even 
afford  an  opportunity  of  showing  my  gratitude  for  your  hospitality. 
Let  me  only  request  that  I  may  be  informed  of  the  exact  minute 
of  the  birth  ;  and  I  hope  to  put  you  in  possession  of  some  partic- 
ulars which  may  influence,  in  an  important  manner,  the  future 
prospects  of  the  child  now  about  to  come  into  this  busy  and 
changeful  world.  I  will  not  conceal  from  you  that  I  am  skilful  in 
understanding  and  interpreting  the  movements  of  those  planetary 
bodies  which  exert  their  influences  on  the  destiny  of  mortals.  It 
is  a  science  which  I  do  not  practise,  like  others,  who  call  them- 


iv 


INTRODUCTION. 


selves  astrologers,  for  hire  or  reward  ;  for  I  have  a  competent  es- 
tate, and  only  use  the  knowledge  I  possess  for  the  benefit  of  those 
in  whom  I  feel  an  interest."  The  Laird  bowed  in  respect  and 
gratitude,  and  the  stranger  was  accommodated  with  an  apartment 
which  commanded  an  ample  view  of  the  astral  regions. 

The  guest  spent  a  part  of  the  night  in  ascertaining  the  position 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  calculating  their  probable  influence  ; 
until  at  length  the  result  of  his  observations  induced  him  to  send 
for  the  father,  and  conjure  him,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  to 
cause  the  assistants  to  retard  the  birth,  if  practicable,  were  it  but 
for  five  minutes.  The  answer  declared  this  to  be  impossible  ;  and 
almost  in  the  instant  that  the  message  was  returned,  the  father  and 
his  guest  were  made  acquainted  with  the  birth  of  a  boy. 

The  astrologer  on  the  morrow  met  the  party  who  gathered 
around  the  breakfast  table  with  looks  so  grave  and  ominous  as  to 
alarm  the  fears  of  the  father,  who  had  hitherto  exulted  in  the 
prospects  held  out  by  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  his  ancient  property, 
failing  which  event  it  must  have  passed  to  a  distant  branch  of  the 
family.    He  hastened  to  draw  the  stranger  into  a  private  room. 

I  fear  from  your  looks,'*  said  the  father,  that  you  have  bad 
tidings  to  tell  me  of  my  young  stranger  :  perhaps  God  will  resume 
the  blessing  he  has  bestowed  ere  he  attains  the  age  of  manhood  ? 
or  perhaps  he  is  destined  to  be  unworthy  of  the  affection  which  we 
are  naturally  disposed  to  devote  to  our  offspring  ?  " 

Neither  the  one  nor  the  other,"  answered  the  stranger  :  un- 
less my  judgment  greatly  err,  the  infant  will  survive  the  years  of 
minority,  and  in  temper  and  disposition  will  prove  all  that  his 
parents  can  wish.  But  with  much  in  his  horoscope  which  prom- 
ises many  blessings,  there  is  one  evil  influence  strongly  predomi- 
nant, which  threatens  to  subject  him  to  an  unhallowed  and  un- 
happy temptation  about  the  time  when  he  shall  attain  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  which  period,  the  constellations  intimate,  will  be  the 
crisis  of  his  fate.  In  what  shape,  or  with  what  peculiar  urgency, 
this  temptation  may  beset  him,  my  art  cannot  discover." 

Your  knowledge,  then,  can  aflbrd  us  no  defence,"  said  the 
anxious  father,     against  the  threatened  evil  ?  " 

Pardon  me,"  answered  the  stranger  ;  it  can.  The  influence 
of  the  constellations  is  powerful ;  but  He  who  made  the  heavens 
is  more  powerful  than  all,  if  his  aid  be  invoked  in  sincerity  and 
truth.  You  ought  to  dedicate  this  boy  to  the  immediate  service  of 
his  Maker,  with  as  much  sincerity  as  Samuel  was  devoted  to  the 
worship  in  the  Temple  by  his  parents.  You  must  regard  him  as 
a  being  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  In  childhood,  in  boy- 
hood, you  must  surround  him  with  the  pious  and  virtuous,  and 
protect  him,  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  from  the  sight  or  hearing 
of  any  crime,  in  word  or  action.  He  must  be  educated  in  religious 
and  moral  principles  of  the  strictest  description.  Let  him  not  en- 
ter the  world,  lest  he  learn  to  partake  of  its  follies,  or  perhaps  of 
its  vices.  In  short,  preserve  him  as  far  as  possible  from  all  sin, 
save  that  of  which  too  great  a  portion  belongs  to  all  the  fallen  race 
of  Adam.    With  the  approach  of  his  twenty-first  birthday  comes 


INTRODUCTION. 


V 


the  crisis  of  his  fate.  If  he  survive  it,  he  will  be  happy  and  pros- 
perous  on  earth,  and  a  chosen  vessel  among  those  elected  iot 

heaven.    But  if  it  be  otherwise  "  The  Astrologer  stopped,  and 

sighed  deeply. 

Sir,"  replied  the  parent,  still  more  alarmed  than  before, 
your  words  are  so  kind,  your  advice  so  serious,  that  I  will  pay 
the  deepest  attention  to  your  behests.    But  can  you  not  aid  me 
further  in  this  most  important  concern  ?    Believe  me,  I  will  not 
be  ungrateful." 

I  require  and  deserve  no  gratitude  for  doing  a  good  action," 
said  the  stranger  ;  in  especial  for  contributing  all  that  lies  in  my 
power  to  save  from  an  abhorred  fate  the  harmless  infant  to  whom, 
under  a  singular  conjunction  of  planets,  last  night  gave  life.  There 
is  my  address  ;  you  may  write  to  me  from  time  to  time  concerning 
the  progress  of  the  boy  in  religious  knowledge.  If  he  be  bred  up 
as  I  advise,  I  think  it  will  be  best  that  he  come  to  my  house  at  the 
time  when  the  fatal  and  decisive  period  approaches,  that  is,  before 
he  has  attained  his  twenty-first  year  complete.  If  you  send  him 
such  as  I  desire,  I  humbly  trust  that  God  will  protect  his  own, 
through  whatever  strong  temptation  his  fate  may  subject  him  to." 
He  then  gave  his  host  his  address,  which  was  a  country-seat  near 
a  post-town  in  the  south  of  England,  and  bid  him  an  affectionate 
farewell. 

The  mysterious  stranger  departed,  but  his  words  remained  im- 
pressed upon  the  mind  of  the  anxious  parent.  He  lost  his  lady 
while  his  boy  was  still  in  infancy.  This  calamity,  I  think,  had 
been  predicted  by  the  Astrologer  ;  and  thus  his  confidence,  which, 
like  most  people  of  the  period,  he  had  freely  given  to  the  science, 
was  riveted  and  confirmed.  The  utmost  care,  therefore,  was  taken 
to  carry  into  effect  the  severe  and  almost  ascetic  plan  of  educa- 
tion which  the  sage  had  enjoined.  A  tutor  of  the  strictest  principles 
was  employed  to  superintend  the  youth's  education  ;  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  domestics  of  the  most  established  character,  and 
closely  watched  and  looked  after  by  the  anxious  father  himself. 

The  years  of  infancy,  childhood,  and  boyhood  passed  as  the 
father  could  have  wished.  A  young  Nazarite  could  not  have  been 
bred  up  with  more  rigor.  All  that  was  evil  was  withheld  from  his 
observation  ;  he  only  heard  what  was  pure  in  precept — he  only 
witnessed  what  was  worthy  in  practice. 

But  when  the  boy  began  to  be  lost  in  the  youth,  the  attentive 
father  saw  cause  for  alarm.  Shades  of  sadness,  which  gradually 
assumed  a  dark  character,  began  to  overcloud  the  young  man's 
temper.  Tears,  which  seemed  involuntary,  broken  sleep,  moon- 
light wanderings,  and  a  melancholy  for  which  he  could  assign  no 
reason,  seemed  to  threaten  at  once  his  bodily  health  and  the 
stability  of  his  mind.  The  Astrologer  was  consulted  by  letter,  and 
returned  for  answer  that  this  fitful  state  of  mind  was  but  the  com- 
mencement of  his  trial,  and  that  the  poor  youth  must  undergo 
more  and  more  desperate  struggles  with  the  evil  that  assailed  him. 
There  was  no  hope  of  remedy,  save  that  he  showed  steadiness  oJ 
mind  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.       He  suffers,"  continued  the 


vi 


INTRODUCTION, 


letter  of  the  sage,  from  the  awakening  of  those  harpies,  the  pas- 
sions, which  have  slept  with  him  as  with  others,  till  the  period  of 
life  which  he  has  now  attained.  Better,  far  better  that  they  tor- 
ment him  by  ungrateful  cravings,  than  that  he  should  have  to  re- 
pent having  satiated  them  by  criminal  indulgence." 

The  dispositions  of  the  young  man  were  so  excellent  that  he 
combated,  by  reason  and  religion,  the  fits  of  gloom  which  at  times 
overcast  his  mind,  and  it  was  not  till  he  attained  the  commence- 
ment of  his  twenty-first  year  that  they  assumed  a  character  which 
made  his  father  tremble  for  the  consequences.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  gloomiest  and  most  hideous  of  mental  maladies  was  taking  the 
form  of  religious  despair.  Still  the  youth  was  gentle,  courteous, 
affectionate,  and  submissive  to  his  father's  will,  and  resisted  with 
all  his  power  the  dark  suggestions  which  were  breathed  into  his 
mind,  as  it  seemed,  by  some  emanation  of  the  Evil  Principle,  ex- 
horting him,  like  the  wicked  wife  of  Job,  to  curse  God  and  die. 

The  time  at  length  arrived  when  he  was  to  perform  what  was 
then  thought  a  long  and  somewhat  perilous  journey,  to  the  man- 
sion of  the  early  friend  who  had  calculated  his  nativity.  His  road 
lay  through  several  places  of  interest,  and  he  enjoyed  the  amuse- 
ment of  travelling  more  than  he  himself  thought  would  have  been 
possible.  Thus  he  did  not  reach  the  place  of  his  destination  till 
noon  on  the  day  preceding  his  birthday.  It  seemed  as  if  he  had 
been  carried  away  with  an  unwonted  tide  of  pleasurable  sensation, 
so  as  to  forget  in  some  degree  what  his  father  had  communicated 
concerning  the  purpose  of  his  journey.  halted  at  length  be- 
fore a  respectable  but  solitary  old  mansion,  to  which  he  was 
directed  as  the  abode  of  his  father's  friend. 

The  servants  who  came  to  take  his  horse  told  him  he  had 
been  expected  for  two  days.  He  was  led  into  a  study,  where  the 
stranger,  now  a  venerable  old  man,  who  had  been  his  father's 
guest,  met  him  with  a  shade  of  displeasure  as  well  as  gravity  on 
his  brow.  Young  man,"  he  said,  wherefore  so  slow  on  a 
journey  of  such  importance?"  thought,"  replied  the  guest, 

blushing  and  looking  downward,  ^'  that  there  was  no  harm  in 
travelling  slowly,  and  satisfying  my  curiosity,  providing  I  could 
reach  your  residence  by  this  day  ;  for  such  was  my  father's 
charge."  You  were  to  blame,"  replied  the  sage,  in  lingering, 
considering  that  the  avenger  of  blood  was  pressing  on  your  foot* 
steps.  But  you  are  come  at  last,  and  we  will  hope  for  the  best, 
though  the  conflict  in  which  you  are  to  be  engaged  will  be  found 
more  dreadful  the  longer  it  is  postponed.  But  first  accept  of  such 
refreshments  as  nature  requires  to  satisfy,  but  not  to  pamper  the 
appetite." 

The  old  man  led  the  way  into  a  summer-parlor,  where  a  frugal 
meal  was  placed  on  the  table.  As  they  sat  down  to  the  board, 
they  were  joined  by  a  young  lady  about  eighteen  years  of  age, 
and  so  lovely  that  the  sight  of  her  carried  off  the  feelings  of  the 
young  stranger  from  the  peculiarity  and  mystery  of  his  own  lot, 
and  riveted  his  attention  to  everything  she  did  or  said.  She  spoke 
little  and  it  was  on  the  most  serious  subjects.    She  played  on  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


vii 


harpsichord  at  her  father's  command,  but  it  was  hymns  with  which 
she  accompanied  the  instrument.  At  length,  on  a  sign  from  the 
sage,  she  left  the  room,  turning  on  the  young  stranger,  as  she  de- 
parted, a  look  of  inexpressible  anxiety  and  interest. 

The  old  man  then  conducted  the  youth  to  his  study,  and  con- 
versed with  him  upon  the  most  important  points  of  religion,  to 
satisfy  himself  that  he  could  render  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  was 
in  him.  During  the  examination,  the  youth,  in  spite  of  himself, 
felt  his  mind  occasionally  wander,  and  his  recollections  go  in  quest 
of  the  beautiful  vision  who  had  shared  their  meal  at  noon.  On 
such  occasions  the  Astrologer  looked  grave,  and  shook  his  head 
at  this  relaxation  of  attention  ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  he  was  pleased 
with  the  youth's  replies. 

At  sunset  the  young  man  was  made  to  take  the  bath  ;  and, 
having  done  so,  he  was  directed  to  attire  himself  in  a  robe  some- 
what like  that  worn  by  Armenians,  having  his  long  hair  combed 
down  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  neck,  hands,  and  feet  bare.  In 
this  guise  he  was  conducted  into  a  remote  chamber  totally  devoid 
of  furniture,  excepting  a  lamp,  a  chair,  and  a  table,  on  which  lay  a 
Bible.  ^'  Here,"  said  the  Astrologer,  I  must  leave  you  alone,  to 
pass  the  most  critical  period  of  your  life.  If  you  can,  by  recollec- 
tion of  the  great  truths  of  which  we  have  spoken,  repel  the  attacks 
which  will  be  made  on  your  courage  and  your  principles,  you  have 
nothing  to  apprehend.  But  the  trial  will  be  severe  and  arduous." 
His  features  then  assumed  a  pathetic  solemnity,  the  tears  stood 
in  his  eyes,  and  his  voice  faltered  with  emotion  as  he  said,  Dear 
child,  at  whose  coming  in  the  world  I  foresaw  this  fatal  trial,  may 
God  give  thee  grace  to  support  it  with  firmness  !  " 

The  young  man  was  left  alone  ;  and  hardly  did  he  find  himself 
so,  when,  like  a  swarm  of  demons,  the  recollection  of  all  his  sins  of 
omission  and  commission,  rendered  even  more  terrible  by  the  scru- 
pulousness with  which  he  had  been  educated,  rushed  on  his  mind, 
and,  like  furies  armed  with  fiery  scourges,  seemed  determined  to 
drive  him  to  despair.  As  he  combated  these  horrible  recollections 
with  distracted  feelings,  but  with  a  resolved  mind,  he  became  aware 
that  his  arguments  were  answered  by  the  sophistry  of  another,  and 
that  the  dispute  was  no  longer  confined  to  his  own  thoughts.  The 
Author  of  Evil  was  present  in  the  room  with  him  in  bodily  shape, 
and,  potent  with  spirits  of  a  melancholy  cast,  was  impressing  upon 
him  the  desperation  of  his  state,  and  urging  suicide  as  the  readiest 
mode  to  put  an  end  to  his  sinful  career.  Amid  his  errors,  the 
pleasure  he  had  taken  in  prolonging  his  journey  unnecessarily,  and 
the  attention  which  he  had  bestowed  on  the  beauty  of  the  fair  fe- 
male, when  his  thoughts  ought  to  have  been  dedicated  to  the  relig- 
ious discourse  of  her  father,  were  set  before  him  in  the  darkest 
colors  ;  and  he  was  treated  as  one  who,  having  sinned  against 
light,  was  therefore  deservedly  left  a  prey  to  the  Prince  of  Dark- 
*  ness. 

As  the  fated  and  influential  hour  rolled  on,  the  terrors  of  the  hate- 
ful Presence  grew  more  confounding  to  the  moral  senses  of  the 
victim,  and  the  knot  of  the  accursed  sophistry  became  more  inex- 


viii 


INTRODUCTION. 


tricable,  in  appearance  at  least,  to  the  prey  whom  its  meshes  sur* 
rounded.  He  had  not  power  to  explain  the  assurance  of  pardon 
which  he  continued  to  assert,  or  to  name  the  victorious  name  in 
which  he  trusted.  But  his  faith  did  not  abandon  him,  though  he 
lacked  for  a  time  the  power  of  expressing  it.  Say  what  you  will," 
was  his  answer  to  the  Tempter,  I  know  there  is  as  much  betwixt 
the  two  boards  of  this  Book  as  can  insure  me  forgiveness  for  my 
transgressions,  and  safety  for  my  soul."  As  he  §poke,  the  clock 
which  announced  the  lapse  of  the  fatal  hour  was  heard  to  strike. 
The  speech  and  intellectual  powers  of  the  youth  were  instantly  and 
fully  restored  ;  he  burst  forth  into  prayer,  and  expressed,  in  the 
most  glowing  terms,  his  reliance  on  the  truth,  and  on  the  Author 
of  the  gospel.  The  demon  retired,  yelling  and  discomfited,  and 
the  old  man,  entering  the  apartment,  with  tears  congratulated  his 
guest  on  his  victory  in  the  fated  struggle. 

The  young  man  was  afterward  married  to  the  beautiful  maiden 
the  first  sight  of  whom  had  made  such  an  impression  on  him,  and 
they  were  consigned  over  at  the  close  of  the  story  to  domestic  hap- 
piness.   So  ended  John  MacKinlay's  legend.* 

The  author  of  Waverley  had  imagined  a  possibility  of  framing 
an  interesting,  and  perhaps  not  an  unedifying,  tale  out  of  the  in- 
cidents of  the  life  of  a  doomed  individual,  whose  efforts  at  good  and 
virtuous  conduct  were  to  be  forever  disappointed  by  the  interven- 
tion, as  it  were,  of  some  malevolent  being,  and  who  was  at  last  to 
come  off  victorious  from  the  fearful  struggle.  In  short,  something 
was  meditated  upon  a  plan  resembling  the  imaginative  tale  of  Sin- 
tram,  and  his  Companions,"  by  Mons.  Le  Baron  de  la  Motte  Fouque, 
— although  if  it  then  existed,  the  Author  had  not  seen  it. 

The  scheme  projected  may  be  traced  in  the  three  or  four  first 
chapters  of  the  work,  but  further  consideration  induced  the  author 
to  lay  his  purpose  aside.  It  appeared,  on  mature  consideration, 
that  Astrology,  though  its  influence  was  once  received  and  admitted 
by  Bacon  himself,  does  not  now  retain  influence  over  the  general  . 
mind  sufficient  even  to  constitute  the  mainspring  of  a  romance. 
Besides,  it  occurred,  that  to  do  justice  to  such  a  subject  would  have 
required  not  only  more  talent  than  the  author  could  be  conscious 
of  possessing,  but  also  involved  doctrines  and  discussions  of  a  nat- 
ure too  serious  for  his  purpose,  and  for  the  character  of  the  narra- 
tive. In  changing  his  plan,  however,  which  was  done  in  the  course 
of  printing,  the  early  sheets  retained  the  vestiges  of  the  original 

*  (Mr.  J.  G.  Lockhart  in  his  Memoirs  of  Scott  says  : 

•*The  late  Mr.  Train  recovered  a  rude  Durham  ballad  called  the  Gar- 
land, which  contains  a  great  deal  more  of  the  main  fable  of  Guy  Mannering 
than  MacKinlay's  oral  edition  of  the  •  Gallovidian'  anecdote  conveys;  and 
J  am  strongly  inclined  to  think  that  Sir  Walter  must  in  his  boyhood  have  read 
this  broadside  or  chapbook  itself,  as  well  as  the  old  serving-man's  Scottish 
version  of  it. 

"  A  writer  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  (July,  1840)  has  also  pointed  out 
some  very  remarkable  coincidences  between  the  narrative  of  Guy  Manner-  * 
ing  and  the  singular  history  of  lames  Annesley,  claimant  in  1743  of  the  hon- 
ors and  estates  of  the  Earls  of  Anglesey  in  Ireland."  The  Durham  Gar- 
land and  the  story  of  James  Annesley  are  given  in  extenso  as  an  appendix 
to  Scott's  Memoirs,  by  Lockhart.) 


INTRODUCTION. 


tenor  of  the  story,  although  they  now  hang  upon  it  as  an  unneces- 
sary and  unnatural  encumbrance.  The  cause  of  such  vestiges  oc- 
curring is  now  explained  and  apologized  for. 

It  is  here  worthy  of  observation,  that  while  the  astrological 
doctrines  have  fallen  into  general  contempt,  and  been  supplanted 
by  superstitions  of  a  more  gross  and  far  less  beautiful  character, 
they  have,  even  in  modern  days,  retained  some  votaries. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  believers  in  that  forgotten  and 
despised  science  was  a  late  eminent  professor  of  the  art  of  leger- 
demain.  One  would  have  thought  that  a  person  of  this  description 
ought,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  thousand  ways  in  which  human 
eyes  could  be  deceived,  to  have  been  less  than  others  subject  to 
the  fantasies  of  superstition.  Perhaps  the  habitual  use  of  those 
abstruse  calculations  by  which,  in  a  manner  surprising  to  the  artist 
himself,  many  tricks  upon  cards,  etc.,  are  performed,  induced  this 
gentleman  to  study  the  combination  of  the  stars  and  planets,  with 
the  expectation  of  obtaining  prophetic  communications. 

He  constructed  a  scheme  of  his  own  nativity,  calculated  accord- 
ing to  such  rules  of  art  as  he  could  collect  from  the  best  astrologi- 
cal authors.  The  result  of  the  past  he  found  agreeable  to  what 
had  hitherto  befallen  him,  but  in  the  important  prospect  of  the 
future  a  singular  difficulty  occurred.  There  were  two  years  dur- 
ing the  course  of  which  he  could  by  no  means  obtain  any  exact 
knowledge  whether  the  subject  of  the  scheme  would  be  dead  or 
alive.  Anxious  concerning  so  remarkable  a  circumstance,  he  gave 
the  scheme  to  a  brother  Astrologer,  who  was  also  baffled  in  the 
same  manner.  At  one  period  he  found  the  native,  or  subject,  was 
certainly  alive — at  another,  that  he  was  unquestionably  dead  ;  but 
a  space  of  two  years  extended  between  these  two  terms,  during 
which  he  could  find  no  certainty  as  to  his  death  or  existence. 

The  Astrologer  marked  the  remarkable  circumstance  in  his 
Diary,  and  continued  his  exhibitions  in  various  parts  of  the  em- 
pire, until  the  period  was  about  to  expire,  during  which  his  exist- 
ence had  been  warranted  as  actually  ascertained.  At  last,  while 
he  was  exhibiting  to  a  numerous  audience  his  usual  tricks  of  leger- 
demain, the  hands  whose  activity  had  so  often  baffled  the  closest 
observer  suddenly  lost  their  power,  the  cards  dropped  from  them, 
and  he  sunk  down  a  disabled  paralytic.  In  this  state  the  artist 
languished  for  two  years,  when  he  was  at  last  removed  by  death. 
It  is  said  that  the  Diary  of  this  modern  Astrologer  will  soon  be 
given  to  the  public. 

The  fact,  if  truly  reported,  is  one  of  those  singular  coincidences 
which  occasionally  appear,  differing  so  widely  from  ordinary  cal- 
culation, yet  without  which  irregularities  human  life  would  not 
present  to  mortals  looking  into  futurity  the  abyss  of  impenetrable 
darkness  which  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  Creator  it  should  offer  to 
them.  Were  everything  to  happen  in  the  ordinary  train  of  events, 
the  future  would  be  sulDject  to  the  rules  of  arithmetic,  like  the 
chances  of  gaming.  But  extraordinary  events  and  wonderful 
runs  of  luck  defy  the  calculations  of  mankind,  and  throw  impene- 
trable darkness  on  future  contingencies, 


X 


INTRODUCTION. 


To  the  above  anecdote  another,  still  more  recent,  may  be  here 
added.  The  Author  was  lately  honored  with  a  letter  from  a  gentle- 
man deeply  skilled  in  these  mysteries,  u  ho  kindly  undertook  to 
calculate  the  nativity  of  the  writer  of  Guy  Mannering,"  who  might 
be  supposed  to  be  friendly  to  the  divine  art  which  he  professed. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  supply  data  for  the  construction  of  a  horo- 
scope, had  the  native  been  otherwise  desirous  of  it,  since  all  those 
who  could  supply  the  minutiae  of  day,  hour,  and  minute  have 
been  long  removed  from  the  mortal  sphere. 

Having  thus  given  some  account  of  the  first  idea  or  rude  sketch 
of  the  story,*  which  was  soon  departed  from,  the  Author,  in  follow- 
ing out  the  plan  of  the  present  edition,  has  to  mention  the  proto- 
types of  the  principal  characters  in     Guy  Mannering." 

Some  circumstances  of  locar  situation  gave  the  Author,  in  his 
youth,  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  little,  and  hearing  a  great  deal, 
about  that  degraded  class  who  are  called  gypsies,  who  are  in  most 
cases  a  mixed  race — between  the  ancient  Egyptians  who  arrived  in 
Europe  about  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  vagrants 
of  European  descent. 

The  individual  gypsy  upon  whom  the  character  of  Meg  Mer- 
rilies  was  founded  was  well  known  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  by  the  name  of  Jean  Gordon,  an  inhabitant  of  the  village 
of  Kirk  Yetholm,  in  the  Cheviot  hills,  adjoining  to  the  English 
Border.  The  Author  gave  the  public  some  account  of  this  remark- 
able person,  in  one  of  the  early  numbers  of  Blackwood' s  Maga- 
zine^ to  the  following  purpose  : 

^*  My  father  remembered  old  Jean  Gordon  of  Yetholm,  who  had 
great  sway  among  her  tribe.  She  was  quite  a  Meg  Merrilies,  and 
possessed  the  savage  virtue  of  fidelity  in  the  same  perfection. 
Having  been  often  hospitably  received  at  the  farm-house  of  Loch- 
side,  near  Yetholm,  she  had  carefully  abstained  from  committing 
any  depredations  on  the  farmer's  property.  But  her  sons  (nine  in 
number)  had  not,  it  seems,  the  same  delicacy,  and  stole  a  brood- 
sow  from  their  kind  entertainer.  Jean  was  mortified  at  this  un- 
grateful conduct,  and  so  much  ashamed  of  it,  that  she  absented 
herself  from  Lochside  for  several  years. 

It  happened,  in  course  of  time,  that,  in  consequence  of  some 
temporary  pecuniary  necessity,  the  Goodman  of  Lochside  was 
obliged  to  go  to  Newcastle  to  raise  some  money  to  pay  his  rent. 
He  succeeded  in  his  purpose,  but  returning  through  the  mountains 
of  Cheviot,  he  was  benighted  and  lost  his  way. 

A  light,  gli^imering  through  the  window  of  a  large  waste  barn 
which  had  survived  the  farm-house  to  which  it  had  once  belonged, 
guided  him  to  a  place  of  shelter  ;  and  when  he  knocked  at  the 
door  it  was  opened  by  Jean  Gordon.  Her  very  remarkable  fig- 
ure— for  she  was  nearly  six  feet  high — and  her  equally  remarkable 
features  and  dress  rendered  it  impossible  to  mistake  her  for  a 
moment,  though  he  had  not  seen  her  for  years  ;  and  to  meet  with 
such  a  character  in  so  solitary  a  place,  and  probably  at  no.  great 
distance  from  her  clan,  was  a  grievous  surprise  to  the  poor  maiii 

*  CSee  addendum  to  Note  I.) 


INTRODUCTION, 


Xf 


whose  rent  (to  lose  which  would  have  been  ruin)  was  about  his 
person. 

Jean  set  up  a  loud  shout  of  joyful  recognition  :  *  Eh,  sirs  !  the 
winsome  Gudeman  of  Lochside  !  Light  down,  light  down,  for  ye 
mauna  gang  farther  the  night,  and  a  friend's  house  sae  near."  The 
farmer  was  obhged  to  dismount,  and  accept  of  the  gypsy's  offer  of 
supper  and  a  bed.  There  was  plenty  of  meat  in  the  barn,  how- 
ever it  might  be  come  by,  and  preparations  were  going  on  for  a 
plentiful  repast,  which  the  farmer,  to  the  great  increase  of  his 
anxiety,  observed  was  calculated  for  ten  or  twelve  guests — of  the 
same  description,  probably,  with  his  landlady. 

^'  Jean  left  him  in  no  doubt  on  the  subject.  She  brought  to  his 
recollection  the  story  of  the  stolen  sow,  and  mentioned  how  much 
pain  and  vexation  it  had  given  her.  Like  other  philosophers,  she 
remarked  that  the  world  grew  worse  daily  ;  and,  like  other  par- 
ents, that  the  bairns  got  out  of  her  guiding,  and  neglected  the  old 
gypsy  regulations,  which  commanded  them  to  respect,  in  their 
depredations,  the  property  of  their  benefactors.  The  end  of  all 
this  was  an  inquiry  what  money  the  farmer  had  about  him,  and 
an  urgent  request,  or  command,  that  he  would  make  her  his  purse- 
keeper,  since  the  bairns,  as  she  called  her  sons,  would  be  soon 
home.  The  poor  farmer  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  told  his  story, 
and  surrendered  his  gold  to  Jean's  custody.  She  made  him  put  a 
few  shillings  in  his  pocket,  observing  it  would  excite  suspicion 
should  he  be  found  travelling  altogether  penniless. 

This  arrangement  being  made,  the  farmer  lay  down  on  a  sort 
of  ^ ^shake-down,"  as  the  Scotch  call  it,  or  bed-clothes  disposed 
upon  some  straw,  but,  as  will  easily  be  believed,  slept  not 

About  midnight  the  gang  returned,  with  various  articles  of 
plunder,  and  talked  over  their  exploits  in  language  which  made 
the  farmer  tremble.  They  were  not  long  in  discovering  they  had 
a  guest,  and  demanded  of  Jean  whom  she  had  got  there. 

^  E'en  the  winsome  Gudeman  of  Lochside,  poor  body,'  re- 
plied Jean  ;  Mie's  been  at  Newcastle  seeking  siller  to  pay  his  rent, 
honest  man,  but  deil-be-lickit  he's  been  able  to  gather  in,  and  sae 
he's  gaun  e'en  hame  wi'  a  toom  purse  and  a  sair  heart.' 

*  That  may  be,  Jean,'  replied  one  of  the  banditti,  *  but  we 
maun  ripe  his  pouches  a  bit,  and  see  if  the  tale  be  true  or  no.' 
Jean  set  up  her  throat  in  exclamations  against  this  breach  of  hos- 
pitality, but  without  producing  any  change  in  their  determination. 
The  farmer  soon  heard  their  stifled  whispers  and  light  steps  by  his 
bedside,  and  understood  they  were  rummaging  his  clothes.  When 
they  found  the  money  which  the  providence  of  Jean  Gordon  had 
made  him  retain,  they  held  a  consultation  if  they  should  take  it  or 
no  ;  but  the  smallness  of  the  booty,  and  the  vehemence  of  Jean's 
remonstrances,  determined  them  in  the  negative.  They  caroused 
and  went  to  rest.  As  soon  as  day  dawned,  Jean  roused  her  guest, 
produced  his  horse,  which  she  had  accommodated  behind  the  kal- 
ian^ and  guided  him  for  some  miles,  till  he  was  on  the  high-road  to 
Lochside.  She  then  restored  his  whole  property,  nor  could  his  ear- 
nest entreaties  prevail  on  her  to  accept  so  much  as  a  single  guinea. 


xii 


INTR  OD  UCTIOAT. 


I  have  heard  the  old  people  at  Jedburgh  say  that  all  Jean's 
sons  were  condemned  to  die  there  on  the  same  day.  It  is  said  the 
jury  were  equally  divided,  but  that  a  friend  to  justice,  who  had 
slept  during  the  whole  discussion,  waked  suddenly  and  gave  his 
vote  for  condemnation  in  the  emphatic  words,  *  Hang  them  a' !  ' 
Unanimity  is  not  required  in  a  Scottish  jury,  so  the  verdict  of 
guilty  was  returned.  Jean  was  present,  and  only  said,  *  The  Lord 
help  the  innocent  in  a  day  like  this ! '  Her  own  death  was  accom- 
panied with  circumstances  of  brutal  outrage,  of  which  poor  Jean 
was  in  many  respects  wholly  undeserving.  She  had  among  other 
demerits,  or  merits,  as  the  reader  may  choose  to  rank  it,  that  of 
being  a  staunch  Jacobite.  She  chanced  to  be  at  Carlisle  upon  a 
fair  or  market  day,  soon  after  the  year  1746,  where  she  gave  vent 
to  her  political  partiality,  to  the  great  offence  of  the  rabble  of  that 
city.  Being  zealous  in  their  loyalty,  when  there  was  no  danger,  in 
proportion  to  the  tameness  with  which  they  had  surrendered  to 
the  Highlanders  in  1745,  the  mob  inflicted  upon  poor  Jean  Gor- 
don no  slighter  penalty  than  that  of  ducking  her  to  death  in  the 
Eden.  It  was  an  operation  of  some  time,  for  Jean  was  a  stout 
woman,  and,  struggling  with  her  murderers,  often  got  her  head 
above  water,  and  while  she  had  voice  left  continued  to  exclaim  at 
such  intervals,  ^  Charlie  yet !  Charlie  yet  !  ^  When  a  child,  and 
among  the  scenes  which  she  frequented,  I  have  often  heard  these 
stories,  and  cried  piteously  for  poor  Jean  Gordon. 

Before  quitting  the  Border  gypsies,  I  may  mention  that  my 
grandfather,  while  riding  over  Charterhouse  moor,  then  a  very  ex- 
tensive common,  fell  suddenly  among  a  large  band  of  them  who 
were  carousing  in  a  hollow  of  the  moor  surrounded  by  bushes. 
They  instantly  seized  on  his  horse's  bridle  with  many  shouts  of 
welcome,  exclaiming  (for  he  was  well  known  to  most  of  them)  that 
they  had  often  dined  at  his  expense,  and  he  must  now  stay  and 
share  their  good  cheer.  My  ancestor  was  a  little  alarmed,  for,  like 
the  Goodman  of  Lochside,  he  had  more  money  about  his  person 
than  he  cared  to  risk  in  such  society.  However,  being  naturally 
a  bold,  lively-spirited  man,  he  entered  into  the  humor  of  the 
thing  and  sat  down  to  the  feast,  which  consisted  of  all  the  varie- 
ties of  game,  poultry,  pigs,  and  so  forth,  that  could  be  collected 
by  a  wide  and  indiscriminate  system  of  plunder.  The  dinner  was 
a  very  merry  one,  but  my  relative  got  a  hint  from  some  of  the 
older  gypsies  to  retire  just  when — 

The  mirth  and  fun  grew  fast  and  furious, 

and  mounting  his  horse  accordingly  he  took  a  French  leave  of  his 
entertainers,  but  without  experiencing  the  least  breach  of  hospi- 
tality. I  believe  Jean  Gordon  was  at  this  festival "  {Blackwood* s 
Magazine,  vol.  i.,  p.  54). 

Notwithstanding  the  failure  of  Jean's  issue,  for  which — 

Weary  fa'  the  waefu'  wuddie, 

a  grand-daughter  survived  her  whom  I  remember  to  have  seen. 
That  is,  as  Dr.  Johnson  had  a  shadowy  recollection  of  Queen 


INTRODUCTION. 


xiii 


Anne  as  a  stately  lady  in  black,  adorned  with  diamonds,  so  my 
memory  is  haunted  by  a  solemn  remembrance  of  a  woman  of 
more  than  female  height,  dressed  in  a  long  red  cloak,  who  com- 
menced acquaintance  by  giving  me  an  apple,  but  whom,  never- 
theless, I  looked  on  with  as  much  awe  as  the  future  Doctor,  High 
Church  and  Tory  as  he  was  doomed  to  be,  could  look  upon  the 
Queen.  I  conceive  this  woman  to  have  been  Madge  Gordon,  of 
whom  an  impressive  account  is  given  in  the  same  article  in  which 
her  mother  Jean  is  mentioned,  but  not  by  the  present  writer  : 

The  late  Madge  Gordon  was  at  this  time  accounted  the 
Queen  of  the  Yetholm  clans.  She  was,  we  believe,  a  grand- 
daughter of  the  celebrated  Jean  Gordon,  and  was  said  to  have 
much  resembled  her  in  appearance.  The  following  account  of 
her  is  extracted  from  the  letter  of  a  friend,  who  for  many  years  en- 
joyed frequent  and  favorable  opportunities  of  observing  the  charac- 
teristic peculiarities  of  the  Yetholm  tribes:  *  Madge  Gordon  was  de- 
scended from  the  Faas  by  the  mother's  side,  and  was  married  to  a 
Young.  She  was  a  remarkable  personage,  of  a  very  commanding 
presence  and  high  stature,  being  nearly  six  feet  high.  She  had  a 
large,  aquiline  nose,  penetrating  eyes,  even  in  her  old  age,  bushy 
hair  that  hung  around  her  shoulders  from  beneath  a  gypsy  bonnet 
of  straw,  a  short  cloak  of  a  peculiar  fashion,  and  a  long  staff 
nearly  as  tall  as  herself.  I  remember  her  well ;  every  week  she 
paid  my  father  a  visit  for  her  awmous,  when  I  was  a  little  boy, 
and  I  looked  upon  Madge  with  no  common  degree  of  awe  and  ter- 
ror. When  she  spoke  vehemently  (for  she  made  loud  complaints) 
she  used  to  strike  her  staff  upon  the  floor,  and  throw  herself  into 
an  attitude  which  it  was  impossible  to  regard  with  indifference. 
She  used  to  say  that  she  could  bring  from  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  island  friends  to  revenge  her  quarrel  while  she  sat  motionless 
in  her  cottage,  and  she  frequently  boasted  that  there  was  a  time 
when  she  was  of  still  more  considerable  importance,  for  there  were 
at  her  wedding  fifty  saddled  asses,  and  unsaddled  asses  without 
number.  If  Jean  Gordon  was  the  prototype  of  the  character  of 
Meg  Merrilies,  I  imagine  Madge  must  have  sat  to  the  unknown 
author  as  the  representative  of  her  person  ^ "  {Blackwood' s  Maga- 
zine^ vol.  i.,  p.  56). 

How  far  Blackwood's  ingenious  correspondent  was  right,  how 
far  mistaken,  in  his  conjecture,  the  reader  has  been  informed. 

To  pass  to  a  character  of  a  very  diff^-ent  description,  Dominie 
Sampson,*  the  reader  may  easily  suppose  that  a  poor,  modest, 
humble  scholar,  who  has  won  his  way  through  the  classics,  yet  has 
fallen  to  leeward  in  the  voyage  of  life,  is  no  uncommon  personage 
in  a  country  where  a  certain  portion  of  learning  is  easily  attained 
by  those  who  are  willing  to  suffer  hunger  and  thirst  in  exchange 
for  acquiring  Greek  and  Latin.  But  there  is  a  far  more  exact  pro- 
totype of  the  worthy  Dominie,  upon  which  is  founded  the  part 

*  (The  late  Rev.  George  Thomson,  son  of  the  minister  of  Melrose,  who 
acted  as  tutor  at  Abbotsford,  was  supposed  by  his  friends  to  have  yielded  the 
Author  many  personal  features  for  his  fictitious  character  of  the  Dominie.) 


xiv 


INTR  OD  UCTIOi^. 


which  he  performs  in  the  romance,  and  which,  for  certain  particulai 
reasons  J  must  be  expressed  very  generally. 

Such  a  preceptor  as  Mr.  Sampson  is  supposed  to  have  been 
was  actually  tutor  in  the  family  of  a  gentleman  of  considerable 
property.  The  young  lads,  his  pupils,  grew  up,  and  went  out  in 
the  world,  but  the  tutor  continued  to  reside  in  the  family,  no  un- 
common circumstance  in  Scotland  (in  former  days),  where  food 
and  shelter  were  readily  afforded  to  humble  friends  and  depend- 
ents. The  Laird's  predecessors  had  been  imprudent  ;  he  himself 
was  passive  and  unfortunate.  Death  swept  away  his  sons,  whose 
success  in  life  might  have  balanced  his  own  bad  luck  and  inca- 
pacity. Debts  increased  and  funds  diminished,  until  ruin  came. 
The  estate  was  sold,  and  the  old  man  was  about  to  remove  from 
the  house  of  his  fathers,  to  go  he  knew  not  whither,  when,  like  an 
old  piece  of  furniture,  which,  left  alone  in  its  wonted  corner,  may 
hold  together  for  a  long  while,  but  breaks  to  pieces  on  an  attempt 
to  move  it,  he  fell  down  on  his  own  threshold  under  a  paralytic 
affection. 

The  tutor  awakened  as  from  a  dream.  He  saw  his  patron  dead, 
and  that  his  patron's  only  remaining  child,  an  elderly  woman,  now 
neither  graceful  nor  beautiful,  if  she  had  ever  been  either  the  one 
or  the  other,  had  by  this  calamity  become  a  homeless  and  penni- 
less orphan.  He  addressed  her  nearly  in  the  words  which  Domi- 
inie  Sampson  uses  to  Miss  Bertram,  and  professed  his  determi- 
nation not  to  leave  her.  Accordingly,  roused  to  the  exercise  of 
talents  which  had  long  slumbered,  he  opened  a  little  school,  and 
supported  his  patron's  child  for  the  rest  of  her  life,  treating  her 
with  the  same  humble  observance  and  devoted  attention  which  he 
had  used  toward  her  in  the  days  of  her  prosperity. 

Such  is  the  outline  of  Dominie  Sampson's  real  story,  in  which 
there  is  neither  romantic  incident  nor  sentimental  passion  ;  but 
which,  perhaps,  from  the  rectitude  and  simplicity  of  character 
which  it  displays,  may  interest  the  heart  and  fill  the  eye  of  the 
reader  as  irresistibly  as  if  it  respected  distresses  of  a  more  dignified 
or  refined  character. 

These  preliminary  notices  concerning  the  tale  of  Guy  Manner- 
ing"  and  some  of  the  characters  introduced,  may  save  the  author 
and  reader,  in  the  present  instance,  the  trouble  of  writing  and  pe- 
rusing a  long  string  of  detached  notes. 

I  may  add,  that  the  f!iotto  of  this  Novel  was  taken  from  the 
Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  to  evade  the  conclusions  of  those  who 
began  to  think  that,  as  the  author  of  Waverley,"  never  quoted 
the  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  he  must  have  some  reason  for  doing 
so,  and  that  the  circumstance  might  argue  an  identity  between 
them. 


Abbotsford,  August  i,  1829. 


He  could  not  deny,  that  looking  round  upon  the  dreary  region,  and  seeing 
nothing  but  bleak  fields  and  naked  trees,  hills  obscured  by  fogs,  and  flats 
covered  with  inundations,  he  did  for  some  time  suffer  melancholy  to 
prevail  upon  him,  and  wished  himself  again  safe  at  home. — Travels  of 
Will.  Marvel,  Idle7',  No.  49. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  November,  17 — , 
when  a  young  English  gentleman,  who  had  just  left  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  made  use  of  the  liberty  afforded  him,  to  visit 
some  parts  of  the  north  of  England  ;  and  curiosity  extended 
his  tour  into  the  adjacent  frontier  of  the  sister  country.  He  had 
visited,  on  the  day  that  opens  our  history,  some  monastic  ruins 
in  the  county  of  Dumfries,  and  spent  much  of  the  day  in  making 
drawings  of  them  from  different  points  ;  so  that,  on  mounting  his 
horse  to  resume  his  journey,  the  brief  and  gloomy  twilight  of 
the  season  had  already  commenced.  His  way  lay  through  a 
wide  tract  of  black  moss,  extending  for  miles  on  each  side  and 
before  him.  Little  eminences  arose  like  islands  on  its  surface, 
bearing  here  and  there  patches  of  corn,  which  even  at  this 
season  was  green,  and  sometimes  a  hut,  or  farm-house,  shaded 
by  a  willow  or  two,  and  surrounded  by  large  elder-bushes. 
These  insulated  dwellings  communicated  with  each  other  by 
winding  passages  through  the  moss,  impassable  by  any  but  the 
natives  themselves.  The  public  road,  however,  was  tolerably 
well  made  and  safe,  so  that  the  prospect  of  being  benighted 
brought  with  it  no  real  danger.  Still  it  is  uncomfortable  to 
travel,  alone  and  in  the  dark,  through  an  unknown  country ; 
and  there  are  few  ordinary  occasions  upon  which  Fancy  fret^ 
herself  so  much  as  in  a  situation  like  that  of  Mannering. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


As  the  light  grew  faint  and  more  faint,  and  the  morass  ap- 
peared blacker  and  blacker,  our  traveler  questioned  more 
closely  each  chance  passenger  on  his  distance  from  the  village 
of  Kippletringan,  where  he  proposed  to  quarter  for  the  night. 
His  queries  were  usually  answered  by  a  counter-challenge  re- 
specting the  place  from  whence  he  came.  While  sufficient  day- 
light remained  to  show  the  dress  and  appearance  of  a  gentle- 
man, these  cross  interrogatories  were  usually  put  in  the  form 
of  a  case  supposed,  as,  "  Ye'll  hae  been  at  the  auld  abbey  o^ 
Haly-cross,  sir  ?  there's  mony  English  gentlemen  gang  to  see 
that." — Or,  "  Your  honor  will  be  come  frae  the  house  o'  Pou- 
derloupat  ?  But  when  the  voice  of  the  querist  alone  was  dis- 
tinguishable, the  resp6nse  usually  was,  "  Where  are  ye  coming 
frae  at  sic  a  time  o'  night  as  the  like  o^  this  1  — or,  "  Ye'll  no 
be  o'  this  country,  freend  ? "  The  answers,  when  obtained, 
were  neither  very  reconcilable  to  each  other,  nor  accurate  in 
the  information  which  they  afforded.  Kippletringan  was  dis- 
tant at  first  "  a  gey  bit ;  "  then  the  gey  bit was  more  accu- 
rately described,  as  ^'  aiblins  three  mile ;  "  then  the  three mi'e^^ 
diminished  into  like  a  mile  and  a  bittock  ;  "  then  extended 
themselves  into  ^'four  mile  or  thereawa  ;  "  and,  lastly,  a  female 
voice,  having  hushed  a  wailing  infant  which  the  spokes- 
woman carried  in  her  arms,  assured  Guy  Mannering,  It  was 
a  weary  lang  gate  yet  to  Kippletringan,  and  unco  heavy  road 
for  foot  passengers.''  ^  The  poor  hack  upon  which  Mannering 
was  mounted  was  probably  of  opinion  that  it  suited  him  as  ill 
as  the  female  respondent ;  for  he  began  to  flag  very  much,  an- 
swered each  application  of  the  spur  with  a  groan,  and  stumbled 
at  every  stone  (and  they  were  not  few)  which  lay  in  his  road. 

Mannering  now  grew  impatient.  He  was  occasionally  be- 
trayed into  a  deceitful  hope  that  the  end  of  his  journey  was  near, 
•  by  the  apparition  of  a  twinkling  light  or  two  ;  but,  as  he  came  up, 
he  was  disappointed  to  find  that  the  gleams  proceeded  from 
some  of  those  farm-houses  which  occasionally  ornamented  the 
surface  of  the  extensive  bog.  At  length,  to  complete  his  per- 
plexity, he  arrived  at  a  place  where  the  road  divided  into  two. 
If  there  had  been  light  to  consult  the  relics  of  a  finger-post 
which  stood  there,  it  would  have  been  of  little  avail,  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  good  custom  of  North  Britain,  the  inscription  had 
been  defaced  shortly  after  its  erection.  Our  adventurer  was 
therefore  compelled,  like  a  knight-errant  of  old,  to  trust  to  the 
sagacity  of  his  horse,  which,  without  any  demur,  chose  the  left- 
hand  path,  and  seemed  to  proceed  at  a  somewhat  livelier  pace 

*  (For  Scotch  expressions,  see  Glossary  at  end  of  volume.) 


GUY  MANNERING. 


3 


than  before,  affording  thereby  a  hope  that  he  knew  he  was 
drawing  near  to  his  quarters  for  the  evening.  This  hope,  how- 
ever, was  not  speedily  accomplished,  and  Mannering,  whose 
impatience  made  every  furlong  seem  three,  began  to  think  that 
Kippletringan  was  actually  retreating  before  him  in  proportion 
to  his  advance. 

It  was  now  very  cloudy,  although  the  stars,  from  time  to 
time,  shed  a  twinkling  and  uncertain  light.  Hitherto  nothing 
had  broken  the  silence  around  him,  but  the  deep  cry  of  the  bog- 
blitter,  or  buU-of-the-bog,  a  large  species  of  bittern  ;  and  the 
sighs  of  the  wind  as  it  passed  along  the  dreary  morass.  To 
these  was  now  joined  the  distant  roar  of  the  ocean,  toward 
which  the  traveler  seemed  to  be  fast  approaching.  This  was  no 
circumstance  to  make  his  mind  easy.  Many  of  the  roads  in 
that  country  lay  along  the  sea-beach,  and  some  were  liable  to 
be  flooded  by  the  tides,  which  rise  to  a  great  height,  and  ad- 
vance with  extreme  rapidity.  Others  were  intersected  with 
creeks  and  small  inlets,  which  it  was  only  safe  to  pass  at  partic- 
ular times  of  the  tide.  Neither  circumstances  would  have 
suited  a  dark  night,  a  fatigued  horse,  and  a  traveler  ignorant  of 
his  road.  Mannering  resolved,  therefore,  definitively  to  halt  for 
the  night  at  the  first  inhabited  place,  however  poor,  he  might 
chance  to  reach,  unless  he  could  procure  a  guide  to  this  unlucky 
village  of  Kippletringan. 

A  miserable  hut  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  execute  his  pur- 
pose. He  found  out  the  door  with  no  small  difficulty,  and  for 
some  time  knocked  without  producing  any  other  answer  than 
a  duet  between  a  female  and  a  cur-dog,  the  latter  yelping  as 
if  he  would  have  barked  his  heart  out,  the  other  screaming  in 
chorus.  By  degrees  the  human  tones  predominated ;  but  the 
angry  bark  of  the  cur  being  at  the  instant  changed  into  a  howl, 
it  is  probable  something  more  than  fair  strength  of  lungs  had 
contributed  to  the  ascendency. 

"  Sorrow  be  in  your  thrapple  then !  these  were  the  first 
articulate  words — "  will  ye  no  let  me  hear  what  the  man  wants, 
wi'  your  yaffing  1 

Am  I  far  from  Kippletringan,  good  dame  t " 

"  Frae  Kippletringan  ! ! !  "  in  an  exalted  tone  of  wonder, 
which  we  can  but  faintly  express  by  three  points  of  admiration  ; 
"  Ow,  man  !  ye  should  hae  hadden  eassel  to  Kippletringan — 
ye  maun  gae  back  as  far  as  the  Whaap,  and  baud  the  Whaap  ^ 
till  ye  come  to  Ballenloan,  and  then''  

*  The  Hope,  often  pronounced  Whapp,  is  the  sheltered  part  or  hollow 
of  the  hill.  Hoff^  howfy  haafdiXid  haven^  are  all  modifications  of  the  same 
word. 


4 


Gt/Y  MANNER/NO, 


"  This  will  never  do,  good  dame  !  my  horse  is  almost  quite 
knocked  up — can  you  not  give  me  a  night's  lodgings?" 

"Troth  can  I  no ;  I  am  a  lone  woman,  for  James  he's  awa 
to  Drumshourloch  fair  with  the  year-aulds,  and  I  daurna  for  my 
life  open  the  door  to  ony  o'  your  gang-there-out  sort  o'  bodies." 

"  But  what  must  I  do  then,  good  dame  ?  for  I  can't  sleep  here 
upon  the  road  all  night." 

"Troth  I  kenna,  unless  ye  like  to  gae  down  and  speer  for 
quarters  at  the  Place.  I'se  warrant  they'll  tak  ye  in,  whether 
ye  be  gentle  or  semple." 

*'  Simple  enough,  to  be  wandering  here  at  such  a  time  of 
night,"  thought  Mannering,  who  was  ignorant  of  the  meaning 
of  the  phrase.  "  But  how  shall  I  get  to  the  place,  as  you 
call  it.^"' 

"  Ye  maun  haud  wessel  by  the  end  o'  the  loan,  and  take  tent 
o'  the  jaw-hole." 

"  O,  if  ye  get  to  eassel  wessel"^  again,  I  am  undone  ! — Is 
there  nobody  that  could  guide  me  to  this  place?  I  will  pay 
him  handsomely." 

The  word  pay  operated  like  magic.  "  Jock,  ye  villain," 
exclaimed  the  voice  from  the  interior,  "  are  ye  lying  routing 
there,  and  a  young  gentleman  seeking  the  way  to  the  Place  } 
Get  up,  ye  fause  loon,  and  show  him  the  way  down  the  muckle 
loaning. — He'll  show  you  the  way,  sir,  and  I'se  warrant  ye'll  be 
weel  put  up ;  for  they  never  turn  awa  naebody  frae  the  door  ; 
and  ye'll  be  come  in  the  canny  moment,  I'm  thinking,  for  the 
laird's  servant — that's  no  to  say  his  body-servant,  but  the  helper 
like — rade  express  by  this  e'en  to  fetch  the  houdie,  and  he  just 
staid  the  drinking  o'  twa  pints  o'  tippeny,  to  tell  us  how  my 
leddy  was  ta'en  wi'  her  pains." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Mannering,  "  at  such  a  time  a  stranger's 
arrival  might  be  inconvenient  ?  " 

"  Hout,  na,  ye  needna  be  blate  about  that ;  their  house  is 
muckle  eneuch,  and  decking  f  time's  aye  canty  time." 

By  this  time  Jock  had  found  his  way  into  all  the  intricacies 
of  a  tattered  doubtlet,  and  more  tattered  pair  of  breeches,  and 
sallied  forth,  a  great  white-headed,  bare-legged,  lubberly  boy  of 
twelve  years  old,  so  exhibited  by  the  glimpse  of  a  rushlight, 
which  his  half-naked  mother  held  in  such  a  manner  as  to  get  a 
peep  at  the  stranger,  without  greatly  exposing  herself  to  view 
in  return.  Jock  moved  on  westward,  by  the  end  of  the  house, 
leading  Mannering's  horse  by  the  bridle,  and  piloting,  with  some 
dexteiity,  along  the  little  path  which  bordered  the  formidable 


*  Provincial  for  eastward  and  westward. 


t  Hatching-time, 


GUV  MANNERING, 


5 


jaw-hole,  whose  vicinity  the  stranger  was  made  sensible  of  by 
means  of  more  organs  than  one.  His  guide  then  dragged  the 
weary  hack  along  a  broken  and  stony  cart-track,  next  over  a 
ploughed  field,  then  broke  down  a  slap^  as  he  called  it,  in  a 
dry-stone  fence,  and  lugged  the  unresisting  animal  through  the 
breach,  about  a  rood  of  the  simple  masonry  giving  way  in  the 
splutter  with  which  he  passed.  Finally,  he  led  the  way,  through 
a  wicket,  into  something  which  had  still  the  air  of  an  avenue, 
though  many  of  the  trees  were  felled.  The  roar  of  the  ocean 
was  now  near  and  full,  and  the  moon,  which  began  to  make  her 
appearance,  gleamed  on  a  turreted,  and  apparently  a  ruined 
mansion,  of  considerable  extent.  Mannering  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
it  with  a  disconsolate  sensation. 

"  Why,  my  little  fellow,"  he  said,  "  this  is  a  ruin,  not  a 
house  t 

"Ah,  but  the  lairds  lived  there  langsyne — that's  Ellangowan 
Auld  Place ;  there's  a  hantle  bogles  about  it — but  ye  needna  be 
feared — I  never  saw  ony  mysell,  and  we're  just  at  the  door  o' 
the  New  Place." 

Accordingly,  leaving  the  ruins  on  the  right,  a  few  steps 
brought  the  traveler  in  front  of  a  modern  house  of  moderate 
size,  at  which  his  guide  rapped  with  great  importance.  Man- 
nering told  his  circumstances  to  the  servant ;  and  the  gentleman 
of  the  house,  who  heard  his  tale  from  the  parlor,  stepped 
forward,  and  welcomed  the  stranger  hospitably  to  Ellangowan. 
The  boy,  made  happy  with  half-a-crown,  was  dismissed  to  his 
cottage,  the  weary  horse  was  conducted  to  a  stall,  and  Manner- 
ing found  himself  in  a  few  minutes  seated  by  a  comfortable 
supper,  for  which  his  cold  ride  gave  him  a  hearty  appetite. 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

 Comes  me  cranking  in, 

And  cuts  me  from  the  best  of  all  my  land, 
A  huge  half-moon,  a  monstrous  cantle  out, 

Henry  THE  Fourth,  Part  L 

The  company  in  the  parlor  at  Ellangowan  consisted  of  the 
Laird,  and  a  sort  of  person  who  might  be  the  village  school- 
master, or  perhaps  the  minister's  assistant ;  his  appearance  was 
too  shabby  to  indicate  the  minister,  considering  he  was  on  a 
visit  to  the  Laird. 

The  Laird  himself  was  one  of  those  second-rate  sort  of 


6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


persons,  that  are  to  be  found  frequently  in  rural  situations. 

Fielding  has  described  one  class  as  feras  consumere  nati ;  but 
the  love  of  field-sports  indicates  a  certain  activity  of  mind, 
which  had  forsaken  Mr.  Bertram,  if  ever  he  possessed  it.  A 
good-humored  listlessness  of  countenance  formed  the  only  re- 
markable expression  of  his  features,  although  they  were  rather 
handsome  than  otherwise.  In  fact,  his  physiognomy- indicated 
the  inanity  of  character  which  pervaded  his  life.  I  will  give 
the  reader  some  insight  into  his  state  and  conversation,  before 
he  has  finished  a  long  lecture  to  Mannering,  upon  the  propriety 
and  comfort  of  WTapping  his  stirrup-irons  round  with  a  wisp  of 
straw  wheuj-he  had  occasion  to  ride  in  a  chill  evening. 

Godfrey  Bertram,  of  EUangowan,  succeeded  to  a  long  pedigree 
and  a  short  rent-roll,  like  many  lairds  of  that  period.  His  list 
of  forefathers  ascended  so  high,  that  they  were  lost  in  the  bar- 
barous ages  of  Galwegian  independence  ;  so  that  his  genealogical 
tree,  besides  the  Christian  and  crusading  names  of  Godfreys, 
and  Gilberts,  and  Dennises,  and  Rolands  without  end,  bore 
heathen  fruit  of  yet  darker  ages, — Arths,  and  Knarths,  and 
Donagilds,  and  Hanlons.  In  truth,  they  had  been  formerly 
the  stormy  chiefs  of  a  desert  but  extensive  domain,  and  the 
heads  of  a  numerous  tribe,  called  Mac-Dingawaie,  though  they 
afterward  adopted  the  Norman  surname  of  Bertram.  They 
had  made  war,  raised  rebellions,  been  defeated,  beheaded,  and 
hanged,  as  became  a  family  of  importance,  for  many  centuries. 
But  they  had  gradually  lost  ground  in  the  world,  and,  from  being 
themselves  the  heads  of  treason  and  traitorous  conspiracies, 
the  Bertrams,  or  MacDingawaies,  of  EUangowan,  had  sunk  into 
subordinate  accomplices.  Their  most  fatal  exhibitions  in  this 
capacity  took  place  in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  foul 
fiend  possessed  them  wdth  a  spirit  of  contradiction,  which 
uniformly  involved  them  in  controversy  with  the  ruling  powers. 
They  reversed  the  conduct  of  the  celebrated  Vicar  of  Bray, 
and  adhered  as  tenaciously  to  the  weaker  side,  as  that  worthy 
divine  to  the  stronger.  And  truly,  like  him,  they  had  their 
reward. 

Allan  Bertram  of  EUangowan,  who  flourished  tempore  Caroii 
Primly  was,  says  my  authority.  Sir  Robert  Douglas,  in  his 
Scottish  Baronage  (see  the  title  EUangowan),  a  steady  loyalist 
and  full  of  zeal  for  the  cause  of  his  Sacred  Majesty,  in  which 
he  united  with  the  great  Marquis  of  Montrose,  and  other  truly 
zealous  and  honorable  patriots,  and  sustained  great  losses  in 
that  behalf.  He  had  the  honor  of  knighthood  conferred  upon 
him  by  his  Most  Sacred  Majesty,  and  was  sequestrated  as  a 
malignant  by  the  parliament  1642,  and  afterward  as  a  resolu- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


1 


tioner  in  the  year  1648." — These  two  cross-grained  epithets  of 
malignant  and  resolutioner  cost  poor  Sir  Allan  one  half  of  the 
family  estate.  His  son  Dennis  Bertram  married  a  daughter  of 
an  eminent  fanatic,  who  had  a  seat  in  the  council  of  state,  and 
saved  by  that  union  the  remainder  of  the  family  property.  But, 
as  ill  chance  would  have  it,  he  became  enamoured  of  the  lad) 
principles  as  well  as  of  her  charms,  and  my  author  gives  him 
this  character  :  "  He  was  a  man  of  eminent  parts  and  resolution, 
for  which  reason  he  was  chosen  by  the  western  counties  one  of 
the  committee  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  to  report  their 
griefs  to  the  privy  council  of  Charles  H.  awent  the  coming  in 
of  the  Highland  host  in  1678."  For  undertaking  this  patriotic 
task  he  underwent  a  fine,  to  pay  which  he  was  obliged  to  mort- 
gage half  of  the  remaining  moiety  of  his  paternal  property. 
This  loss  he  might  have  recovered  by  dint  of  severe  economy^ 
but  on  the  breaking  out  of  Argyle's  rebellion,  Dennis  Bertram 
was  again  suspected  by  Government,  apprehended,  sent  to 
Dunnottar  Castle,  on  the  coast  of  the  Mearns,  and  there  broke 
his  neck  in  an  attempt  to  escape  from  a  subterranean  habitation 
called  the  Whig's  Vault,  in  which  he  was  confined  with  some 
eighty  of  the  same  persuasion.  The  apprizer  therefore  (as  the 
holder  of  a  mortgage  was  then  called),  entered  upon  possession, 
and,  in  the  language  of  Hotspur,  came  me  cranking  in,''  and 
cut  the  family  out  of  another  monstrous  cantle  of  their  remain- 
ing property. 

Donohoe  Bertram,  with  somewhat  of  an  Irish  name,  and 
somewhat  of  an  Irish  temper,  succeeded  to  the  diminished 
property  of  Ellangowan.  He  turned  out  of  doors  the  Rev. 
Aaron  Macbriar,  his  mother's  chaplain  (it  is  said  they  quar- 
reled about  the  good  graces  of  a  milkmaid),  drank  himself 
daily  drunk  with  brimming  healths  to  the  king,  council,  and 
bishops  ;  held  orgies  with  the  Laird  of  Lagg,  Theophilus 
Oglethorpe,  and  Sir  James  Turner ;  and  lastly,  took  his  gray 
gelding,  and  joined  Clavers  at  Killiecrankie.  At  the  skirmish 
of  Dunkeld,  1689,  he  was  shot  dead  by  a  Cameronian  with  a 
silver  button  (being  supposed  to  have  proof  from  the  Evil  One 
against  lead  and  steel),  and  his  grave  is  still  called,  the 
"  Wicked  Laird's  Lair." 

His  son,  Lewis,  had  more  prudence  than  seems  usually  to 
have  belonged  to  the  family.  He  nursed  what  property  was 
yet  left  to  him  ;  for  Donohoe's  excesses,  as  well  as  fines  and 
forfeitures,  had  made  another  inroad  upon  the  estate.  And 
although  even  he  did  not  escape  the  fatality  which  induced  the 
Lairds  of  Ellangowan  to  interfere  with  politics,  he  had  yet  the 
prudence,  ere  he  went  out  with  Lord  Kenmore  in  17 15,  to 


8 


GUY  MANNEKING, 


convey  his  estates  to  trustees,  in  order  to  parry  pains  and 
penalties,  in  case  the  Earl  of  Mar  could  not  put  down  the 
Protestant  succession.  But  Scylla  and  Charybdis — a  word  to 
the  wise — he  only  saved  his  estate  at  the  expense  of  a  lawsuit, 
which  again  subdivided  the  family  property.  He  was,  however, 
a  man  of  resolution.  He  sold  part  of  the  lands,  evacuated  the 
old  castle,  where  the  family  lived  in  their  decadence,  as  a  mouse 
(said  an  old  farmer)  lives  under  a  firlot.  Pulling  down  part  of 
these  venerable  ruins,  he  built  with  the  stones  a  narrow  house 
of  three  stories  high,  with  a  front  like  a  grenadier's  cap,  having 
in  the  very  centre  a  round  window,  like  the  single  eye  of  a 
Cyclops,  two  windows  on  each  side,  and  a  door  in  the  middle, 
leading  to  a  parlor  and  withdrawing  room,  full  of  all  manner 
of  cross  lights. 

This  was  the  New  Place  of  Ellangowan,  in  which  we  left  our 
hero,  better  amused  perhaps  than  our  readers,  and  to  this  Lewis 
Bertram  retreated,  full  of  projects  for  re-establishing  the  pros- 
perity of  his  family.  He  took  some  land  into  his  own  hand, 
rented  some  from  neighboring  proprietors,  bought  and  sold 
Highland  cattle  and  Cheviot  sheep,  rode  to  fairs  and  trysts, 
fought  hard  bargains,  and  held  necessity  at  the  staff's  end  as 
well  as  he  might.  But  what  he  gained  in  purse  he  lost  in  honor, 
for  such  agricultural  and  commercial  negotiations  were  very  ill 
looked  upon  by  his  brother  lairds,  who  minded  nothing  but 
cock-fighting,  hunting,  coursing,  and  horse-racing,  with  now  and 
then  the  alternation  of  a  desperate  duel.  The  occupations 
which  he  followed  encroached,  in  their  opinion,  upon  the  article 
of  EUangowan's  gentry ;  and  he  found  it  necessary  gradually  to 
estrange  himself  from  their  society,  and  sink  into  what  was  then 
a  very  ambiguous  character,  a  gentleman  farmer.  In  the  midst 
of  his  schemes,  death  claimed  his  tribute  ;  and  the  scanty  re- 
mains of  a  large  property  descended  upon  Godfrey  Bertram,  the 
present  possessor,  his  only  son. 

The  danger  of  the  father's  speculations  was  soon  seen.  De- 
prived of  Laird  Lewis's  personal  and  active  superintendence,  all 
his  undertakings  miscarried,  and  became  either  abortive  or 
perilous.  Without  a  single  spark  of  energy  to  meet  or  repel 
these  misfortunes,  Godfrey  put  his  faith  in  the  activity  of  another. 
He  kept  neither  hunters,  nor  hounds,  nor  any  other  southern 
preliminaries  to  ruin  ;  but,  as  has  been  observed  of  his  country- 
men, he  kept  a  man  of  business^  who  answered  the  purpose 
equally  well.  Under  this  gentleman's  supervision  small  debts 
grew  into  large,  interests  were  accumulated  upon  capitals, 
movable  bonds  became  heritable,  and  law  charges  were  heaped 
upon  all  \  though  Ellangowan  possessed  so  little  the  spirit  of  a 


GUY  MANNERING, 


9 


litigant,  that  he  was  on  two  occasions  chai'ged  to  make  payment 
of  the  expenses  of  a  long  lawsuit,  although  he  had  never  before 
heard  that  he  had  such  cases  in  court.  Meanwhile  his  neigh- 
bors predicted  his  final  ruin.  Those  of  the  higher  rank,  with 
some  malignity,  accounted  him  already  a  degraded  brother. 
The  lower  classes  seeing  nothing  enviable  in  his  situation, 
marked  his  embarrassments  with  more  compassion.  He  was 
even  a  kind  of  favorite  with  them,  and  upon  the  division  of  a 
common,  or  the  holding  of  a  black-fishing  or  poaching-court,  or 
any  similar  occasion,  when  they  conceived  themselves  oppressed 
by  the  gentry,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  each  other, 
"  Ah,  if  EUangowan,  honest  man,  had  his  ain  that  his  forbears 
had  afore  him,  he  wadna  see  the  puir  folk  trodden  down  this 
gait/'  Meanwhile,  this  general  good  opinion  never  prevented 
their  taking  advantage  of  him  on  all  possible  occasions — turning 
their  cattle  into  his  parks,  stealing  his  wood,  shooting  his  game, 
and  so  forth,  ^*for  the  Laird,  honest  man,  he'll  never  find  it, — 
he  never  minds  what  a  puir  body  does." — Pedlers,  gypsies, 
tinkers,  vagrants  of  all  descriptions,  roosted  about  his  out- 
houses, or  harbored  in  his  kitchen  ;  and  the  Laird,  who  was 
"nae  nice  body,"  but  a  thorough  gossip,  like  most  weak  men, 
found  recompense  for  his  hospitality  in  the  pleasure  of  ques- 
tioning them  on  the  news  of  the  country  side. 

A  circumstance  arrested  Ellangowan's  progress  on  the  high 
road  to  ruin.  This  was  his  marriage  with  a  lady  who  had  a 
portion  of  about  four  thousand  pounds.  Nobody  in  the  neigh- 
borhood could  conceive  why  she  married  him,  and  endowed  him 
with  her  wealth,  unless  because  he  had  a  tall,  handsome  figure, 
a  good  set  of  features,  a  genteel  address,  and  a  most  perfect 
good  humor.  It  might  be  some  additional  consideration,  that 
she  was  herself  at  the  reflecting  age  of  twenty-eight,  and  had  no 
near  relations  to  control  her  actions  or  choice. 

It  was  in  this  lady's  behalf  (confined  for  the  first  time  after 
her  marriage)  that  the  speedy  and  active  express,  mentioned  by 
the  old  dame  of  the  cottage,  had  been  despatched  to  Kipple- 
tringan  on  the  night  of  Mannering's  arrival. 

Though  we  have  said  so  much  of  the  Laird  himself,  it  still 
remains  that  we  make  the  reader  in  some  degree  acquainted 
with  his  companion.  This  was  Abel  Sampson,  commonly 
called,  from  his  occupation  as  a  pedagogue,  Dominie  Sampson, 
lie  was  of  low  birth,  but  having  evinced,  even  from  his  cradle, 
an  uncommon  seriousness  of  disposition,  the  poor  parents  were 
encouraged  to  hope  that  their  hairn^  as  they  expressed  it, 
"might  wag  his  pow  in  a  pulpit  yet."  With  an  ambitious  view 
to  such  a  consummation,  they  pinched  and  pared,  rose  early 


lO  GUY  MANNERING. 

kand  lay  down  late,  ate  dry  bread  and  drank  cold  water, 
■to  secure  to  Abel  the  means  of  learning.  Meantime,  his  tall 
iungainly  figure,  his  taciturn  and  grave  manners,  and  some 
grotesque  habits  of  swinging  his  limbs,  and  screwing  his  visage 
while  reciting  his  task,  made  poor  Sampson  the  ridicule  of  all 
his  school-companions.  The  same  qualities  secured  him  at 
Glasgow  college  a  plentiful  share  of  the  same  sort  of  notice. 
Half  the  youthful  mob  of  the  yards *  used  to  assemble 
regularly  to  see  Dominie  Sampson  (for  he  had  already  attained 
that  honorable  title)  descend  the  stairs  from  the  Greek  class, 
with  his  Lexicon  under  his  arm,  his  long  misshapen  legs 
sprawling  abroad,  and  keeping  awkward  time  to  the  play  of  his 
immense  shoulder  blades,  as  they  raised  and  depressed  the 
loose  and  threadbare  black  coat  which  was  his  constant  and 
only  wear.  When  he  spoke,  the  efforts  of  the  professor  (pro- 
fessor of  divinity  though  he  was)  were  totally  inadequate  to 
restrain  the  inextinguishable  laughter  of  the  students,  and 
sometimes  even  to  repress  his  own.  The  long,  sallow  visage, 
the  goggle  eyes,  the  huge  under-jaw,  which  appeared  not  to 
open  and  shut  by  an  act  of  volition,  but  to  be  dropped  and 
hoisted  up  again  by  some  complicated  machinery  within  the 
inner  man, —  the  harsh  and  dissonant  voice,  and  the  screech- 
owl  notes  to  which  it  Vv^as  exalted  when  he  was  exhorted  to 
pronounce  more  distinctly, — all  added  fresh  subject  for  mirth 
to  the  torn  cloak  and  shattered  shoe,  which  have  afforded 
legitimate  subjects  to  railery  against  the  poor  scholar,  from 
Juvenal's  tune  downward.  It  was  never  known  that  Sampson 
either  exhibited  iriitability  at  this  ill  usage,  or  made  the  least 
attempt  to  retort  upon  his  tormentors.  He  slunk  from  college 
by  the  most  secret  paths  he  could  discover,  and  plunged  him- 
self into  his  miserable  lodging,  where,  for  eighteen-pence 
a-week,  he  was  allowed  the  benefit  of  a  straw  mattress,  and,  if 
his  landlady  was  in  good  humor,  permission  to  study  his  task 
by  her  fire.  Under  all  these  disadvantages,  he  obtained  a 
competent  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin,  and  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  sciences. 

In  progress  of  time,  Abel  Sampson,  probationer  of  divinity, 
was  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  a  preacher.  But  alas !  partly 
from  his  own  bashtulness,  partly  owing  to  a  strong  and  obvious 
disposition  to  risibility,  which  pervaded  the  congregation  upon 
his  first  attempt,  he  became  totally  incapable  of  proceeding  in 
his  intended  discourse — gasped,  grinned,  hideously  rolled  his 
eyes  till  the  congregation  thought  them  flying  out  of  his  head 

*  (**  The  yards  "  refer  to  the  open  space  or  area  used  as  a  playing  ground 
at  the  High  School  or  college.) 


LIBRARY 
UmVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


GtJY  MAJ^NERING, 


It 


— shut  the  Bible — stumbled  down  the  pulpit-stairs,  trampling 
upon  the  old  women  who  generally  take  their  station  there, — 
and  was  ever  after  designated  as  a  "  stickit  minister."  And 
thus  he  wandered  back  to  his  own  country,  with  blighted  hopes 
and  prospects,  to  share  the  poverty  of  his  parents.  As  he  had 
neither  friend  nor  confidant,  hardly  even  an  acquaintance,  no 
one  had  the  means  of  observing  closely  how  Dominie  Sampson 
bore  a  disappointment  which  supplied  the  whole  town  with  a 
week's  sport.  It  would  be  endless  even  to  mention  the  numer- 
ous jokes  to  which  it  gave  birth, — from  a  ballad,  called  "  Samp- 
son's Riddle,"  written  upon  the  subject  by  a  smart  young  stu- 
dent of  humanity, — to  the  sly  hope  of  the  Principal,  that  the 
fugitive  had  not,  in  imitation  of  his  mighty  namesake,  taken  the 
college  gates  along  with  him  in  his  retreat. 

To  all  appearance,  the  equanimity  of  Sampson  was  un- 
shaken. He  sought  to  assist  his  parents  by  teaching  a  school, 
and  soon  had  plenty  of  scholars,  but  very  few  fees.  In  fact,  he 
taught  the  sons  of  farmers  for  what  they  chose  to  give  him,  and 
the  poor  for  nothing  ;  and  to  the  shame  of  the  former  be  it 
spoken,  the  pedagogue's  gains  never  equalled  those  of  a  skil- 
ful ploughman.  He  wrote,  however,  a  good  hand,  and  added 
something  to  his  pittance  by  copying  accounts  and  writing  let- 
ters for  Ellangowan.  By  degrees,  the  Laird,  who  was  much 
estranged  from  general  society,  became  partial  to  that  of  Dom- 
inie Sampson.  Conversation,  it  is  true,  was  out  of  the  question, 
but  the  Dominie  was  a  good  listener,  and  stirred  the  fire  with 
some  address.  He  attempted  even  to  snuff  the  candles,  but 
was  unsuccessful,  and  relinquished  that  ambitious  post  of 
courtesy,  after  having  twice  reduced  the  parlor  to  total  dark- 
ness. So  his  civilities,  thereafter,  were  confined  to  taking  off 
his  glass  of  ale  in  exactly  the  same  time  and  measure  with  the 
Laird,  and  in  uttering  certain  indistinct  murmurs  of  acquies- 
cence at  the  conclusion  of  the  long  and  winding  stories  of 
Ellangowan. 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  presented  for  the  first  time 
to  Mannering  his  tall,  gaunt,  awkward,  bony  figure  attired  in  a 
threadbare  suit  of  black,  with  a  colored  handkerchief,  not  over 
clean,  about  his  sinewy,  scraggy  neck,  and  his  nether  person 
arrayed  in  gray  breeches,  dark-blue  stockings,  clouted  shoes, 
and  small  copper  buckles. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  those  two 
persons,  in  whose  society  Mannering  now  found  himself  com- 
fortably seated. 


GUY  MANNERING, 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

Do  not  the  hist'ries  of  all  ages, 
Relate  miraculous  presages, 
Of  strange  turns  in  the  world's  affairs, 
Foreseen  by  Astrologers,  Soothsayers, 
Chaldeans,  learned  Genethliacs, 
And  some  that  have  writ  almanacs  ? 

IIUDIBRAS. 

The  circumstances  of  the  landlady  were  pleaded  to  Manner- 
ing — first  as  an  apology  for  her  not  appearing  to  welcome  her 
guest,  and  for  those  deficiencies  in  his  entertainment  which 
her  attention  might  have  supplied,  and  then  as  an  excuse  for 
pressing  an  extra  bottle  of  good  wine. 

I  cannot  weel  sleep,"  said  the  Laird,  with  the  anxious 
feelings  of  father  in  such  a  predicament,  ^'  till  I  hear  she's 
gotten  ower  with  it — and  if  you,  sir,  are  not  very  sleepy,  and 
would  do  me  and  the  Dominie  the  honor  to  sit  up  wi'  us,  I 
am  sure  we  shall  not  detain  you  very  late.  Luckie  Howatson 
is  very  expeditious  ; — there  was  ance  a  lass  that  was  in  that 
way — she  did  not  live  far  from  hereabouts — ye  needna  shake 
your  head  and  groan.  Dominie — I  am  sure  the  kirk  dues  were 
a'  weel  paid,  and  what  can  man  do  mair  ? — it  was  laid  till  her 
ere  she  had  a  sack  ower  her  head  ;  and  the  man  that  she  since 
wadded  does  not  think  her  a  pin  the  waur  for  the  misfortune. — 
They  live,  Mr.  Mannering,  by  the  shore-side,  at  Annan,  and  a 
mair  decent,  orderly  couple,  with  six  as  fine  bairns  as  ye  would 
wish  to  see  plash  in  a  salt-water  dub  ;  and  little  curlie  Godfrey 
— that's  the  eldest,  the  come  o'  will,  as  I  may  say — he's  on  board 
an  excise  yacht  ;  I  hae  a  cousin  at  the  board  of  excise — that's 
Commissioner  Bertram  ;  he  got  his  commissionership  in  the 
great  contest  for  the  county,  that  ye  must  have  heard  of,  for  it 
was  appealed  to  the  House  of  Commons  ;  now  I  should  have 
voted  there  for  the  Laird  of  Balruddery  ;  but  ye  see  my  father 
was  a  Jacobite,  and  out  with  Kenmore,  so  he  never  took  the 
oaths  ;  and  I  ken  not  weel  how  it  was,  but  all  that  I  could  do 
and  say,  they  keepit  me  off  the  roll,  though  my  agent,  that 
had  a  vote  upon  my  estate,  ranked  as  a  good  vote  for  auld  Sir 
Thomas  Kittlecourt.  But  to  return  to  what  I  was  saying, 
Luckie  Howatson  is  very  expeditious,  for  this  lass  " 

Here  the  desultory  and  long-winded  narrative  of  the  Laird 
was  interrupted  by  the  voice  of  some  one  ascending  the  stairs 


GUY  MANNERING, 


13 


from  the  kitchen  story,  and  singing  at  full  pitch  of  voice. 
The  high  notes  were  too  shrill  for  a  man,  the  low  seemed  too 
deep  for  a  woman.  The  words,  as  far  as  Mannering  could 
distinguish  them,  seemed  to  run  thus  : 

Canny  moment  lucky  fit ; 

Is  the  lady  lighter  yet  ? 

Be  it  lad  or  be  it  lass, 

Sign  wi*  cross  and  sain  wi'  mass. 

"  It's  Meg  Merrilies,  the  gypsy,  as  sure  as  I  am  a  sinner, 
said  Mr.  Bertram.  The  Dominie  groaned  deeply,  uncrossed 
his  legs,  drew  in  the  huge  splay  foot  which  his  former  posture 
had  extended,  placed  it  perpendicularly,  and  stretched  the  other 
limb  over  it  instead,  puffing  out  between  whiles  huge  volumes 
of  tobacco-smoke.  "  What  needs  ye  groan.  Dominie  t  I  am 
sure  Meg's  sangs  do  nae  ill.'' 

"  Nor  good  neither,"  answered  Dominie  Sampson,  in  a  voice 
whose  untuneable  harshness  corresponded  with  the  awkward- 
ness of  his  figure.  They  were  the  first  words  which  Mannering 
had  heard  him  speak ;  and  as  he  had  been  watching  with  some 
curiosity  when  this  eating,  drinking,  moving,  and  smoking 
automaton  would  perform  the  part  of  speaking,  he  was  a  good 
deal  diverted  with  the  harsh  timber  tones  which  issued  from 
him.  But  at  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and  Meg  Merrilies 
entered. 

Her  appearance  made  Mannering  start.  She  was  full  six 
feet  high,  wore  a  man's  great-coat  over  the  rest  of  her  dress,  had 
in  her  hand  a  goodly  sloe-thorn  cudgel,  and  in  all  points  of 
equipment,  except  her  petticoats,  seemed  rather  masculine  than 
feminine.  Her  dark  elf-locks  shot  out  like  the  snakes  of  the 
gorgon,  between  an  old-fashioned  bonnet  called  a  bongrace, 
heightening  the  singular  effect  of  her  strong  and  weather- 
beaten  features,  which  they  partly  shadowed,  while  her  eye  had  a 
wild  roll  that  indicated  something  like  real  or  affected  insanity. 

"  Aweel,  Ellangowan,"  she  said,  "  wad  it  no  hae  been  a 
bonnie  thing  an  the  leddy  had  been  brought  to  bed  and  me  at 
the  fair  o'  Drumshourloch,  no  kenning,  nor  dreaming  a  word 
about  it  ?    Wha  was  to  hae  keepit  awa  the  worriecows,  I  trow  ? 
— ay,  and  the  elves  and  gyre-carlings  frae  the  bonny  bairn, 
grace  be  wi'  it  ?    Ay,  or  said  Saint  Colme's  charm  for  its  sake, 
the  dear  ? "    And  without  waiting  an  answer,  she  began  to 
sing- 
Trefoil,  vervain,  John's-wort,  dill 
Hinders  witches  of  their  will ; 
Weel  is  them,  that  weel  may 
Fast  upon  St.  Andrew's  day. 


14 


GUY  MANNERINO. 


Saint  Bride  and  her  brat, 
Saint  Colme  and  his  cat, 
Saint  Michael  and  his  spear 
Keep  the  house  frae  reif  and  wear. 

This  charm  she  sung  to  a  wild  tune,  in  a  high  and  shrill  voice, 
and  cutting  three  capers  with  such  strength  and  agility  as 
almost  to  touch  the  roof  of  the  room,  concluded,  And  now. 
Laird,  will  ye  no  order  me  a  tass  o'  brandy  ? 

That  you  shall  have,  Meg — Sit  down  yont  there  at  the 
door,  and  tell  us  what  news  ye  have  heard  at  the  fair  o'  Drum- 
shourloch." 

"  Troth,  Laird,  and  there  was  muckle  want  you,  and  the 
like  o'  you ;  for  there  was  a  whin  bonnie  lasses  there,  forbye 
mysell,  and  deil  ane  to  gie  them  hansels.'' 

"  Weel,  Meg,  and  how  mony  gypsies  were  sent  to  the  tol- 
booth  ? '' 

"  Troth,  but  three,  Laird,  for  there  were  nae  mair  in  the 
fair,  bye  mysell,  as  I  said  before,  and  I  e'en  gae  them  leg-bail, 
for  there's  nae  ease  in  dealing  wi'  quarrelsome  fowk.  And 
there's  Dunbog  has  warned  the  Red  Rotten  and  John  Young  aff 
his  grunds — black  be  his  cast !  he's  nae  gentleman,  nor  drap's 
bluid  o'  gentleman,  wad  grudge  twa  gangrel  puir  bodies  the 
shelter  o'  a  waste  house,  and  the  thristles  by  the  road-side  for 
a  bit  cuddy,  and  the  bits  o'  rotten  birk  to  boil  their  drap  par- 
ritch  wi'.  Weel,  there's  ane  abune  a' — but  we'll  see  if  the  red 
cock  craw  not  in  his  bonnie  barn-yard  ae  morning  before  day- 
dawning." 

'*Hush  !    Meg,  hush!  hush  !  that's  not  safe  talk." 
"  What  does  she  mean  1 "  said  Mannering  to  Sampson,  in 
an  undertone. 

,    "  Fire-raising,"  answered  the  laconic  Dominie. 

"  Who,  or  what  is  she,  in  the  name  of  wonder  ?  " 

"  Harlot,  thief,  witch,  and  gypsy,"  answered  Sampson  again. 

"  O  troth,  Laird,"  continued  Meg,  during  this  by-talk,  "  it's 
but  to  the  like  o'  you  ane  can  open  their  heart.  Ye  see,  they 
say  Dunbog  is  nae  mair  a  gentleman  than  the  blunker  that's 
biggit  the  bonnie  house  down  in  the  howm.  But  the  like  o' 
you.  Laird,  that's  a  real  gentleman  for  sae  mony  hundre^^A  years 
and  never  hunds  puir  fowk  aff  your  grund  as  if  they  were  mad 
tykes,  name  o'  our  fowk  wad  stir  your  gear  if  ye  had  as  mony 
capons  as  there's  leaves  on  the  trysting-tree. — And  now  some  o' 
ye  maun  lay  down  yer  watch,  and  tell  me  the  very  minute  o' 
the  hour  the  wean's  born,  and  I'll  spae  its  fortune." 

"  Ay,  but,  Meg,  we  shall  not  want  your  assistance,  for  here's 


GUY  MANNERING. 


n  Student  from  Oxford  that  kens  much  better  than  you  how  to 
spae  its  fortune — he  does  it  by  the  stars." 

Certainly,  sir,''  said  Mannering,  entering  into  the  simple 
humor  of  his  landlord,  "  I  will  calculate  his  nativity  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  Triplicities,  as  is  recommended  by  Pythagoras, 
Hippocrates,  Diodes,  and  Avicenna.  Or  I  will  begin  ab  hora 
questioiiis,  as  Haly,  Messahala,  Ganwehis  and  Guido  Bonatus^ 
have  recommended." 

One  of  Sampson's  great  recommendations  to  the  favor  of 
Mr.  Bertram  was,  that  he  never  detected  the  most  gross  at- 
tempt  at  imposition,  so  that  the  Laird,  whose  humble  efforts  at 
jocularity  were  chiefly  confined  to  what  were  then  called  bites 
and  biuns^  since  denominated  hoaxes  and  quizzes^  had  the  fairest 
possible  subject  of  wit  in  the  unsuspecting  Dominie.  It  is  true, 
he  never  laughed,  or  joined  in  the  laugh  which  his  ovm  simpli- 
city afforded — nay,  it  is  said  he  never  laughed  but  once  in  his 
life  ;  and  on  that  memorable  occasion  his  landlady  miscarried, 
partly  through  surprise  at  the  event  itself,  and  partly  from 
terror  at  the  hideous  grimaces  which  attended  this  unusual 
cachinnation.  The  only  effect  which  the  discovery  of  such 
impositions  produce?^  upon  this  saturnine  personage  was,  to 
extort  an  ejaculation  of  Prodigious  !  "  or  Very  facetious  !  " 
pronounced  syllabically,  but  without  moving  a  muscle  of  his 
own  countenance. 

On  the  present  occasion,  he  turned  a  gaunt  and  ghastly  stare 
upon  the  youthful  astrologer,  and  seemed  to  doubt  if  he  had 
rightly  understood  his  answer  to  his  patron. 

I  am  afraid,  sir,"  said  Mannering,  turning  toward  him, 
"  you  may  be  one  of  those  unhappy  persons  who,  their  dim  eyes 
being  unable  to  penetrate  the  starry  spheres,  and  to  discern 
therein  the  decrees  of  heaven  at  a  distance,  have  their  hearts 
barred  against  conviction  by  prejudice  and  misprision." 

"  Truly,"  said  Samson,  "  I  opine  with  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
Knight,  and  umwhile  master  of  his  majesty's  mint,  that  the  (pre- 
tended) science  of  astrology  is  altogether  vain,  frivolous,  and  un- 
satisfactory.'*   And  here  he  reposed  his  oracular  jaws. 

"  Really,"  resumed  the  traveler,  "  I  am  sorry  to  see  a  gen- 
tleman of  your  learning  and  gravity  laboring  under  such  strange 
blindness  and  delusion.  Will  you  place  the  brief,  the  modern, 
and  as  I  may  say,  the  vernacular  name  of  Isaac  Newton,  in  op 
posion  it  to  the  grave  and  sonorous  authorities  of  Dariot,  Bonatus, 
Ptolemy,  Haly,  Eztler,  Dieterick,  Naibob,  Harfurt,  Zael,  Tau- 
stettor,  Agrippa,  Duretus,  Maginus,  Origen,  and  Argol  ?  Do 
not  Christians  and  Heathens,  and  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  poets 
and  philosophers,  unite  in  allowing  the  starry  influences  ? 


i6 


GUV  MANNERING, 


Communis  error — it  is  a  general  mistake,"  answered  the 
inflexible  Dominie  Sampson. 

"  Not  so/'  replied  the  young  Englishman  ;  "it  is  a  general 
and  well-grounded  belief." 

"  It  is  the  resource  of  cheaters,  knaves,  and  cozeners,"  said 
Samson. 

"  Abusus  non  tollit  usum  :  the  abuse  of  anything  doth  not 
abrogate  the  lawful  use  thereof." 

During  this  discussion,  EUangowan  was  somewhat  like  a 
woodcock  caught  in  his  own  springe.  He  turned  his  face 
alternately  from  the  one  spokesman  to  the  other,  and  began, 
from  the  gravity  with  which  Mannering  plied  his  adversary,  and 
the  learning  which  he  displayed  in  the  controversy,  to  give  him 
credit  for  being  half  serious.  As  for  Meg,  she  fixed  her  be- 
wildered eyes  upon  the  Astrologer,  overpowered  by  a  jargon' 
more  mysterious  than  her  own. 

Mannering  pressed  his  advantage,  and  ran  over  all  the  hard 
terms  of  art  which  a  tenacious  memory  supplied,  and  which, 
from  circumstances  hereafter  to  be  noticed,  had  been  familiar  to 
him  in  early  youth. 

Signs  and  planets,  in  aspects  sextile,  quartile,  trine,  con- 
joined or  opposite  :  houses  of  heaven,  with  their  cusps,  hours, 
and  minutes  ;  Almuten,  Almochoden,  Anahibazon,  Cathibazon  ; 
a  thousand  terms  of  equal  sound  and  significance,  poured  thick 
and  three-fold  upon  the  unshrinking  Dominie,  whose  stubborn 
incredulity  bore  him  out  against  the  pelting  of  this  pitiless 
storm. 

At  length  the  joyful  annunciation  that  the  lady  had  presented 
her  husband  with  a  fine  boy,  and  was  (of  course)  as  well  as 
could  be  expected,  broke  off  this  intercourse.  Mr.  Bertram 
hastened  to  the  lady's  apartment,  Meg  Merrilies  descended  to 
the  kitchen  to  secure  her  share  of  the  groaning  malt,"*  and  the 
"  ken-no,"  and  Mannering,  after  looking  at  his  watch,  and 
noting  with  great  exactness  the  hour  and  minute  of  the  birth, 
requested,  with  becoming  gravity,  that  the  Dominie  would  con- 
duct him  to  some  place  where  he  might  have  a  view  of  the 
heavenly  bodies. 

The  schoolmaster,  without  further  answer,  rose  and  threw 
open  a  door  half-sashed  with  glass,  which  led  to  an  old-fash- 
ioned terrace-walk,  behind  the  modern  house  communicating 
with  the  platform  on  which  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  castle  were 
situated.  The  wind  had  risen,  and  swept  before  it  the  clouds 
which  had  formerly  obscured  the  sky.    The  moon  was  high,  and 


*  Note  A.   The  ^^roatiing  malt  and  the  keii-no. 


GUY  MANNERING, 


at  the  full,  and  all  the  lesser  satellites  of  heaven  shone  forth  in 
cloudless  effulgence.  The  scene  which  their  light  presented  to 
Mannering  was  in  the  highest  degree  unexpected  and  striking. 

We  have  observed,  that  in  the  latter  part  of  his  journey  our 
traveler  approached  the  sea-shore,  without  being  aware  how 
nearly.  He  now  perceived  that  the  ruins  of  EUangowan  castle 
were  situated  upon  a  promontory,  or  projection  of  rock,  which 
formed  one  side  of  a  small  and  placid  bay  on  the  sea-shore. 
The  modern  mansion  was  placed  lower,  though  closely  adjoin- 
ing, and  the  ground  behind  it  descended  to  the  sea  by  a  small 
swelling  green  bank,  divided  into  levels  by  natural  terraces,  on 
which  grew  some  old  trees,  and  terminating  upon  the  white 
sand.  The  other  side  of  the  bay,  opposite  to  the  old  castle, 
was  a  sloping  and  varied  promontory,  covered  chiefly  with 
copsewood,  which  on  that  favored  coast  grows  almost  within 
watermark.  A  fisherman's  cottage  peeped  from  among  the 
trees.  Even  at  this  dead  hour  of  the  night  there  were  lights 
moving  upon  the  shore,  probably  occasioned  by  the  unloading 
a  smuggling  lugger  from  the  Isle  of  Man,  which  was  lying  in 
the  bay.  On  the  light  from  the  sashed  door  of  the  house  being 
observed,  a  halloo  from  the  vessel,  of  "  Warehawk !  Douse 
the  glim  ! alarmed  those  who  were  on  shore,  and  the  lights 
instantly  disappeared. 

It  was  one  hour  after  midnight,  and  the  prospect  around  was 
lovely.  The  gray  old  towers  of  the  ruin,  partly  entire,  partly 
broken — here  bearing  the  rusty  weather  stains  of  ages,  and 
there  partially  mantled  with  ivy,  stretched  along  the  verge  of 
the  dark  rock  which  rose  on  Mannering's  right  hand.  In  his 
front  was  the  quiet  bay,  whose  little  waves,  crisping  and  spark- 
ling to  the  moonbeams,  rolled  successively  along  its  surface, 
and  dashed  with  a  soft  and  murmuring  ripple  against  the  silvery 
beach.  To  the  left  the  woods  advanced  far  into  the  ocean, 
waving  in  the  moonlight  along  ground  of  an  undulating  and 
varied  form,  and  presenting  these  varieties  of  light  and  shade, 
and  that  interesting  combination  of  glade  and  thicket,  upon 
which  the  eye  delights  to  rest,  charmed  with  what  it  sees,  yet 
curious  to  pierce  still  deeper  into  the  intricacies  of  the  wood- 
land scenery.  Above  rolled  the  planets,  each,  by  its  own  liquid 
orbit  of  light,  distinguished  from  the  inferior  or  more  distant 
stars.  So  strangely  can  imagination  deceive  even  those  by 
whose  volition  it  has  been  excited,  that  Mannering,  while 
gazing  upon  these  brilliant  bodies,  was  half  inclined  to  believe 
in  the  influence  ascribed  to  them  by  superstition  over  human 
events.    But  Mannering  was  a  youthful  lover,  and  might 


GUY  MANNERING. 


perhaps  be  influenced  by  the  feelings  so  exquisitely  'xpressed 
by  a  modern  poet : 

For  fable  is  Love's  world,  his  home,  his  birth-place  I 

Delightedly  dwells  he  'mong  fays  and  talismans, 

And  spirits  and  delightedly  believes 

Divinities,  being  himself  divine. 

The  intelligible  forms  of  ancient  poets, 

The  fair  humanities  of  old  religion. 

The  power,  the  beauty,  and  the  majesty, 

Thai  had  their  haunts  in  dale,  or  piny  mountains, 

Or  forest,  by  slow  stream  or  pebbly  spring. 

Or  chasms  and  wat'ry  depths — all  these  have  vanished— 

They  live  no  longer  in  the  faith  of  reason  ! 

But  still  the  heart  doth  need  a  language,  still 

Doth  the  old  instinct  bring  back  the  old  names. 

And  to  yon  starry  world  they  now  are  gone. 

Spirits  or  gods,  that  used  to  share  this  earth 

With  man  as  with  their  friend,  and  to  the  lover 

Yonder  they  move,  from  yonder  visible  sky 

Shoot  influence  down ;  and  even  at  this  day 

'Tis  Jupiter  who  brings  whate'er  is  great. 

And  Venus  who  brings  everything  that's  fair.* 

Such  musings  soon  gave  way  to  others.  "  Alas !  ^'  he  mut- 
tered, "  my  good  old  tutor,  who  used  to  enter  so  deep  into  the 
controversy  between  Heydon  and  Chambers  on  the  subject  of' 
Astrology, — he  would  have  looked  upon  the  scene  with  other 
eyes,  and  would  have  seriously  endeavored  to  discover  from  the 
respective  positions  of  these  luminaries  their  probable  effects 
on  the  destiny  of  the  new-born  infant,  as  if  the  courses  or 
emanations  of  the  stars  superseded,  or,  at  least,  were  co-ordi- 
nate with  Divine  Providence.  Well,  rest  be  with  him! — he 
instilled  into  me  enough  of  knowledge  for  erecting  a  scheme  of 
nativity,  and  therefore  will  I  presently  go  about  it.''  So  saying, 
and  having  noted  the  position  of  the  principal  planetary  bodies, 
Guy  Mannering  returned  to  the  house.  The  Laird  met  him  in 
the  parlor,  and  acquainting  him  with  great  glee,  that  the  boy 
was  a  fine  healthy  little  fellow,  seemed  rather  disposed  to  press 
further  conviviality.  He  admitted,  however,  Mannering's  plea 
of  weariness,  and  conducting  him  to  his  sleeping  apartment, 
left  him  to  repose  for  the  evening. 


*  (Coleridge's  "  Wallenstein.") 


GUY  MANNERING. 


19 


CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

 -Come  and  see  !  trust  thine  own  eyes, 

A  fearful  sign  stands  in  the  house  of  life, 
An  enemy  ;  a  fiend  lurks  close  behind 
The  radiance  of  thy  planet — O  be  warned  1 

Coleridge, Schiller. 
/ 

The  belief  in  astrology  was  almost  universal  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  it  began  to  waver  and  become 
doubtful  toward  the  close  of  that  period,  and  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  the  art  fell  into  general  disrepute,  and  even 
under  general  ridicule.  Yet  it  still  retained  many  partisans, 
even  in  the  seats  of  learning.  Grave  and  studious  men  were 
loth  to  relinquish  the  calculations  which  had  early  become  the 
principal  objects  of  their  studies,  and  felt  reluctant  to  descend 
from  the  predominating  height  to  which  a  supposed  insight  into 
futurity,  by  the  power  of  consulting  abstract  influences  and 
conjunctions,  had  exalted  them  over  the  rest  of  mankind. 

Among  those  who  cherished  this  imaginary  privilege  with 
undoubring  faith,  was  an  old  clergyman,  with  whom  Mannering 
was  placed  during  his  youth.  He  wasted  his  eyes  in  observing 
the  stars,  and  his  brains  in  calculations  upon  their  various 
combinations.  His  pupil,  in  early  youth,  naturally  caught 
some  portion  of  his  enthusiasm,  and  labored  for  a  time  to 
make  himself  master  of  the  technical  process  of  astrological 
research  ;  so  that,  before  he  became  convinced  of  its  absurdity, 
William  Lilly  himself  would  have  allowed  him  "  a  curious  fancy 
and  piercing  judgment  in  resolving  a  question  of  nativity." 

On  the  present  occasion,  he  rose  as  early  in  the  morning  as 
the  shortness  of  the  day  permitted,  and  proceeded  to  calculate 
the  nativity  of  the  young  heir  of  Ellangowan.  He  undertook 
the  task  secundum  artem^  as  well  to  keep  up  appearances,  as 
from  a  sort  of  curiosity  to  know  whether  he  yet  remembered, 
and  could  practice  the  imaginary  science.  He  accordingly 
erected  his  scheme,  or  figure  of  heaven,  divided  into  its  twelve 
houses,  placed  the  planets  therein  according  to  the  Ephemeris, 
and  rectified  their  position  to  the  hour  and  moment  of  the 
nativity.  Without  troubling  our  readers  with  the  general 
prognostications  which  judicial  astrology  would  have  inferred 
from  these  circumstances,  in  this  diagram  there  was  one  signi- 
ficator  which  pressed  remarkably  upon  our  astrologer's  atten- 
tion.   Mars  having  dignity  in  the  cusp  of  the  twelfth  house, 


20 


GUY  MANNERING, 


threatened  captivity,  or  sudden  and  violent  death,  to  the 
native  ;  and  Mannering  having  recourse  to  those  further  rules 
by  which  diviners  pretend  to  ascertain  the  vehemency  of  this 
evil  direction,  observed  from  the  result,  that  three  periods 
would  be  particularly  hazardous — ^his  fifth — his  tenth — his 
twenty-first  year. 

It  was  somewhat  remarkable,  that  Mannering  had  once 
before  tried  a  similar  piece  of  foolery,  at  the  instance  of  Sophia 
Wellwood,  the  young  lady  to  whom  he  was  attached,  and  that  a 
similar  conjunction  of  planetary  influence  threatened  her  with 
death  or  imprisonment,  in  her  thirty-ninth  year.  She  was  at 
this  time  eighteen  ;  so  that,  according  to  the  result  of  the 
scheme  in  both  cases,  the  same  year  threatened  her  with  the 
same  misfortune  that  was  presaged  to  the  native  or  infant, 
whom  that  night  had  introduced  into  the  world.  Struck  with 
this  coincidence,  Mannering  repeated  his  calculations  ;  and  the 
result  approximated  the  events  predicted,  until,  at  length,  the 
same  month,  and  day  of  the  month,  seemed  assigned  as  the 
period  of  peril  to  both. 

It  will  be  readily  believed,  that,  in  mentioning  this  cir- 
cumstance, we  lay  no  weight  whatever  upon  the  pretended 
information  thus  conveyed.  But  it  often  happens,  such  is  our 
natural  love  for  the  marvelous,  that  we  willingly  contribute  our 
own  efforts  to  beguile  our  better  judgments.  Whether  the 
coincidence  which  I  have  mentioned  was  really  one  of  those 
singular  chances,  which  sometimes  happen  against  all  ordinary 
calculations ;  or  whether  Mannering,  bewildered  amid  the 
arithmetical  labyrinth  and  technical  jargon  of  astrology,  had 
insensibly  twice  followed  the  same  clew  to  guide  him  out  of  the 
maze ;  or  whether  his  imagination,  seduced  by  some  point  of 
apparent  resemblance,  lent  its  aid  to  make  the  similitude 
between  the  two  operations  more  exactly  accurate  than  it  might 
otherwise  have  been,  it  is  impossible  to  guess  ;  but  the  impres- 
sion upon  his  mind,  that  the  result  exactly  corresponded,  was 
vividly  and  indelibly  strong. 

He  could  not  help  feeling  surprise  at  a  coincidence  so  singu- 
lar and  unexpected.  Does  the  devil  mingle  in  the  dance,  to 
avenge  himself  for  our  trifling  with  an  art  said  to  be  of  magical 
origin.^  or  is  it  possible,  as  Bacon  and  Sir  Thomas  Browne 
admit,  that  there  is  some  truth  in  a  sober  and  regulated  astrol- 
ogy, and  that  the  influence  of  the  stars  is  not  to  be  denied, 
though  the  due  application  of  it,  by  the  knaves  who  pretend  to 
practice  the  art,  is  greatly  to  be  suspected  ? " — A  moment's 
consideration  of  the  subject  induced  him  to  dismiss  this  opinion 
as  fantastical,  and  only  sanctioned  by  those  learned  men,  either 


GUY  MANNERING. 


21 


because  they  durst  not  at  once  shock  the  universal  prejudices 
of  their  age,  or  because  they  themselves  were  not  altogether 
freed  from  the  contagious  influence  of  a  prevailing  superstition. 
Yet  the  result  of  his  calculations  in  these  two  instances  left  s© 
unpleasing  an  impression  on  his  mind,  that,  like  Prospero,  he 
mentally  relinquished  his  art,  and  resolved,  neither  in  jest  nor 
earnest,  ever  agam  to  practice  judicial  astrology. 

He  hesitated  a  good  deal  what  he  should  say  to  the  Laird 
of  EUangowan  concerning  the  horoscope  of  his  first-born ;  and 
at  length  resolved  plainly  to  tell  him  the  judgment  which  he 
had  formed,  at  the  same  time  acquainting  him  with  the  futility 
of  the  rules  of  art  on  which  he  had  proceeded.  With  this  reso- 
lution he  walked  out  upon  the  terrace. 

If  the  view  of  the  scene  around  EUangowan  had  been 
pleasing  by  moonlight,  it  lost  none  of  its  beauty  by  the  light  of 
the  morning  sun.  The  land,  even  in  the  month  of  November, 
smiled  under  its  influence.  A  steep,  but  regular  ascent  led 
from  the  terrace  to  the  neighboring  eminence,  and  conducted 
Mannering  to  the  front  of  the  old  castle.  It  consisted  of  two 
massive  round  towers,  projecting,  deeply  and  darkly,  at  the 
extreme  angles  of  a  curtain,  or  flat  wall,  which  united  them, 
and  thus  protecting  the  main  entrance,  that  opened  through  a 
lofty  arch  in  the  centre  of  the  curtain  into  the  inner  court  of 
the  castle.  The  arms  of  the  family,  carved  in  freestone, 
frowned  over  the  gateway,  and  the  portal  showed  the  spaces 
arranged  by  the  architect  for  lowering  the  portcullis,  and  rais- 
ing the  drawbridge.  A  rude  farm-gate,  made  of  young  fir-trees 
nailed  together,  now  formed  the  only  safeguard  of  this  once 
formidable  entrance.  The  esplanade  in  front  of  the  castle 
commanded  a  noble  prospect. 

The  dreary  scene  of  desolation,  through  which  Mannering's 
road  had  lain  on  the  preceding  evening,  was  excluded  from  the 
view  by  some  rising  ground,  and  the  landscape  showed  a 
pleasing  alternation  of  hill  and  dale,  intersected  by  a  river 
which  was  in  some  places  visible,  and  hidden  in  others,  where 
it  rolled  betwixt  deep  and  wooded  banks.  The  spire  of  a 
church,  and  the  appearance  of  some  houses,  indicated  the 
situation  of  a  village  at  the  place  where  the  stream  had  its 
junction  with  the  ocean.  The  vales  seemed  well  cultivated, 
the  little  enclosures  into  which  they  were  divided  skirting  the 
bottom  of  the  hills,  and  sometimes  carrying  their  lines  of  strag- 
gling hedgerows  a  little  way  up  the  ascent.  Above  these  were 
green  pastures,  tenanted  chiefly  by  herds  of  black  cattle,  then 
the  staple  commodity  of  the  country,  whose  distant  low  gave 
no  unpleasing  animation  to  the  landscape.    The  remoter  hills 


22 


GUY  MANNERING. 


were  of  a  sterner  character,  and,  at  still  greater  distance, 
swelled  into  mountains  of  dark  heath,  bordering  the  horizon 
with  a  screen,  which  gave  a  defined  and  limited  boundary  to 
•the  cultivated  country,  and  added,  at  the  same  time,  the  pleas- 
ing idea,  that  it  was  sequestered  and  solitary.  The  sea-coast, 
which  Mannering  now  saw  in  its  extent,  corresponded  in  variety 
and  beauty  with  the  inland  view.  In  some  places  it  rose  into 
tall  rocks,  frequently  crowned  with  the  ruins  of  old  buildings, 
towers,  or  beacons,  which,  according  to  tradition,  were  placed 
within  sight  of  each  other,  that,  in  times  of  invasion  or  civil 
war,  they  might  communicate  by  signal  for  mutual  defence  and 
protection.  Ellangowan  castle  was  by  far  the  most  extensive 
and  important  of  these  ruins,  and  asserted,  from  size  and 
situation,  the  superiority  which  its  founders  were  said  once  to 
have  possessed  among  the  chiefs  and  nobles  of  the  district.  In 
other  places,  the  shore  was  of  a  more  gentle  description,  in- 
dented with  small  bays,  where  the  land  sloped  smoothly  down, 
or  sent  into  the  sea  promontories  covered  with  wood. 

A  scene  so  different  from  what  last  night^s  journey  had 
presaged,  produced  a  proportional  effect  upon  Mannering. 
Beneath  his  eye  lay  the  modern  house — an  awkward  mansion, 
indeed,  in  point  of  architecture,  but  well  situated,  and  with  a 
warm  pleasant  exposure. — "  How  happily,"  thought  our  hero, 
"  would  life  glide  on  in  such  a  retirement  !  On  the  one  hand, 
the  striking  remnants  of  ancient  grandeur,  with  the  secret  con- 
sciousness of  family  pride  which  they  inspire  ;  on  the  other, 
enough  of  modern  elegance  and  comfort  to  satisfy  every  mod- 
erate wish.    Here  then,  and  with  thee,  Sophia  ! — " 

We  shall  not  pursue  a  lover^s  day-dream  any  further.  Man- 
nering stood  a  minute  with  his  arms  folded,  and  then  turned  to 
the  ruined  castle. 

On  entering  the  gateway,  he  found  that  the  rude  magnifi- 
cence of  thejnner  court  amply  corresponded  with  the  grandeur 
of  the  exterior.  On  the  one  side  ran  a  range  of  windows,  lofty 
and  large,  divided  by  carved  mullions  of  stone,  which  had  once 
lighted  the  great  hall  of  the  castle  ;  on  the  other  were  various 
buildings  of  different  heights  and  dates,  yet  so  united  as  to 
present  to  the  eye  a  certain  general  effect  of  uniformity  of  front. 
The  doors  and  windows  were  ornamented  with  projections,  ex- 
hibiting rude  specimens  of  sculpture  and  tracery,  partly  entire 
and  partly  broken  down,  partlv  covered  by  ivy  and  trailing 
plants,  which  grew  luxuriantly  among  the  ruins.  That  end  of 
the  court  which  faced  the  entrance  had  also  been  formerly  closed 
by  a  range  of  buildings;  but  owing,  it  was  said,  to  its  having 
been  battered  by  the  ships  of  the  Parliament  under  Deane, 


GUY  MANNERING. 


during  the  long  civil  war,  this  part  of  the  castle  was  much 
more  ruinous  than  the  rest,  and  exhibited  a  great  chasm, 
through  which  Mannering  could  observe  the  sea,  and  the  little 
vessel  (an  armed  lugger)  which  retained  her  station  in  the  centre 
of  the  bay.^  While  Mannering  was  gazing  round  the  ruins,  he*" 
heard  from  the  interior  of  an  apartment  on  the  left  hand  the 
voice  of  the  gypsy  he  had  seen  on  the  preceding  evening.  He 
soon  found  an  aperture  through  which  he  could  observe  her 
without  being  himself  visible  ;  and  could  not  help  feeling  that 
her  figure,  her  employment,  and  her  situation,  conveyed  the 
exact  impression  of  an  ancient  sibyl. 

She  sate  upon  a  broken  corner-stone  in  the  angle  of  a  paved 
apartment,  part  of  which  she  had  swept  clean  to  afford  a 
smooth  space  for  the  evolutions  of  her  spindle.  A  strong  sun- 
beam, through  a  lofty  and  narrow  window,  fell  upon  her  wild 
dress  and  features,  and  afforded  her  light  for  her  occupation  ; 
the  rest  of  the  apartment  was  very  gloomy.  Equipt  in  a  habit 
which  mingled  the  national  dress  of  the  Scottish  common  people 
with  something  of  an  Eastern  costume,  she  spun  a  thread,  drawn 
from  wool  of  three  different  colors — black,  white,  and  gray — 
by  assistance  of  those  ancient  implements  of  housewifery,  now 
almost  banished  from  the  land,  the  distaff  and  spindle.  As 
she  spun,  she  sung  what  seemed  to  be  a  charm.  Mannering, 
after  in  vain  attempting  to  make  himself  master  of  the  exact 
words  of  her  song,  afterward  attempted  the  following  para- 
phrase of  what,  from  a  few  intelligible  phrases,  he  concluded 
to  be  its  purport  : — 


Twist  ye,  twine  ye  !  even  so 
Mingle  shades  of  joy  and  woe, 
Hope  and  fear,  and  peace  and  strife, 
In  the  thread  of  human  life. 

While  the  mystic  twist  is  spinning, 
And  the  infant's  life  beginning, 
Dimly  seen  through  twilight  bending, 
Lo,  what  varied  shapes  attending  ! 


Passions  wild,  and  Follies  vain, 
Pleasures  soon  exchanged  for  pain; 
Doubt,  and  Jealousy,  and  Fear, 
In  the  magic  dance  appear. 

Now  they  wax,  and  now  they  dwindle 
Whirling  with  the  whirling  spindle^ 
Twist  ye,  twine  ye  !  even  so 
Mingle  human  bliss  and  woe. 


Ere  our  translator,  or  rather  our  free  imitator,  had  arranged 
these  stanzas  in  his  head,  and  while  he  was  yet  hammering  out 
a  rhyme  for  dwindle,  the  task  of  the  sibyl  was  accomplished, 
or  her  wool  was  expended.  She  took  the  spindle,  now  charged 
with  her  labors,  and  undoing  the  thread,  gradually  measured 

*  The  outline  of  the  above  description,  as  far  as  the  supposed  ruins  are 
concerned,  will  be  found  somewhat  to  resemble  the  noble  remains  oi 
Carlaverock  castle,  six  or  seven  miles  from  Dumfries,  and  near  to  Lochar- 
moss. 


GUY  MANNERING, 


it,  by  casting  it  over  her  elbow,  and  bringing  each  loop  round 
between  her  forefinger  and  thumb.  When  she  had  measured  it 
out,  she  muttered  to  herself, — "  A  hank,  but  not  a  haill  ane — 
the  full  years  o^  three  score  and  ten,  but  thrice  broken,  and 
thrice  to  oop^  (J.e,  to  unite) ;  heUl  be  a  lucky  lad  an  he  win 
through  wi't/' 

^  Our  hero  was  about  to  speak  to  the  prophetess,  when  a  voice, 
hoarse  as  the  waves  with  which  it  mingled,  halloo'd  twice,  and 
with  increasing  impatience, — Meg,  Meg  Merrilies  ! — Gypsy — 
hag — tousand  deyvils  !  ^' 

"  I  am  coming,  I  am  coming,  Captain,"  answered  Meg ;  and 
in  a  moment  or  two  the  impatient  commander  whom  she  ad- 
dressed made  his  appearance  from  the  broken  part  of  the  ruins. 

He  was  apparently  a  seafaring  man,  rather  under  the  middle 
size,  and  with  a  countenance  bronzed  by  a  thousand  conflicts 
with  the  north-east  wind.  His  frame  was  prodigiously  muscular, 
strong  and  thick-set ;  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  man  of  much 
greater  height  would  have  been  an  inadequate  match  in  any 
close,  personal  conflict.  He  v/as  hard-favored,  and  which  was 
worse,  his  face  bore  nothing  of  the  visouciance,  the  careless 
frolicsome  jollity  and  vacant  curiosity  of  a  sailor  on  shore. 
These  qualities,  perhaps,  as  much  as  any  others,  contribute  to 
the  high  popularity  of  our  seamen,  and  the  general  good  inclin- 
ation which  our  society  expresses  toward  them.  Their  gallantry, 
courage,  and  hardihood,  are  qualities  which  excite  reverence, 
and  perhaps  rather  humble  pacific  landsmen  in  their  presence  ; 
and  neither  respect,  nor  a  sense  of  humiliation,  are  feelings 
easily  combined  with  a  familiar  fondness  toward  those  who  in- 
spire them.  But  the  boyish  frolics,  the  exulting  high  spirits, 
the  unreflecting  mirth  of  a  sailor,  when  enjoying  himself  on 
shore,  temper  the  more  formidable  points  of  his  character. 
There  was  nothing  like  these  in  this  man's  face;  on  the  con- 
trary, a  surly  and  even  savage  scowl  appeared  to  darken  feat- 
ures which  would  have  been  harsh  and  unpleasant  under  any 
expression  or  modification.  Where  are  you.  Mother  Deyvil- 
son  ? he  said,  with  somewhat  of  a  foreign  accent,  though  speak- 
ing perfectly  good  English.  *'  Donner  and  blitzen  !  we  have 
been  staying  this  half-hour. — Come,  bless  the  good  ship  and 
the  voyage,  and  be  cursed  to  ye  for  a  hag  of  Satan  !  " 

At  this  moment  he  noticed  Mannering,  who,  from  the  posi- 
tion which  he  had  taken  to  watch  Meg  Merrilies's  incantations, 
had  the  appearance  of  some  one  who  was  concealing  himself, 
being  half  hidden  by  the  buttress  behind  which  he  stood.  The 
Captain,  for  such  he  styled  himself,  made  a  sudden  and  startled 
pause  and  thrust  his  right  hand  into  his  bosom,  between  his 


**  Ay,  ay,  sir,  I  am  Captain  Dirk  Hatteraick  of  the  Yungfrauw  Hagenslaapcn.  I  ank 
not  ashamed  of  my  name  nor  of  my  vessel." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


2S 


jacket  and  waistcoat,  as  if  to  draw  some  weapon.  "What 
cheer,  brother  ? — you  seem  on  the  outlook — eh  ? 

Ere  Mannering,  somewhat  struck  by  the  man's  gesture  and 
insolent  tone  of  voice,  had  made  any  answer,  the  gypsy  emerged 
from  her  vault  and  joined  the  stranger.  He  questioned  her 
in  an  under  tone,  looking  at  Mannering. — A  shark  alongside 
—eh  ?  " 

She  answered  in  the  same  tone  of  under-dialogue,  using  the 
cant  language  of  her  tribe — Cut  ben  whids,  and  stow  them — ■ 
a  gentry  cove  of  the  ken.''* 

The  fellow's  cloudy  visage  cleared  up.  The  top  of  the 
morning  to  you,  sir  ;  I  find  you  are  a  visitor  of  my  friend  Mr. 
Bertram. — I  beg  pardon,  but  I  took  you  for  another  sort  of  a 
person." 

Mannering  replied,  And  you,  sir,  I  presume,  are  the  master 
of  that  vessel  in  the  bay  ? " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ;  1  am  Captain  Dirk  Hatteraick,  of  the  Yung- 
frauw  Hagenslaapen,  well  known  on  this  coast  ;  I  am  not 
ashamed  of  my  name,  nor  of  my  vessel, — no,  nor  of  my  cargo 
neither,  for  that  matter." 

"  I  dare  say  you  have  no  reason,  sir.*' 

"Tousand  donner — no  ;  I  am  all  in  the  way  of  fair  trade — 
Just  loaded  yonder  from  Douglas,  in  the  Isle  of  Man — neat 
cogniac — real  hyson  and  souchong — Mechlin  lace,  if  you  want 
any — Right  cogniac — We  bumped  ashore  a  hundred  kegs  last 
night." 

"  Really,  sir.  I  am  only  a  traveler,  and  have  no  sort  of  occa- 
sion for  anything  of  the  kind  at  present." 

"  Why,  then,  good  morning  to  you,  for  business  must  be 
minded  ;  unless  ye  go  aboard  and  take  schnaps,t  you  shall 
have  a  pouch-full  of  tea  ashore. — Dirk  Hatteraick  knows  how 
to  be  civil." 

There  was  a  mixture  of  impudence,  hardihood,  and  suspicious 
fear  about  this  man,  which  was  inexpressibly  disgusting.  His 
manners  were  those  of  a  rufhan,  conscious  of  the  suspicion 
attending  his  character,  yet  aiming  to  bear  it  down  by  the 
affectation  of  a  careless  and  hardy  familiarity.  Mannering 
briefly  rejected  his  proffered  civilities;  and  after  a  sr.; ly  good 
morning,  Hatteraick  retired  with  the  gypsy  to  that  part  of  the 
ruins  from  which  he  had  first  made  his  appearance.  A  very 
narrow  staircase  here  went  down  to  the  beach,  intended  probably 
for  the  convenience  of  the  garrison  during  a  siege.  By  this  stair, 

*  Meaning — Stop  your  uncivil  language — that  is  a  gentleman  from  the 
house  below. 

t  A  dram  of  liquor. 


26 


GUY  MANNERING. 


the  couple,  equally  amiable  in  appearance,  and  respectable  by 
profession,  descended  to  the  sea-side.  The  soi-disant  captain 
embarked  in  a  small  boat  with  two  men,  who  appeared  to  wait 
for  him,  and  the  gypsy  remained  on  the  shore,  reciting  or 
singing,  and  gesticulating  with  great  vehemence. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

 You  have  fed  upon  my  seignories, 

Disparked  my  parks  and  felled  my  forest  woods, 
From  mine  own  windows  torn  my  household  coat, 
Razed  out  my  impress,  leaving  me  no  sign, 
Save  men's  opinions  and  my  living  blood. 
To  show  the  world  I  am  a  gentleman. 

Richard  II. 

When  the  boat  which  carried  the  worthy  captain  on  board  his 
vessel  had  accomplished  that  task,  the  sails  began  to  ascend, 
and  the  ship  was  got  under  way.  She  fired  three  guns  as  a 
salute  to  the  house  of  Ellangowan,  and  then  shot  away  rapidly 
before  the  wind,  which  blew  off  shore,  under  all  the  sail  she 
could  crowd. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  the  Laird,  who  had  sought  Mannering  for 
some  time,  and  now  joined  him,  there  they  go — there  go  the 
free-traders — there  go  Captain  Dirk  Hatteraick,  and  the  Yung- 
frauw  Hagenslaapen,  half  Manks,  half  Dutchman,  half  devil ! 
run  out  the  boltsprit,  up  main-sail,  top  and  top-gallant  sails, 
royals,  and  sky-scrapers,  and  away — follow  who  can  !  That 
fellow,  Mr.  Mannering,  is  the  terror  of  all  the  excise  and 
custom-house  cruizers  ;  they  can  make  nothing  of  him  ;  he  drubs 
them,  or  he  distances  them  ; — and  speaking  of  excise,  I  come  to 
bring  you  to  breakfast ;  and  you  shall  have  some  tea,  that  "  

Mannering,  by  this  time,  was  aware  that  one  thought  linked 
strangely  on  to  another  in  the  concatenation  of  worthy  Mr.  Ber- 
tram's ideas, 

Like  orient  pearls  at  random  strung ; 

and,  therefore,  before  the  current  of  his  associations  had  drifted 
further  from  the  point  he  had  left,  he  brought  him  back  by 
some  inquiry  about  Dirk  Hatteraick. 

Oh  he's  a — a — gude  sort  of  blackguard  fellow  enough — 
naebody  cares  to  trouble  him — smuggler,  when  his  guns  are 
in  ballast — privateer,  or  pirate,  faith,  when  he  gets  them  mount- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


27 


ed.  He  has  done  more  mischief  to  the  revenue  tolk  than  ony 
rogue  that  ever  came  out  of  Ramsey."  * 

But,  my  good  sir,  such  being  his  character,  I  wonder  he 
has  any  protection  and  encouragement  on  this  coast." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Mannering,  people  must  have  brandy  and  tea, 
and  there's  none  in  the  country  but  what  comes  this  way — and 
then  there's  short  accounts,  and  maybe  a  keg  or  two,  or  a 
dozen  pounds  left  at  your  stable  door,  instead  of  a  d — d  lang 
account  at  Christmas  from  Duncan  Robb,  the  grocer  at  Kip- 
pletringan,  who  has  aye  a  sum  to  make  up,  and  either  wants 
ready  money  or  a  short-dated  bill.  Now  Hatteraick  will  take 
wood,  or  he'll  take  bark,  or  he'll  take  barley,  or  he'll  take  just 
what's  convenient  at  the  time.  I'll  tell  you  a  gude  story  about 
that.  There  was  ance  a  laird — that's  Macfie  of  Gudgeonford, 
— he  had  a  great  number  of  kain  hens — that's  hens  that  the 
tenant  pays  to  the  landlord,  like  a  sort  of  rent  in  kind — they  aye 
feed  mine  very  ill ;  Luckie  Finniston  sent  up  three  that  were  a 
shame  to  be  sc  :i  only  last  week,  and  yet  she  has  twelve  bows 
sowing  of  victual;  indeed  her  good  man,  Duncan  Finniston — 
that's  him  that's  gone — (for  we  must  all  die,  Mr.  Mannering 
that's  ower  true  ) — and  speaking  of  that,  let  us  live  in  the  mean- 
while, for  here's  breakfast  on  the  table,  and  the  Dominie  ready 
to  say  the  grace." 

The  Dominie  did  accordingly  pronounce  a  benediction,  that 
exceeded  in  length  any  speech  which  Mannering  had  yet  heard 
him  utter.  The  tea,  which  of  course  belonged  to  the  noble 
Captain  Hatteraick's  trade,  was  pronounced  excellent.  Still 
Mannering  hinted,  though  with  due  delicacy,  at  the  risk  of  en- 
couraging such  desperate  characters  :  Were  it  but  in  justice 
to  the  revenue,  I  should  have  supposed  "  

"  Ah,  the  revenue-lads  " — for  Mr.  Bertram  never  embraced 
a  general  or  abstract  idea,  and  his  notion  of  the  revenue 
was  personified  in  the  commissioners,  surveyors,  comptrolers, 
and  riding  officers,  whom  he  happened  to  know — "  revenue- 
lads  can  look  sharp  enough  out  for  themselves — no  ane  needs 
to  help  them — and  they  have  a'  the  soldiers  to  assist  them 
besides  ; — and  as  to  justice — you'll  be  surprised  to  hear  Jt,  Mr. 
Mannering, — but  I  am  not  a  justice  of  peace." 

"  Mannering  assumed  the  expected  look  of  surprise,  but 
thought  within  himself  that  the  worshipful  bench  suffered  no 
great  deprivation  from  wanting  the  assistance  of  his  good-hu- 
mored landlord.  Mr.  Bertram  had  now  hit  upon  one  of  the  few 
subjects  on  which  he  felt  sore,  and  went  on  with  some  energy. 

*  (A  seaport  in  the  Isle  of  Man.) 


28 


GUY  MANNERING, 


No,  sir, — the  name  of  Godfrey  Bertram  of  Ellangowan 
is  not  in  the  last  commission,  though  there's  scarce  a  carle  in 
the  country  that  has  a  ploughgate  of  land,  but  what  he  must 
ride  to  quarter-sessions  and  write  J.  P.  after  his  name.  I  ken 
fu'  weel  whom  I  am  obliged  to.  Sir  Thomas  Kittlecourt  as  good 
as  tell'd  me  he  would  sit  in  my  skirts  if  he  had  not  my  interest 
at  the  last  election  ;  and  because  I  chose  to  go  with  my  own 
blood  and  third  cousin,  the  Laird  of  Balruddery,  they  keepit 
me  off  the  roll  of  freeholders  ;  and  now  there  comes  a  new 
nomination  of  justices,  and  I  am  left  out !  And  whereas  they 
pretend  it  was  because  I  let  David  Mac-Guffog,  the  constable, 
draw  the  warrants,  and  manage  the  business  his  ain  gate,  as  if 
I  had  been  a  nose  o'  wax,  it's  a  main  untruth ;  for  I  granted 
but  seven  warrants  in  my  life,  and  the  Dominie  wrote  every  one 
of  them — and  if  it  had  not  been  that  unlucky  business  of  Sandy 
Mac-Gruthar's,  that  the  constables  should  have  keepit  twa  or 
three  days  up  yonder  at  the  auld  castle,  just  till  they  could  get 
conveniency  to  send  him  to  the  county  jail — and  that  cost  me 
enough  o'  siller — But  I  ken  what  Sir  Thomas  wants  very  weel 
— it  w^as  just  sic  and  siclike  about  the  seat  in  the  kirk 
Kilmagirdle — was  I  not  entitled  to  have  the  front  gallery 
facing  the  minister,  rather  than  Mac-Crosskie  of  Creoch- 
stone,  the  son  of  Deacon  Mac-Crosskie,  the  Dumfries 
weaver  1 " 

Mannering  expressed  his  acquiescence  in  the  justice  of 
these  various  complaints. 

And  then,  Mr.  Mannering,  there  was  the  story  about  the 
road,  and  the  fauld-dyke — I  ken  Sir  Thomas  was  behind  there, 
and  I  said  plainly  to  the  clerk  to  the  trustees  that  I  saw  the 
cloven  foot,  let  them  take  that  as  they  like. — Would  any  gen- 
tleman, or  set  of  gentlemen,  go  and  drive  a  road  right  through 
the  corner  of  a  fauld-dyke,  and  take  away,  as  my  agent  observed 
to  them,  like  twa  roods  of  gude  moorland  pasture  ? — And  there 
vvas  the  story  about  choosing  the  collector  of  the  cess  

"  Certainly,  sir,  it  is  hard  you  should  meet  with  any  neglect 
in  a  country,  where,  to  judge  from  the  extent  of  their  residence, 
your  ancestors  must  have  made  a  very  im})ortant  figure." 

"  Very  true,  Mr.  Mannering. — I  am  a  plain  man,  and  do  not 
dwell  on  these  things  ;  and  I  must  needs  say,  I  have  little 
memory  for  them  ;  but  I  wish  ye  could  have  heard  my  father's 
stories  about  the  auld  fights  of  the  Mac-Dingawaies — that's  the 
Bertrams  that  now  is — wi'  the  Irish  and  wi'  the  Highlanders, 
that  came  here  in  their  berlings  from  Islay  and  Cantire — and 
how  they  went  to  the  HolyTand — that  is  to  Jerusalem  and 
Jericho,  wi'  a'  their  clap  at  their  heels — they  had  better  have 


GUY  mMANNERING. 


29 


gaen  to  Jamaica,  like  Sir  Thomas  Kittlecoiirt's  uncle — and 
how  they  brought  hame  relics,  like  those  that  Catholics  have, 
and  a  flag  that's  up  yonder  in  the  garret — if  they  had  been 
casks  of  Muscavado,  and  puncheons  of  rum,  it  would  have  been 
better  for  the  estate  at  this  day — but  there's  little  comparison 
between  the  auld  keep  at  Kittlecourt  and  the  castle  o'  Elian- 
gowan — I  doubt  if  the  keep's  forty  feet  of  front. — But  ye  make 
no  breakfast,  Mr.  Mannering  ;  ye're  no  eating  your  meat  \ 
allow  me  to  recommend  some  of  the  kipper — It  was  John  Hay 
that  catcht  it,  Saturday  was  three  weeks,  down  at  the  stream 
below  Hempseed  ford,"  etc.  etc.  etc. 

The  Laird,  whose  indignation  had  for  some  time  kept  n 
pretty  steady  to  one  topic,  now  launched  forth  into  his  usual 
roving  style  of  conversation,  which  gave  Mannering  ample  time 
to  reflect  upon  the  disadvantages  attending  the  situation,  which, 
an  hour  before,  he  had  thought  worthy  of  so  much  envy.  Here 
was  a  country  gentleman,  whose  most  estimable  quality  seemed 
his  perfect  good  nature,  secretly  fretting  himself  and  murmuring 
against  others,  for  causes  which,  compared  with  any  real  evil 
in  life,  must  weigh  like  dust  in  the  balance.  But  such  is  the 
equal  distribution  of  Providence.  To  those  who  lie  out  of  the 
road  of  great  afflictions  are  assigned  petty  vexations,  which 
answer  all  the  purpose  of  disturbing  their  serenity  ;  and  every 
reader  must  have  observed,  that  neither  natural  apathy  nor 
acquired  philosophy  can  render  country  gentlemen  insensible  to 
the  grievances  which  occur  at  elections,  quarter-sessions,  and 
meetings  of  trustees. 

Curious  to  investigate  the  manners  of  the  country,  Mannering 
took  the  advantage  of  a  pause  in  good  Mr.  Bertram's  string  of 
stories,  to  enquire  what  Captain  Hatteraick  so  earnestly  wanted 
with  the  gypsy  woman. 

"  Oh,  to  bless  his  ship,  I  suppose,  You  must  know,  Mr.  Man- 
nering, that  these  free-traders,  whom  the  law  calls  smugglers, 
having  no  religion,  make  it  all  up  in  superstition  ;  and  they 
have  as  many  spells,  and  charms,  and  nonsense  " 

"  Vanity  and  waur  !  "  said  the  Dominie  :  "  it  is  a  trafficking 
with  the  Evil  One.  Spells,  periapts,  and  charms,  are  of  his 
device — choice  arrows  out  of  Apollyon's  quiver." 

"  Hold  your  peace,  Dominie — ye're  speaking  forever  " — (by 
the  way,  they  were  the  first  words  the  poor  man  had  uttered 
that  morning,  excepting  that  he  said  grace,  and  returned 
thanks) — "  Mr.  Mannering  cannot  get  in  a  word  for  ye  ! — And 
so,  Mr.  Mannering,  talking  of  astronomy,  and  spells,  and  these 
matters,  have  ye  been  so  kind  as  to  consider  what  we  were 
speaking  about  last  night  1 " 


30 


GUY  MANNERING. 


I  begin  to  think,  Mr.  Bertram,  with  your  worthy  friend 
here,  that  I  have  been  rather  jesting  with  edge-tools  ;  and 
although  neither  you  nor  I,  nor  any  sensible  man,  can  put 
faith  in  the  predictio^ns  of  astrology,  yet  as  it  has  sometimes 
happened  that  inquiries  into  futurity,  undertaken  in  jest  have 
in  their  results  produced  serious  and  unpleasant  effects  both 
upon  actions  and  characters,  I  really  wish  you  would  dispense 
with  my  replying  to  your  question/' 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  this  evasive  answer  only  rendered  the 
Laird's  curiosity  more  uncontrolable.  Mannering,  however, 
was  determined  in  his  own  mind,  not  to  expose  the  infant  to 
the  inconvenience  which  might  have  arisen  from  his  being 
supposed  the  object  of  evil  prediction.  He  therefore  delivered 
the  paper  into  Mr.  Bertram's  hand,  and  requested  him  to  keep 
it  for  five  years  with  the  seal  unbroken,  until  the  month  of 
November  was  expired.  After  that  date  had  intervened,  he 
left  him  at  liberty  to  examine  the  writing,  trusting  that  the 
first  fatal  period  being  then  safely  overpassed,  no  credit  would 
be  paid  to  its  further  contents. — This  Mr.  Bertram  was  content 
to  promise,  and  Mannering,  to  insure  his  fidelity,  hinted  at 
misfortunes  which  would  certainly  take  place  if  his  injunctions 
were  neglected.  The  rest  of  the  day,  which  Mannering,  by 
Mr.  Bertram's  invitation,  spent  at  Ellangowan,  passed  over 
without  anything  remarkable  ;  and  on  the  morning  of  that 
which  followed,  the  traveler  mounted  his  palfrey,  bade  a 
courteous  adieu  to  his  hospitable  landlord  and  to  his  clerical 
attendant,  repeated  his  good  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
family,  and,  then,  turning  his  horse's  head  toward  England 
disappeared  from  the  sight  of  the  inmates  of  Ellangowan.  He 
must  also  disappear  from  that  of  our  readers,  for  it  is  to  another 
and  later  period  of  his  life  that  the  present  narrative  relates. 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

 Next,  the  Justice, 

In  fair  round  belly,  with  good  capon  lined, 
With  eyes  severe,  and  beard  of  formal  cut, 
Full  of  wise  saws  and  modern  instances, 
And  so  he  plays  his  part. 

As  You  Like  It, 

When  Mrs.  Bertram  of  Ellangowan  was  able  to  hear  the 
news  of  what  had  passed  during  her  confinement,  her  apart- 
ment rung  with  all  manner  of  gossiping  respecting  the  hand- 
some young  student  from  Oxford,  who  had  told  such  a  fortune 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OP  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


GUY  MANNERING. 


by  the  stars  to  the  young  Laird,  "  blessings  on  his  dainty  face." 
The  form,  accent,  and  manners  of  the  stranger,  were  expatiated 
upon ;  his  horse,  bridle,  saddle,  and  stirrups,  did  not  remain 
unnoticed.  All  this  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
Mrs.  Bertram,  for  the  good  lady  had  no  small  store  of  super 
stition. 

Her  first  employment,  when  she  became  capable  of  a  little 
work,  was  to  make  a  small  velvet  bag  for  the  scheme  of  nativity 
which  she  had  obtained  from  her  husband.  Her  fingers  itched 
to  break  the  seal,  but  credulity  proved  stronger  than  curiosity ; 
and  she  had  the  firmness  to  enclose  it,  in  all  its  integrity, 
within  two  slips  of  parchment,  which  she  sewed  round  it,  to 
prevent  its  being  chafed.  The  whole  was  then  put  into  the 
velvet  bag  aforesaid,  and  hung  as  a  charm  round  the  neck  of 
the  infant,  where  his  mother  resolved  it  should  remain  until  the 
period  for  the  legitimate  satisfaction  of  her  curiosity  should 
arrive. 

The  father  also  resolved  to  do  his  part  by  the  child,  in  se- 
curing him  a  good  education  ;  and  with  the  view  that  it  should 
commence  with  the  first  dawnings  of  reason.  Dominie  Sampson 
was  easily  induced  to  renounce  his  public  profession  of  parish 
schoolmaster,  make  his  constant  residence  at  the  Place,  and, 
in  consideration  of  a  sum  not  quite  equal  to  the  wages  of  a 
footman  even  at  that  time,  to  undertake  to  communicate  to  the 
future  Laird  of  Ellangowan  all  the  erudition  w^hich  he  had,  and 
all  the  graces  and  accomplishments  which — he  had  not  indeed, 
but  which  he  had  never  discovered  that  he  wanted.  In  this  ar- 
rangement the  Laird  found  also  his  private  advantage  ;  secur- 
ing the  constant  benefit  of  a  patient  auditor,  to  whom  he  told 
his  stories  when  they  were  alone,  and  at  whose  expense  he 
could  break  a  sly  jest  when  he  had  company. 

About  four  years  after  this  time,  a  great  commotion  took 
place  in  the  county  where  Ellangowan  is  situated. 

Those  who  watched  the  signs  of  the  times,  had  long  been 
of  opinion  that  a  cha'nge  of  ministry  was  about  to  take  place ; 
and  at  length,  after  a  due  proportion  of  hopes,  fears,  and  de- 
lays, rumors  from  good  authority  and  bad  authority,  and  no  au- 
thority at  all ;  after  some  clubs  had  drank  Up  with  this  states- 
man, and  others  Down  with  him ;  after  riding  and  running  and 
posting,  and  addressing  and  counter-addressing,  and  proffers 
of  lives  and  fortunes,  the  blow  was  at  length  struck,  the  admin- 
istration of  the  day  was  dissolved,  and  parliament,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  was  dissolved  also. 

Sir  Thomas  Kittlecourt,  like  other  members  in  the  same 
situation  posted  down  to  his  county,  and  met  but  an  indifferent 


3« 


GUY  MANNERINQ. 


receptioTJ.    He  was  a  parlJsan  of  the  old  administration  ;  and 

the  friends  of  the  new  had  already  set  about  an  active  canvass 
in  behalf  of  John  Featherhead,  Esq.,  who  kept  the  best  hounds 
and  hunters  in  the  shire.  Among  others  who  joined  the  standard 

of  revolt  was  Gilbert  Glossin,  writer  in   ,  agent  for  the 

Laird  of  Ellangowan.  This  honest  gentleman  had  either  been 
refused  some  favor  by  the  old  member,  or,  what  is  as  probable, 
he  had  got  all  that  he  had  the  most  distant  pretension  to  ask, 
and  could  only  look  to  the  other  side  for  fresh  advancement. 
Mr.  Glossin  had  a  vote  upon  Ellangowan 's  property  ;  and  he  was 
now  determined  that  his  patron  should  have  one  also,  there 
being  no  doubt  which  side  Mr.  Bertram  would  embrace  in  the 
contest.  He  easily  persuaded  Ellangowan,  that  it  would  be 
creditable  to  him  to  take  the  field  at  the  head  of  as  strong  a 
party  as  possible  ;  and  immediately  went  to  work,  making  votes, 
as  every  Scotch  lawyer  knows  how,  by  splitting  and  subdividing 
the  superiorities  upon  this  ancient  and  once  powerful  barony. 

These  were  so  extensive,  that  by  dint  of  clipping  and  paring 
here,  adding  and  eiking  there,  and  creating  over-lords  upon  all 
the  estate  which  Bertram  held  of  the  crown,  they  advanced,  at 
the  day  of  contest,  at  the  head  of  ten  as  good  men  of  parchment 
as  ever  took  the  oath  of  trust  and  possession.  This  strong 
reinforcement  turned  the  dubious  day  of  battle.  The  principal 
and  his  agent  divided  the  honor  ;  the  reward  fell  to  the  latter 
exclusively.  Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin  was  made  clerk  of  the  peace, 
and  Godfrey  Bertram  had  his  name  inserted  in  a  new  com- 
mission of  justices,  issued  immediately  upon  the  sitting  of  the 
parliament. 

This  had  been  the  summit  of  Mr.  Bertram's  ambition  ; — not 
that  he  liked  either  the  trouble  or  the  responsibility  of  the 
office,  but  he  thought  it  was  a  dignity  to  which  he  was  well 
entitled,  and  that  it  had  been  withheld  from  him  by  malice 
prepense.  But  there  is  an  old  and  true  Scotch  proverb, — Fools 
should  not  have  chapping  sticks  that  is,  weapons  of  offence. 
Mr.  Bertram  was  no  sooner  possessed  of  the  judicial  authority 
which  he  had  so  much  longed  for,  than  he  began  to  exercise  it 
with  more  severity  than  mercy,  and  totally  belied  all  the  opinions 
which  had  hitherto  been  formed  of  his  inert  good  nature.  We 
have  read  somewhere  of  a  justice  of  peace,  who,  on  being 
nominated  in  the  commission,  wrote  a  letter  to  a  bookseller  for 
the  statutes  respecting  his  official  duty,  in  the  following  ortho- 
graphy,— Please  send  the  ax  relating  to  a  gustus  pease.''  No 
doubt,  when  this  learned  gentleman  had  possessed  himself  of 
the  axe,  he  hewed  the  laws  with  it  to  some  purpose.  Mr.  Ber- 
tram was  not  quite  so  ignorant  of  Englisii  grammar,  as  hij 


GUY  MANNERING, 


33 


worshipful  predecessor  :  but  Augustus  Pease  himself  could  not 
have  used  more  indiscriminately  the  weapon  unwarily  put  into 
his  hand. 

In  good  earnest,  he  considered  the  commission  with  which 
he  had  been  entrusted  as  a  personal  mark  of  favor  from  his 
sovereign  ;  forgetting  that  he  had  formerly  thought  his  being 
deprived  of  a  privilege,  or  honor,  common  to  those  of  his 
rank,  was  the  result  of  mere  party  cabal.  He  commanded  his 
trusty  aide-de-camp,  Dominie  Sampson,  to  read  aloud  the  com- 
mission ;  and  at  the  first  words,  The  King  has  been  pleased 
to  appoint  " — Pleased  !  he  exclaimed,  in  a  transport  of 
gratitude — "  honest  gentleman  !  I'm  sure  he  cannot  be  better 
pleased  than  I  am.'* 

Accordingly,  unwilling  to  confine  his  gratitude  to  mere  feel- 
ings, or  verbal  expressions,  he  gave  full  current  to  the  new-born 
zeal  of  office,  and  endeavored  to  express  his  sense  of  the  honor 
conferred  upon  him,  by  an  unmitigated  activity  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty.  New  brooms,  it  is  said,  sweep  clean  ;  and  I  myself 
can  bear  witness,  that  on  the  arrival  of  a  new  housemaid,  the 
ancient,  hereditary,  and  domestic  spiders,  who  have  spun  their 
webs  over  the  lower  division  of  my  book  shelves  (consisting 
chiefly  of  law  and  divinity)  during  the  peaceful  reign  of  her 
predecessor,  fly  at  full  speed  before  the  probationary  inroads  of 
the  new  mercenary.  Even  so  the  Laird  of  Ellangowan  ruthlessly 
commenced  his  magisterial  reform,  at  the  expense  of  various 
established  and  superannuated  pickers  and  stealers,  who  had 
been  his  neighbors  for  half  a  century.  He  wrought  his  miracles 
like  a  second  Duke  Humphrey  ;  and  by  the  influence  of  the 
beadle's  rod,  caused  the  lame  to  walk,  the  blind  to  see,  and  the 
palsied  to  labor.  Pie  detected  poachers,  black-fishers,  orchard- 
breakers,  and  pigeon-shooters  ;  had  the  applause  of  the  bench 
for  his  reward,  and  the  public  credit  of  an  active  magistrate. 

All  this  good  had  its  rateable  proportion  of  evil.  Even  an 
admitted  nuisance,  of  ancient  standing,  should  not  be  abated 
without  some  caution.  The  zeal  of  our  worthy  friend  now 
involved  in  great  distress  sundry  personages  whose  idle  and  men* 
dicant  habits  his  own  Idchesse  had  contributed  to  foster  until 
these  habits  had  become  irreclaimable,  or  whose  real  incapacity 
for  exertion  rendered  them  fit  objects,  in  their  own  phrase,  for 
the  charity  of  all  well-disposed  Christians.  The  "  long  remember- 
ed beggar,"  who  for  twenty  years  had  made  his  regular  rounds 
within  the  neighborhood,  received  rather  as  an  humble  friend 
than  as  an  object  of  charity,  was  sent  to  the  neighboring 
workhouse.  The  decrepit  dame,  who  traveled  round  the  parish 
upon  a  hand-barrow,  circulating  from  house  to  house  like  a  bad 


54 


GUV  MA NNERmO, 


shilling,  which  every  one  is  in  haste  to  pass  to  his  neighbor,— 
she  who  used  to  call  for  her  bearers  as  loud,  or  louder,  than  a 
traveler  demands  post  horses, — even  she  shared  the  same 
disastrous  fate.  The  daft  Jock,'*  who,  half-knave,  half  idiot, 
had  been  the  sport  of  each  succeeding  race  of  village  children 
for  a  good  part  of  a  century,  was  remitted  to  the  county 
bridewell,  where,  secluded  from  free  air  and  sunshine,  the  only 
advantages  he  was  capable  of  enjoying,  he  pined  and  died  in 
the  course  of  six  months.  The  old  sailor,  who  had  so  long 
rejoiced  the  smoky  rafters  of  every  kitchen  in  the  country 
by  singing  Captam  Ward,  and  Bold  Ad^niral  Benbow,  was 
banished  from  the  county  for  no  better  reason  than  that  he  w^as 
supposed  to  speak  with  a  strong  Irish  accent.  Even  the  annual 
rounds  of  the  pedler  were  abolished  by  the  Justice  in  his  hasty 
zeal  for  the  administration  of  rural  police. 

These  things  did  not  pass  without  notice  and  censure.  We 
are  not  made  of  wood  or  stone,  and  the  things  which  connect 
themselves  with  our  hearts  and  habits  cannot,  like  bark  or 
lichen,  be  rent  away  without  our  missing  them.  The  farmer's 
dame  lacked  her  usual  share  of  intelligence, — perhaps  also  the 
self-applause,  which  she  had  felt  while  distributing  the  awmous 
(alms),  in  shape  of  a  gowpen  (handful)  of  oatmeal,  to  the  men- 
dicant who  brought  the  news.  The  cottage  felt  inconvenience 
from  interruption  of  the  petty  trade  carried  on  by  the  itinerant 
dealers.  The  children  lacked  their  supply  of  sugar-plums  and 
toys  ;  the  young  women  wanted  pins,  ribbons,  combs,  and  bal- 
lads ;  and  the  old  could  no  longer  barter  their  eggs  for  salt, 
snuff,  and  tobacco.  All  these  circumstances  brought  the  busy 
Laird  of  Ellangowan  into  discredit,  which  was  the  more  general 
on  account  of  his  former  popularity.  Even  his  lineage  was 
brought  up  in  judgment  against  him.  They  thought  "  naething 
of  what  the  like  of  Greenside,  or  Burnville,  or  Viewforth,  might 
do,  that  were  strangers  in  the  country  ;  but  Ellangowan  I  that 
had  been  a  name  amang  them  since  the  mirk  Monanday,  and 
long  before — hi77i  to  be  grinding  the  puir  at  that  rate  ! — They 
ca'd  his  grandfather  the  Wicked  Laird  ;  but  though  he  was 
whiles  fractious  eneugh,  when  he  got  into  roving  company,  and 
had  ta'en  the  drap  drink,  he  would  have  scorned  to  gang  on  at 
this  gate.  Na,  na — the  muckle  chumlay  in  the  Auld  Place 
reeked  like  a  killogie  in  his  time,  and  there  were  as  mony  puir 
folk  riving  at  the  banes  in  the  court,  and  about  the  door  as 
there  were  gentles  in  the  ha\  And  the  leddy,  on  ilka  Christ- 
mas night  as  it  came  round,  gae  twelve  siller  pennies  to  ilka 
puir  body  about,  in  honor  of  the  twelve  apostles  like.  They 
were  fond  to  ca'  it  papistrie ;  but  1  think  our  great  folk  might 


GUY  MANNERING, 


35 


take  a  lesson  frae  the  papists  whiles.  They  gie  another  sort  o' 
help  to  puir  folk  than  just  dinging  down  asaxpence  in  the  brod 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  kilting,  and  scourging,  and  drumming 
them  a'  the  sax  days  o'  the  week  besides." 

Such  was  the  gossip  over  the  good  twopenny,  in  every  ale- 
house  within  three  or  four  miles  of  Ellangowan,  that  being 
about  the  diameter  of  the  orbit  in  which  our  friend  Godfrey 
Bertram,  Esq.,  J.  P.,  must  be  considered  as  the  principal  lumi- 
nary. Still  greater  scope  was  given  to  evil  tongues  by  the 
removal  of  a  colony  of  gypsies,  with  one  of  whom  our  reader  is 
somewhat  acquainted,  and  who  had,  for  a  great  many  years, 
enjoyed  their  chief  settlement  upon  the  estate  of  Ellangowan. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 

Come,  princes  of  the  ragged  regiment, 
You  of  the  blood  !  Prigg,  niy  most  upright  lord, 
And  these,  what  name  or  title  e'er  they  bear, 
yachna?!,  or  Patrico^  Cranke  or  Clapper-dudgeon^ 
Frater  or  Abram-fnan — I  speak  of  all. — 

Beggar's  Bush. 

Although  the  character  of  those  gypsy  tribes,  which  for- 
merly inundated  most  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  which  in 
some  degree  still  subsist  among  them  as  a  distinct  people,  is 
generally  understood,  the  reader  will  pardon  my  saying  a  few 
words  respecting  their  situation  in  Scotland. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  gypsies  were,  at  an  early  period, 
acknowledged  as  a  separate  and  independent  race  by  one  of  the 
Scottish  monarchs,  and  that  they  were  less  favorably  dis- 
tinguished by  a  subsequent  law,  which  rendered  the  character 
of  gypsy  equal,  in  the  judicial  balance,  to  that  of  common  and 
habitual  thief,  and  prescribed  his  punishment  accordingly. 
Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  this  and  other  statutes,  the 
fraternity  prospered  amid  the  distresses  of  the  country,  and 
received  large  accessions  from  among  those  whom  famine, 
oppression,  or  the  sword  of  war,  had  deprived  of  the  ordinary 
means  of  subsistence.  They  lost,  in  a  great  measure,  by  this 
intermixture,  the  national  character  of  Egyptians,  and  became 
a  mingled  race^  having  all  the  idleness  and  predatory  habits  of 
their  Eastern  ancestors,  with  a  ferocity  which  they  probably 
borrowed  from  the  men  of  the  north  who  joined  their  society. 
They  traveled  in  different  bands,  and  had  rules  among  them- 


36 


GUY  MANNERING. 


selves,  by  which  each  tribe  was  confined  to  its  own  district. 
The  slightest  invasion  of  the  precincts  which  had  been  assigned 
to  another  tribe  produced  desperate  skirmishes,  in  which  there 
was  often  much  bloodshed. 

The  patriotic  Fletcher  of  Saltoun  drew  a  picture  of  these 
banditti  about  a  century  ago,  which  my  readers  will  peruse 
with  astonishment  : — 

"  There  are  at  this  day  in  Scotland  (besides  a  great  many 
poor  families  very  meanly  provided  for  by  the  church  boxes, 
with  others,  who,  by  living  on  bad  food,  fall  into  various 
diseases)  two  hundred  thousand  people  begging  from  door  to 
door.  These  are  not  only  no  way  advantageous,  but  a  very 
grievous  burden  to  so  poor  a  country.  And  though  the  number 
of  them  be  perhaps  double  to  what  it  was  formerly,  by  reason 
of  this  present  great  distress,  yet  in  all  times  there  have  been 
about  one  hundred  thousand  of  those  vagabonds,  who  have 
lived  without  any  regard  or  subjection  either  to  the  laws  of  the 
land  or  even  those  of  God  and  nature  ;  ^  =^  ^  ^  ^  No  magis- 
trate could  ever  discover,  or  be  informed,  which  way  one  in  a 
hundred  of  these  wretches  died,  or  that  ever  they  were  baptized. 
— Many  murders  have  been  discovered  among  them  ;  and  they 
are  not  only  a  most  unspeakable  oppression  to  poor  tenants, 
(who,  if  they  give  not  bread,  or  some  kind  of  provision  to 
perhaps  forty  such  villains  in  one  day,  are  sure  to  be  insulted 
by  them),  but  they  rob  many  poor  people  who  live  in  houses 
distant  from  any  neighborhood.  In  years  of  plenty  many 
thousands  of  them  meet  together  on  the  mountains,  where  they 
feast  and  riot  for  many  days  ;  and  at  country  weddings,  markets, 
burials,  and  other  the  like  public  occasions,  they  are  to  be  seen, 
both  man  and  woman,  perpetually  drunk,  cursing,  blasphem- 
ing, and  fighting  together." 

Notwithstanding  the  deplorable  picture  presented  in  this 
extract,  and  which  Fletcher  himself,  though  the  energetic  and 
eloquent  friend  of  freedom,  saw  no  better  mode  of  correcting 
than  by  introducing  a  system  of  domestic  slavery,  the  progress 
of  time,  and  the  increase  both  of  the  means  of  life,  and  of  the 
power  of  the  laws,  gradually  reduced  this  dreadful  evil  within 
more  narrow  bounds.  The  tribes  of  gypsies,  jockeys,  or  cairds, 
— for  by  all  these  denominations  such  banditti  were  known, — ■ 
became  few  in  number,  and  many  were  entirely  rooted  out. 
Still,  however,  a  sufficient  number  remained  to  give  occasional 
alarm  and  constant  vexation.  Some  rude  handicrafts  were 
entirely  resigned  to  these  itinerants,  particularly  the  art  of 
trencher-making,  of  manufacturing  horn-spoons,  and  the  whole 
mystery  of  the  tinker.    To  these  they  added  a  petty  trade  in 


GUV  MANNERINC, 


37 


the  coarse  sorts  of  earthenware.  Such  were  their  ostensible 
means  of  livelihood.  Each  tribe  had  usually  some  fixed  place 
of  rendezvous,  which  they  occasionally  occupied  and  considered 
as  their  standing  camp,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  which  they 
generally  abstained  from  depredation.  They  had  even  talents 
and  accomplishments,  which  made  them  occasionally  useful 
and  entertaining.  Many  cultivated  music  with  success  ;  and 
the  favorite  fiddler  or  piper  of  a  district  was  often  to  be  found 
in  a  gypsy  town.  They  understood  all  out-of-door  sports, 
especially  otter-hunting,  fishing,  or  finding  game.  They  bred 
the  best  and  boldest  terriers,  and  sometimes  had  good  pointers 
for  sale.  In  winter,'  the  women  told  fortunes,  the  men  showed 
tricks  of  legerdemain  ;  and  these  accomplishments  often  helped 
to  while  away  a  weary  or  stormy  evening  in  the  circle  of  the 
"  farmer's  ha\"  The  wildness  of  their  character,  and  the  indom- 
itable pride  with  which  they  despised  all  regular  labor,  com- 
manded a  certain  awe,  which  was  not  diminished  by  the 
consideration  that  these  strollers  were  a  vindictive  race,  and 
were  restrained  by  no  check,  either  of  fear  or  conscience,  from 
taking  desperate  vengeance  upon  those  who  had  offended  them. 
These  tribes  were,  in  short,  the  Farias  of  Scotland,  living  like 
wild  Indians  among  European  settlers,  and,  like  them,  judged 
of  rather  by  their  own  customs,  habits,  and  opinions,  that  as  if 
they  had  been  members  of  the  civilized  part  of  the  commu- 
nity. Some  hordes  of  them  yet  remain,  chiefly  in  such 
situations  as  afford  a  ready  escape  either  into  a  waste  country, 
or  into  another  jurisdiction.  Nor  are  the  features  of  their 
character  much  softened.  Their  numbers,  however,  are  so 
greatly  diminished,  that,  instead  of  one  hundred  thousand,  as 
calculated  by  Fletcher,  it  would  now  perhaps  be  impossible  to 
collect  above  five  hundred  throughout  all  Scotland. 

A  tribe  of  these  itinerants,  to  whom  Meg  Merrilies  apper- 
tained, had  long  been  as  stationary  as  their  habits  permitted, 
in  a  glen  upon  the  estate  of  Ellangowan.  They  had  there 
erected  a  few  huts,  which  they  denominated  their  "  city  of 
refuge, ''  and  when  not  absent  on  excursions,  they  harbored 
unmolested,  as  the  crows  that  roosted  in  the  old  ash-trees 
around  them.  They  had  been  such  long  occupants,  that  they 
were  considered  in  some  degree  as  propriet  ors  of  the  wretched 
shealings  which  they  inhabited.  This  protection  they  were 
said  anciently  to  have  repaid,  by  service  to  the  laird  in  wax, 
or,  more  frequently,  by  infesting  or  plundering  the  lands  of 
those  neighboring  barons  with  whom  he  chanced  to  be  at 
feud.  Latterly  their  services  were  of  a  more  pacific  nature. 
The  women  spun  mittens  for  the  lady,  and  knitted  boot-hose 


3« 


GUY  MANNERING. 


for  the  Laird,  which  were  annually  presented  at  Christmas 
wdth  great  form.  The  aged  sibyls  blessed  the  bridal  bed  of  the 
laird  when  he  married,  and  the  cradle  of  the  heir  when  born. 
The  men  repaired  her  ladyship's  cracked  china,  and  assisted  the 
laird  in  his  sporting  parties,  wormed  his  dogs,  and  cut  the  ears 
of  his  terrior  puppies.  The  children  gathered  nuts  in  the 
woods,  and  cranberries  in  the  moss,  and  mushrooms  on  the 
pastures,  for  tribute  to  the  Place.  These  acts  of  voluntary 
service  and  acknowledgment  of  dependence,  were  rewarded 
by  protection  on  i^ome  occasions,  connivance  on  others,  and 
broken  victuals,  ale  and  brandy,  when  circumstances  called  for 
a  display  of  generosity;  and  this  mutual' intercourse  of  good 
offices,  which  had  been  carried  on  for  at  least  two  centuries, 
rendered  the  inhabitants  of  Derncleugh  a  kind  of  privileged  re- 
tainers upon  the  estate  of  Ellangowan.  The  knaves  "  were  the 
Laird's  exceeding  good  friends  ;  "  and  he  would  have  deemed 
himself  very  ill-used,  if  his  countenance  could  not  now  and  then 
have  borne  them  out  against  the  law  of  the  country  and  the 
local  magistrate.  But  this  friendly  union  was  soon  to  be  dis- 
solved. 

The  community  of  Derncleugh,  who  cared  for  no  rogues  but 
their  own,  were  wholly  without  alarm  at  the  severity  of  the 
justice's  proceedings  toward  other  itinerants.  They  had  no 
doubt  that  he  determined  to  suffer  no  mendicants  or  strollers  in 
the  country  but  what  resided  on  his  own  property,  and  practiced 
their  trade  by  his  immediate  permission,  implied  or  expressed. 
Nor  was  Mr.  Bertram  in  a  hurry  to  exert  his  newly- acquired 
authority  at  the  expense  of  these  old  settlers.  But  he  was 
driven  on  by  circumstances. 

At  the  quarter-sessions,  our  new  justice  was  publicly  up- 
braided by  a  gentleman  of  the  opposite  party  in  county  politics, 
that,  while  he  affected  a  great  zeal  for  the  public  police,  and 
seemed  ambitious  of  the  fame  of  an  active  magistrate,  he 
fostered  a  tribe  of  the  greatest  rogues  in  the  country,  and 
permitted  them  to  harbor  within  a  mile  of  the  house  of  Ellan- 
gowan. To  this  there  was  no  reply,  for  the  fact  was  too 
evident  and  well-known.  The  Laird  digested  the  taunt  as  he 
best  could,  and  in  his  way  home  amused  himself  with  specula- 
tions on  the  easiest  method  of  ridding  himself  of  these  vagrants 
who  brought  a  stain  upon  his  fair  fame  as  a  magistrate.  Just 
as  he  had  resolved  to  take  the  first  opportunity  of  quarreling 
with  the  Farias  of  Derncleugh,  a  cause  of  provocation  presented 
itself. 

Since  our  friend's  advancement  to  be  a  conservator  of  the 
peace,  he  had  caused  the  gate  at  the  head  of  his  avenue,  which 


GCrV  MANNERING. 


39 


formerly,  having  only  one  hinge,  remained  at  all  times  hospi- 
tably open — he  had  caused  this  gate,  I  say,  to  be  newly  hung 
and  handsomely  painted.  He  had  also  shut  up  with  paling, 
curiously  twisted  with  furze,  certain  holes  in  the  fences  adjoin- 
ing, through  which  the  gypsy  boys  used  to  scramble  into  the 
plantations  to  gather  birds^  nests,  and  seniors  of  the  village  to 
make  a  short  cut  from  one  side  to  another,  and  the  lads  and 
lasses  for  evening  rendezvous — all  without  offence  taken  or 
leave  asked.  But  these  halcyon  days  were  now  to  have  an  end, 
and  a  minatory  inscription  on  one  side  of  the  gate  intimated 
prosecution  according  to  law  (the  painter  had  spelt  it  perse- 
cution— Fun  vaut  bien  I'autre)  to  all  who  should  be  found 
trespassing  on  these  enclosures.  On  the  other  side,  for  unifor- 
mity's sake,  was  a  precautionary  annunciation  of  spring-guns 
and  man  traps  of  such  formidable  power,  that,  said  the  rubric, 
with  an  emphatic  nota  be7ie — "  if  a  man  goes  in,  they  will  break 
a  horse's  leg.'* 

In  defiance  of  these  threats,  six  well-grown  gypsy  boys  and 
girls  were  riding  cock-horse  upon  the  new  gate,  and  plaiting 
May-flowers,  which  it  was  but  too  evident  had  been  gathered 
within  the  forbidden  precincts.  With  as  much  anger  as  he  was 
capable  of  feeling,  or  perhaps  of  assuming,  the  Laird  com- 
manded them  to  descend  ; — they  paid  no  attention  to  his 
mandate  :  he  then  began  to  pull  them  down  one  after  another ; 
they  resisted,  passively,  at  least,  each  sturdy  bronzed  varlet 
making  himself  as  heavy  as  he  could,  or  climbing  up  as  fast  as 
he  was  dismounted. 

The  Laird  then  called  in  the  assistance  of  his  servant,  a  ^ 
surly  fellow,  who  had  immediate  recourse  to  his  horse-whip.  A 
few  lashes  sent  the  party  a-scampering ;  and  thus  commenced 
the  first  breach  of  the  peace  between  the  house  of  Ellangowan 
and  the  gypsies  of  Derncleugh. 

The  latter  could  not  for  some  time  imagine  that  the  war  was 
real; — until  they  found  that  their  children  were  horse-whipped 
by  the  grieve  when  found  trespassing ;  and  their  asses  were 
poinded  by  the  ground-officer  when  left  in  the  plantations  or 
even  when  turned  to  graze  by  the  road-side,  against  the  pro- 
vision of  the  turnpike  acts ;  that  the  constable  began  to  make 
curious  inquiries  into  their  mode  of  gaining  a  livelihood,  and 
expressed  his  surprise  that  the  men  should  sleep  in  the  hovels 
all  day,  and  be  abroad  the  greater  part  of  the  night. 

When  matters  came  to  this  point,  the  gypsies,  without  scruple, 
entered  upon  measures  of  retaliation.  EUangowan's  hen-roosts 
were  plundered,  his  linen  stolen  from  the  lines  or  bleaching- 
ground,  his  fishings  poached,  his  dogs  kidnapped,  his  growing 


40 


GUY  MAXXERING, 


trees  cut  or  barked.  Much  petty  mischief  was  done,  and  some 
evidently  for  the  mischief's  sake.  On  the  other  hand  warrants 
went  forth,  without  mercy,  to  pursue,  search  for,  take,  and 
apprehend  ;  and,  notwithstanding  their  dexterity,  one  or  two  of 
the  depredators  were  unable  to  avoid  conviction.  One,  a  stout 
young  fellow,  who  sometimes  had  gone  to  sea  a-fishing,  was 

handed  over  to  the  captain  of  the  impress  service  at  D  ; 

two  children  were  soundly  flogged,  and  one  Egyptian  matron 
sent  to  the  house  of  correction. 

Still,  however,  the  gypsies  made  no  motion  to  leave  the  spot 
which  they  had  so  long  inhabited,  and  Mr.  Bertram  felt  an 
unwillingness  to  deprive  them  of  their  ancient  "  city  of  refuge  ;  " 
so  that  the  petty  warfare  we  have  noticed  continued  foi 
several  months  without  increase  or  abatement  of  hostilities  on 
either  side. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

So  the  red  Indian,  by  Ontario's  side. 

Nursed  hardy  on  the  brindled  panther's  hide, 

As  fades  his  swarthy  race,  with  anguish  sees 

The  white  man's  cottage  rise  beneath  the  trees  : 

He  leaves  the  shelter  of  his  native  wood, 

He  leaves  the  murmur  of  Ohio's  flood, 

And  forward  rushing  in  indignar.t  grief. 

Where  never  foot  has  trod  the  fallen  leaf, 

He  bends  his  course  where  twilight  reigns  sublime, 

O'er  forests  silent  since  the  birth  of  time. 

Scenes  of  Infancy. 

In  tracing  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Scottish  Maroon  war, 
we  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  years  had  rolled  on,  and 
that  little  Harry  Bertram,  one  of  the  hardiest  and  most  lively 
children  that  ever  made  a  sword  and  grenadier^s  cap  of  rushes, 
now  approached  his  fifth  revolving  birth-day.  A  hardihood  of 
disposition,  which  early  developed  itself,  made  him  already  a 
little  wanderer;  he  was  well  acquainted  with  every  patch  of 
lea  ground  and  diggle  around  Ellangowan,  and  could  tell  in 
his  broken  language  upon  what  baulks  grew  the  bonniest 
flowers,  and  what  copse  had  the  ripest  nuts.  He  repeatedly 
terrified  his  attendants  by  clambering  about  the  ruins  of  the 
old  castle,  and  had  more  than  once  made  a  stolen  excursion  as 
far  as  the  gypsy  hamlet. 

On  these  occasions  he  was  generally  brought  back  by  Meg 
Merrilies,  who,  though  she  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  entei 


GUY  MAN'NERING. 


41 


the  Place  of  Ellangown  after  her  nephew  had  been  given  up 
to  the  pressgang,  did  not  apparently  extend  her  resentment  to 
the  child.  On  the  contrary,  she  often  contrived  to  waylay  him 
in  his  walks,  sing  him  a  gypsy  song,  give  him  a  ride  upon  her 
jackass,  and  thrust  into  his  pocket  a  piece  of  gingerbread  or  a 
red-cheeked  apple.  This  woman's  ancient  attachment  to  the 
family,  repelled  and  checked  in  every  other  direction,  seemed 
to  rejoice  in  having  some  object  on  which  it  could  yet  repose 
and  expand  itself.  She  prophesied  a  hundred  times,  that 
young  Mr.  Harry  would  be  the  pride  o'  the  family,  and  there 
hadna  been  sic  a  sprout  fra  the  auld  aik  since  the  death  of 
Arthur  Mac-Dingawaie,  that 'was  killed  in  the  battle  o'  the 
Bloody  Bay ;  as  for  the  present  stick,  it  was  good  for  naething 
but  firewood."  On  one  occasion,  when  the  child  was  ill,  she 
lay  all  night  below  the  window,  chanting  a  rhyme  which  she 
believed  sovereign  as  a  febrifuge,  and  could  neither  be  prevailed 
\ipon  to  enter  the  house,  nor  to  leave  the  station  she  had  chosen, 
till  she  was  informed  that  the  crisis  was  over. 

The  affection  of  this  woman  became  matter  of  suspicion, 
not  indeed  to  the  Laird,  who  was  never  hasty  in  suspecting  evil, 
but  to  his  wife,  who  had  indifferent  health  and  poor  spirits. 
She  was  now  far  advanced  in  a  second  pregnancy,  and,  as  she 
could  not  walk  abroad  herself,  and  the  woman  who  attended 
upon  Harry  was  young  and  thoughtless,  she  prayed  Dominie 
Sampson  to  undertake  the  task  of  watching  the  boy  in  his 
rambles,  when  he  should  not  be  otherwise  accompanied.  The 
Dominie  loved  his  young  charge,  and  was  enraptured  with  his 
own  success,  in  having  already  brought  him  so  far  in  his  learn- 
ing as  to  spell  words  of  three  syllables.  The  idea  of  this  early 
prodigy  of  erudition  being  carried  off  by  the  gypsies,  like  a 
second  Adam  Smith, was  not  to  be  tolerated  ;  and  accordingly, 
though  the  charge  was  contrary  to  all  his  habits  of  life,  he 
readily  undertook  it,  and  might  be  seen  stalking  about  with  a 
mathematical  problem  in  his  head,  and  his  eye  upon  a  child  of 
five  years  old,  whose  rambles  led  him  into  a  hundred  awkward 
situations.  Twice  was  the  Dominie  chased  by  a  cross-grained 
cow,  once  he  fell  into  the  brook  crossing  at  the  stepping-stones, 
and  another  time  was  bogged  up  to  the  middle  in  the  slough  of 
Lochend,  in  attempting  to  gather  a  water-lily  for  the  young 
Laird.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  village  matrons  who  relieved 
Sampson  upon  the  latter  occasion,  "  that  the  Laird  might  as 
weel  trust  the  care  o'  his  bairn  to  a  potato  bogle  ;  "  but  the  good 
Dominie  bore  all  his  disasters  with  gravity  and  serenity  equally 

*  The  father  of  Economical  Philosophy,  was,  when  a  child,  actually 
carried  off  by  gypsies,  and  remained  some  hours  in  their  possession,. 


42 


GUY  MANNERING, 


imperturbable.  "  Pro-di-gious  ! was  the  only  ejaculation  they 
ever  extorted  from  the  much-enduring  man. 

The  Laird  had  by  this  time  determined  to  make  root-and- 
branch  work  with  the  Maroons  of  Derncleugh.  The  old  servants 
shook  their  heads  at  his  proposal,  and  even  Dominie  Sampson 
ventured  upon  an  indirect  remonstrance.  As,  however,  it  was 
couched,  in  the  oracular  phrase  :  Ne  moveas  Camerinam,^^ 
neither  the  allusion,  nor  the  language  in  which  it  was  expressed, 
were  calculated  for  Mr.  Bertram's  edification,  and  matters  pro- 
ceeded against  the  gypsies  in  form  of  law.  Every  door  in 
the  hamlet  was  chalked  by  the  ground-officer,  in  token  of  a 
formal  warning  to  remove  at  next  term.  Still,  however,  they 
showed  no  symptoms  either  of  submission  or  of  compliance. 
At  length  the  term-day,  the  fatal  Martinmas,  arrived,  and  violent 
measures  of  ejection  were  resorted  to.  A  strong  posse  of  peace- 
ofiicers,  sufficient  to  render  all  resistance  vain,  charged  the  in- 
habitants to  depart  by  noon  ;  and,  as  they  did  not  obey,  the 
officers,  in  terms  of  their  warrant,  proceeded  to  unroof  the  cot- 
tages, and  pull  down  the  wretched  doors  and  windows, — a  sum- 
mary and  effectual  mode  of  ejection,  still  practiced  in  some  re- 
mote parts  of  Scotland,  when  a  tenant  proves  refractory.  The 
gypsies,  for  a  time,  beheld  the  work  of  destruction  in  sullen 
silence  and  inactivity  ;  then  set  about  saddling  and  loading  their 
asses,  and  making  preparations  for  their  departure.  These 
were  soon  accomplished,  where  all  had  the  habits  of  wandering 
Tartars  ;  and  they  set  forth  on  their  journey  to  seek  new  settle- 
ments, where  their  patrons  should  neither  be  of  the  quorum, 
nor  custos  rotulorum. 

Certain  qualms  of  feeling  had  deterred  Elangowan  from  at- 
tending in  person  to  see  his  tenants  expelled.  He  left  the  ex- 
ecutive part  of  the  business  to  the  officers  of  the  law,  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  Frank  Kennedy,  a  supervisor,  or  riding- 
officer,  belonging  to  the  excise,  who  had  of  late  become  inti- 
mate at  the  Place,  and  of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say  in 
the  next  chapter.  Mr.  Bertram  himself  chose  that  day  to  make 
a  visit  to  a  friend  at  some  distance.  But  it  so  happened,  not- 
withstanding his  precautions,  that  he  could  not  avoid  meeting 
his  late  tenants  during  their  retreat  from  his  property. 

It  was  in  a  hollow  way,  near  the  top  of  a  steep  ascent,  upon 
the  verge  of  the  Ellangowan  estate,  that  Mr.  Bertram  met  the 
gypsy  procession.  Four  or  five  men  formed  the  advanced  guard, 
wrapped  in  long  loose  great-coats,  that  hid  their  tall  slender 
figures,  as  the  large  slouched  hats,  drawn  over  their  brows, 
concealed  their  wild  features,  dark  eyes,  and  swarthy  faces. 
Two  of  them  carried  long  fowling-pieces,  one  wore  a  broadsword 


GCry  MANNERING, 


43 


without  a  sheath,  and  all  had  the  Highland  dirk,  though 
they  did  not  wear  that  weapon  openly  or  ostentatiously.  Be- 
hind them  followed  the  tram  of  laden  asses,  and  small  carts,  or 
tumblers  as  they  were  called  in  that  country,  on  which  were 
laid  the  decrepit  and  the  helpless,  the  aged  and  infant  part  of 
the  exiled  community.  The  women  in  their  red  cloaks  and 
straw  hats,  the  elder  children  with  bare  heads  and  bare  feet, 
and  almost  naked  bodies,  had  the  immediate  care  of  the  little 
cavern.  The  road  was  narrow,  running  between  two  broken 
banks  of  sand,  and  Mr.  Bertram's  servant  rode  forward,  smack- 
ing his  whip  with  an  air  of  authority,  and  motioning  to  the 
drivers  to  allow  free  passage  to  their  betters.  His  signal  was 
unattended  to.  He  then  called  to  the  men  who  lounged  idly 
on  before,  "  Stand  to  your  beasts'  heads,  and  make  room  for 
the  Laird  to  pass.'' 

"  He  shall  have  his  share  of  the  road,"  answered  a  male 
gypsy  from  under  his  slouched  and  large  brimmed  hat,  and 
without  raising  his  face,  "  and  he  shall  have  nae  mair ;  the 
highway  is  as  free  to  our  cuddies  as  to  his  gelding." 

The  tone  of  the  man  being  sulky,  and  even  menacing,  Mr. 
Bertram  thought  it  best  to  put  his  dignity  in  his  pocket,  and 
pass  by  the  procession  quietly,  on  such  space  as  they  chose  to 
leave  for  his  accommodation,  which  was  narrow  enough.  To 
cover  with  an  appearance  of  indifference  his  feelings  of  the 
want  of  respect  with  which  he  was  treated,  he  addressed  one 
of  the  men,  as  he  passed  without  any  show  of  greeting,  salute, 
or  recognition, — "  Giles  Baillie,"  he  said,  "  have  you  heard  that 
your  son  Gabriel  is  well }  "  (The  question  respected  the  young 
man  who  had  been  pressed). 

"  If  I  had  heard  otherwise,"  said  the  old  man,  looking  up 
with  a  stern  and  menacing  countenance,  "  you  should  have 
heard  of  it  too."  And  he  plodded  on  his  way,  tarrying  no 
further  questions."*  When  the  Laird  had  passed  on  with  diffi- 
culty among  a  crowd  of  familiar  faces,  which  had  on  all  former 
occasions  marked  his  approach  with  the  reverence  due  to  that 
of  a  superior  being,  but  in  which  he  now  only  read  hatred  and 
contempt,  and  had  got  clear  of  the  throng,  he  could  not  help 
turning  his  horse,  and  looking  back  to  mark  the  progress  of 
their  march.  The  group  would  have  been  an  excellent  subject 
for  the  pencil  of  Calotte.  The  van  had  already  reached  a  small 
and  stunted  thicket,  which  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and 
which  gradually  hid  the  line  of  march  until  the  last  stragglers 
disappeared. 


♦  This  anecdote  is  a  literal  fact. 


44 


GUY  MANNERim. 


His  sensations  were  bitter  enough.  The  race,  it  is  true, 
which  he  had  thus  summarily  dismissed  from  their  ancient 
place  of  refuge,  was  idle  and  vicious ;  but  had  he  endeavored 
to  render  them  otherwise  ?  They  were  not  more  irregular 
characters  now  than  they  had  been  while  they  were  admitted 
to  consider  themselves  as  a  sort  of  subordinate  dependents  of 
his  family  ;  and  ought  the  mere  circumstance  of  his  becoming  a 
magistrate  to  have  made  at  once  such  a  change  in  his  conduct 
toward  them  ?  Some  means  of  reformation  ought  at  least  to 
have  been  tried,  before  sending  seven  families  at  once  upon  the 
wide  world,  and  depriving  them  of  a  degree  of  countenance, 
which  withheld  them  at  least  from  atrocious  guilt.  There  was 
also  a  natural  yearning  of  heart  on  parting  with  so  many  known 
and  familiar  faces ;  and  to  this  feeling  Godfrey  Bertram  was 
peculiarly  accessible,  from  the  limited  qualities  of  his  mind, 
which  sought  its  principal  amusements  among  the  petty  objects 
around  him.  As  he  was  about  to  turn  his  horse's  head  to  pur- 
sue his  journey,  Meg  Merrilies,  who  had  lagged  behind  the 
troop,  unexpectedly  presented  herself. 

She  was  standing  upon  one  of  those  high  precipitous 
banks,  which  as  we  before  noticed,  overhung  the  road  ;  so  that 
she  was  placed  considerably  higher  than  Ellangowan,  even 
though  he  was  on  horseback  ;  and  her  tall  figure,  relieved 
against  the  clear  blue  sky,  seemed  almost  of  supernatural  stat- 
ure. We  have  noticed  that  there  was  in  her  general  attire,  or 
rather  in  her  mode  of  adjusting  it,  somewhat  of  a  foreign  cos- 
tume, artfully  adopted  perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to 
the  effect  of  her  spells  and  predictions,  or  perhaps  from  some 
traditional  notions  respecting  the  dress  of  her  ancestors.  On 
this  occasion,  she  had  a  large  piece  of  red  cotton  cloth  rolled 
about  her  head  in  the  form  of  a  turban,  from  beneath  which 
her  dark  eyes  flashed  with  uncommon  lustre.  Her  long  and 
tangled  black  hair  fell  in  elf-locks  from  the  folds  of  this  singular 
head-gear.  Her  attitude  was  that  of  a  sibyl  in  frenzy,  and  she 
stretched  out  in  her  right  hand  a  sapling  bough,  which  seemed 
just  pulled. 

"  I'll  be  d  d,"  said  the  groom,  "  if  she  has  not  been  cut- 
ting the  young  ashes  in  the  Dukit  park  !  " — The  Laird  made  no 
answer,  but  continued  to  look  at  the  figure  which  was  thus 
perched  above  his  path. 

Ride  your  ways,''  said  the  gypsy,  "  ride  your  ways.  Laird  of 
Ellangowan — ride  your  ways,  Godfrey  Bertram  ! — This  day  have 
ye  quenched  seven  smoking  hearths — see  if  the  fire  in  your  ain 
parlor  burn  the  blither  for  that.  Ye  have  riven  the  thack  off 
seven  cottar  houses — look  if  your  ain  roof-tree  stand  tlie  faster. 


G[/V  MANNERING. 


45 


— Ye  may  stable  your  stirks  in  the  shealings  at  Derncleugh — 
see  that  the  hare  does  not  couch  on  the  hearthstane  at  Ellan- 
gowan. — Ride  your  ways,  Godfrey  Bertram — what  do  ye  glower 
after  our  folk  for  ? — There's  thirty  hearts  there  that  wad  hae 
wanted  bread  ere  ye  had  wanted  sunkets,^  and  spent  their  life- 
blood  ere  ye  had  scratched  your  finger.  Yes — ^there's  thirty 
yonder,  from  the  auld  wife  of  an  hundred  to  the  babe  that  was 
born  last  week,  that  ye  have  turned  out  o'  their  bits  o'  bields, 
to  sleep  with  the  tod  and  the  blackcock  in  the  muirs  ! — Ride 
your  ways,  EUangowan. — Our  bairns  are  hinging  at  our  weary 
backs — look  that  your  braw  cradle  at  hame  be  the  fairer  spread 
up:  not  that  I  am  wishing  ill  to  little  Harry,  or  to  the  babe 
that's  yet  to  be  born — God  forbid — and  make  them  kind  to  the 
poor,  and  better  folk  than  their  father  ! — And  now,  ride  e'en 
your  ways  ;  for  these  are  the  last  words  ye'll  ever  hear  Meg 
Merrilies  speak,  and  this  is  the  last  reisc  f  that  I'll  ever  cut  in 
the  bonny  w^oods  of  EUangowan." 

So  saying,  she  broke  the  sapling  she  held  in  her  hand,  and 
flung  it  into  the  road.  Margaret  of  Anjou,  bestowing  on  her 
triumphant  foes  her  keen-edged  malediction,  could  not  have 
turned  from  them  with  a  gesture  more  proudly  contemptuous. 
The  Laird  was  clearing  his  voice  to  speak,  and  thrusting  his 
hand  in  his  pocket  to  find  a  half-crown  ;  the  gypsy  waited  neither 
for  his  reply  nor  his  donation,  but  strode  down  the  hill  to  over- 
take the  caravan. 

EUangowan  rode  pensively  home ;  and  it  was  remarkable 
that  he  did  not  mention  this  interview  to  any  of  his  family. 
The  groom  was  not  so  reserved  ;  he  told  the  story  at  great 
length  to  a  full  audience  in  the  kitchen,  and  concluded  by 
swearing,  that  "  if  ever  the  devil  spoke  bv  the  mouth  of  a 
woman,  he  had  spoken  by  that  of  Meg  Merrilies  that  blessed 
day." 


♦  Delicacies. 


t  Sapling  branch. 


46 


OUY  MANNERING. 


CHAPTER  NINTH. 

Paint  Scotland  greeting  ower  her  thrissle, 
Her  mutchkin  stoup  as  toom's  a  whistle, 
And  d  n'd  excisemen  in  a  bustle, 

Seizing  a  stell; 
Triumphant  crushin't  like  a  mussell, 

Or  lampit  shell. 

Burns. 

During  the  period  of  Mr.  Bertram's  active  magistracy,  he 
did  not  forget  the  affairs  of  the  revenue.  Smuggling,  for  which 
the  Isle  of  Man  then  afforded  peculiar  facilities,  was  general, 
or  rather  universal,  all  along  the  south-western  coast  of  Scot- 
land. Almost  all  the  common  people  were  engaged  in  these 
practices ;  the  gentry  connived  at  them,  and  the  officers  of  the 
revenue  were  frequently  discountenanced  in  the  exercise  of 
their  duty  by  those  who  should  have  protected  them. 

There  was,  at  this  period,  employed  as  a  riding  officer  or 
supervisor,  in  that  part  of  the  country,  a  certain  Francis 
Kennedy,  already  named  in  our  narrative ;  a  stout,  resolute, 
and  active  man,  who  had  made  seizures  to  a  great  amount,  and 
was  proportionally  hated  by  those  who  had  an  interest  in  the 
fair  trade^  as  they  called  the  pursuit  of  these  contraband  adven- 
turers. This  person  was  natural  son  to  a  gentleman  of  good 
family,  owing  to  which  circumstance,  and  to  his  being  of  a  jolly 
convivial  disposition,  and  singing  a  good  song,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  occasional  society  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  country,  and 
was  a  member  of  several  of  their  clubs  for  practicing  athletic 
games,  at  which  he  was  particularly  expert. 

At  Ellangowan,  Kennedy  was  a  frequent  and  always  an 
acceptable  guest.  His  vivacity  relieved  Mr.  Bertram  of  the 
trouble  of  thought,  and  the  labor  which  it  cost  him  to  support 
a  detailed  communication  of  ideas  ;  while  the  daring  and  dan- 
gerous exploits  which  he  had  undertaken  in  the  discharge  of 
his  office,  formed  excellent  conversation.  To  all  these  revenue 
adventures  did  the  Laird  of  Ellangowan  seriously  incline,  and 
the  amusement  which  he  derived  from  Kennedy's  society 
formed  an  excellent  reason  for  countenancing  and  assisting  the 
narrator  in  the  execution  of  his  invidious  and  hazardous  duty. 

Frank  Kennedy,"  he  said,  was  a  gentleman,  though  on 
the  wrang  side  of  the  blanket — he  was  connected  with  the 
family  of  Ellangowan  through  the  house  of  Glengubble.  The 
last  Eaird  of  Glengubble  would  have  brought  the  estate  into 


GUY  MANNERING, 


47 


the  Ellangowan  line  ;  but  happening  to  go  to  Harngate,  he 
there  met  with  Miss  Jean  Hadaway — by  the  by,  the  Green 
Dragon  at  Harrigate  is  the  best  house  of  the  tvva; — but  for 
Frank  Kennedy,  he's  in  one  sense  a  gentleman  born,  and  it's  a 
shame  not  to  support  him  against  these  blackguard  smugglers," 

After  this  league  had  taken  place  between  judgment  and 
execution,  it  chanced  that  Captain  Dirk  Hatteraick  had  landed 
a  cargo  of  spirits,  and  other  contraband  goods  upon  the  beach 
not  far  from  Ellangowan,  and,  confiding  in  the  indifference 
with  which  the  Laird  had  formerly  regarded  similar  infractions 
of  the  law,  he  was  neither  very  anxious  to  conceal  nor  to  ex- 
pedite the  transaction. '  The  consequence  was,  that  Mr.  Frank 
Kennedy,  armed  with  a  warrant  from  Ellangowan,  and  sup- 
ported by  some  of  the  Laird's  people  who  knew  the  country, 
and  by  a  party  of  military,  poured  down  upon  the  kegs,  bales, 
and  bags,  and  after  a  desperate  affray,  in  which  severe  wounds 
were  given  and  received,  succeeded  in  clapping  the  broad 
arrow  upon  the  articles,  and  bearing  them  off  in  triumph  to  the 
next  custom-house.  Dirk  Hatteraick  vowed,  in  Dutch,  German, 
and  English,  a  deep  and  full  revenge,  both  against  the  ganger 
and  his  abettors ;  and  all  who  knew  him  thought  it  likely  he 
would  keep  his  word. 

A  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the  gypsy  tribe,  Mr. 
Bertram  asked  his  lady  one  morning  at  breakfast,  whether  this 
was  not  little  Harry's  birth-day  } 

"  Five  years  auld,  exactly,  this  blessed  day,"  answered  the 
lady;  "so  we  may  look  into  the  English  Gentleman's  paper." 

Mr.  Bertram  liked  to  show  his  authority  in  trifles.  "  No, 
my  dear,  not  till  to-morrow.  The  last  time  I  was  at  quarter- 
sessions,  the  sheriff  told  us  that  dies — that  dies  inceptiis — in 
short — you  don't  understand  Latin — but  it  means  that  a  term- 
day  is  not  begun  till  it's  ended." 

"  That  sounds  like  nonsense,  my  dear." 

"  May  be  so,  my  dear;  but  it  may  be  very  good  law  for  all 
that.  I  am  sure,  speaking  of  term-days,  I  wish,  as  Frank 
Kennedy  says,  that  Whitsunday  would  kill  Martinmas,  and  be 
hanged  for  the  murder — for  there  I  have  got  a  letter  about  that 
interest  of  Jenny  Cairns's,  and  deil  a  tenant's  been  at  the 
Place  yet  wi'  a  boddle  of  rent, — nor  will  not  till  Candlemas — 
but,  speaking  of  Frank  Kennedy,.  I  dare  say  he'll  be  here  the 
day,  for  he  was  away  round  to  Wigton  to  warn  a  king's  ship 
that's  lying  in  the  bay  about  Dirk  Hatteraick's  lugger  being  on 
the  coast  again,  and  he'll  be  back  this  day  ;  so  we'll  have  a 
bottle  of  claret,  and  drink  little  Harry's  health." 

"I  wish,"  replied  the  lady,  "Frank  Kennedy  would  let 


48 


GUY  MANNERING. 


Dirk  Hatteraick  alane.  What  needs  hemake  himself  mair  busy 
than  other  folk  ?  Cannot  he  sing  his  sang,  and  take  his  drink, 
and  draw  his  salary,  like  Collector  Snail,  honest  man,  that 
never  fashes  onybody  ?  And  I  wonder  at  you.  Laird,  for  med- 
dling  and  making — Did  we  ever  want  to  send  for  tea  or  brandy 
frae  the  Borough-town,  when  Dirk  Hatteraick  used  to  come 
quietly  into  the  bay  ? " 

"  Mrs.  Bertram,  you  know  nothing  of  these  matters.  Do 
rou  think  it  becomes  a  magistrate  to  let  his  own  house  be 
made  a  receptacle  for  smuggled  goods  ?  Frank  Kennedy  will 
show  you  the  penalties  in  the  act,  and  ye  ken  yoursell  they 
used  to  put  their  run  goods  into  the  Auld  Place  of  Ellangowan 
up  by  there/' 

Oh,  dear,  Mr.  Bertram,  and  what  the  waur  were  the  wa's 
and  the  vault  o'  the  auld  castle  for  having  a  whin  kegs  o' 
brandy  in  them  at  an  orra  time  ?  I  am  sure  ye  were  not 
obliged  to  ken  onything  about  it ; — and  what  the  waur  was  the 
King  that  the  lairds  here  got  a  soup  o'  drink,  and  the  ladies 
their  drap  o'  tea,  at  a  reasonable  rate  ? — it's  a  shame  to  them 
to  pit  such  taxes  on  them ! — and  was  na  I  much  the  better  of 
these  Flanders  head  and  pinners,  that  Dirk  Hatteraick  sent  me 
a'  the  way  from  Antwerp  ?  It  will  be  lang  or  the  King  sends 
me  onything,  or  Frank  Kennedy  either. — And  then  ye  would 
quarrel  with  these  gypsies  too  I  expect  every  day  to  hear 
the  barn-yard's  in  a  low." 

"  I  tell  you  once  more,  my  dear,  you  don't  understand  these 
things — and  there's  Frank  Kennedy  coming  galloping  up  the 
avenue." 

**Aweel,  aweel,  Ellangowan,"  said  the  lady,  raising  her 
voice  as  the  Laird  left  the  room,  I  wish  ye  may  understand 
them  yoursell,  that's  a'  ! " 

From  this  nuptial  dialogue  the  Laird  joyfully  escaped  to  meet 
his  faithful  friend,  Mr.  Kennedy,  who  arrived  in  high  spirits. 
"  For  the  love  of  life,  Ellangowan,"  he  said,  get  up  to  the 
castle  !  you'll  see  that  old  fox  Dirk  Hatteraick,  and  his  Maj- 
esty's hounds  in  full  cry  after  him."  So  saying,  he  flung  his 
horse's  bridle  to  a  boy,  and  ran  up  the  ascent  to  the  old  castle, 
followed  by  the  Laird,  and  indeed  by  several  others  of  the 
family,  alarmed  by  the  sound  of  guns  from  the  sea,  now  dis- 
tinctly heard. 

On  gaining  that  part  of  the  ruins  which  commanded  the 
most  extensive  outlook,  they  saw  a  lugger,  with  all  her  canvas 
crowded,  standing  across  the  bay,  closely  pursued  by  a  sloop  of 
war,  that  kept  firing  upon  the  chase  from  her  bows,  which  the 
lugger  returned  with  her  stern-chasers.    "  They're  but  at  long 


GUY  MANNERING, 


49 


bowls  yet,''  cried  Kennedy,  in  great  exultation,  "but  they  will 

be  closer  by  and  by. — D  n  him,  he's  starting  his  cargo  !  I 

see  the  good  Nantz  pitching  overboard  ;  keg  after  keg  ! — that's 

a  d  d  ungenteel  thing  of  Mr.  Hatteraick,  as  I  shall  let  him 

know  by  and  by. — Now,  now  !  they've  got  the  wind  of  him  ! — 
that's  it,  that's  it  ! — Hark  to  him  !  hark  to  him  !  Now,  my 
dogs  !  now  my  dogs  ! — hark  to  Ranger,  hark  !  " 

"I  think,"  said  the  old  gardener  to  one  of  the  maids,  "the 
ganger's  fie  ;  "  by  which  word  the  common  people  express  those 
violent  spirits  which  they  think  a  presage  of  death. 

Meantime  the  chase  continued.  The  lugger,  being  piloted 
with  great  ability,  and  using  every  nautical  shift  to  make  her 
escape,  had  now  reached,  and  was  about  to  double  the  headland 
which  formed  the  extreme  point  of  land  on  the  left  side  of  the 
bay,  when  a  ball  having  hit  the  yard  in  the  slings,  the  mainsail 
fell  upon  the  deck.  The  consequence  of  this  accident  appeared 
inevitable,  but  could  not  be  seen  by  the  spectators  ;  for  the  ves- 
sel, which  had  just  doubled  the  headland,  lost  steerage  and  fell 
out  of  their  sight  behind  the  promontory.  The  sloop  of  war 
crowded  all  sail  to  pursue,  but  she  had  stood  too  close  upon  the 
cape,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  wear  the  vessel  for  fear  of 
going  ashore,  and  to  make  a  large  tack  back  into  the  bay,  in 
order  to  recover  sea-room  enough  to  double  the  headland. 

"  They'll  lose  her,  by  ! — cargo  and  lugger,  one  or  both," 

said  Kennedy.  "  I  must  gallop  away  to  the  Point  of  Warroch, 
this  was  the  headland  so  often  mentioned),  and  make  them  a 
signal  where  she  has  drifted  to  on  the  other  side.  Good-bye  for 
an  hour,  Ellangowan — get  out  the  gallon  punch-bowl,  and 
plenty  of  lemons.  I'll  stand  for  the  PYench  article  by  the  time 
I  come  back,  and  we'll  drink  the  young  Laird's  health  in  a  bovv^l 
that  would  swim  t^.e  Collector's  yawl."  So  saying,  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  galloped  off. 

About  a  mile  from  the  house,  and  upon  the  verge  of  the 
woods,  which,  as  we  have  said,  covered  a  promontory  terminat- 
ing in  the  cape  called  the  Point  of  Warroch,  Kennedy  met 
young  Harry  Bertram,  attended  by  his  tutor,  Dominie  Sampson. 
He  had  often  promised  the  child  a  ride  upon  his  galloway ; 
and,  from  singing,  dancing,  and  playing  Punch  for  his  amuse- 
ment, was  a  particular  favorite.  He  no  sooner  came  scamper- 
ing up  the  path,  than  the  boy  loudly  claimed  his  promise  ;  and 
Kennedy,  who  saw  no  risk  in  indulging  him  and  wished  to  tease 
the  Dominie,  in  whose  visage  he  read  a  remonstrance,  caught  up 
Harry  from  the  ground,  placed  him  before  him,  and  continued 

his  route;  Sampson's  " Peradventure,  Maister  Kennedy"  ■ 

being  lost  in  the  clatter  of  the  horse's  feet.    The  pedagogue 


so 


GUY  MANNERING. 


hesitated  a  momenr  whether  he  should  go  after  them  ;  but  Ken- 
nedy being  a  person  in  full  confidence  of  the  family,  and  with 
whom  he  himself  had  no  delight  in  associating,  being  that  he 
was  addicted  unto  profane  and  scurrilous  jests/^  he  continued 
his  own  v/alk  at  his  own  pace,  till  he  reached  the  Place  of 
Ellangowan. 

The  spectators  from  the  ruined  walls  of  the  castle  were  still 
watching  the  sloop  of  war,  which  at  length,  but  not  without  the 
loss  of  considerable  time,  recovered  sea-room  enough  to  weather 
the  Point  of  Warroch,  and  was  lost  to  their  sight  behind  that 
wooded  promontory.  Some  time  afterward  the  discharges  of 
several  cannon  were  heard  at  a  distance,  and,  after  an  interval, 
a  still  louder  explosion,  as  of  a  vessel  blown  up,  and  a  cloud  of 
smoke  arose  above  the  trees,  and  mingled  with  the  blue  sky. 
All  then  separated  on  their  different  occasions,  auguring  vari- 
ously upon  the  fate  of  the  smuggler,  but  the  majority  insisting 
that  her  capture  was  inevitable,  if  she  had  not  already  gone  to 
the  bottom. 

"  It  is  near  our  dinner-time,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Bertram  to 
her  husband ;  will  it  be  lang  before  Mr.  Kennedy  comes 
back  t  " 

"  I  expect  him  every  moment,  my  dear,"  said  the  Laird  j 
perhaps  he  is  bringing  some  of  the  officers  of  the  sloop  with 
him." 

"  My  stars,  Mr.  Bertram  !  why  did  not  ye  tell  me  this  before, 
that  we  might  have  had  the  large  round  table  ?  and  then,  they^re 
a'  tired  o'  saut  meat,  and,  to  tell  you  the  plain  truth,  a  rump  o' 
beef  is  the  best  part  of  your  dinner — and  then  I  wad  have  put 
on  another  gown,  and  ye  wadna  have  been  the  waur  o'  a  clean 
neckcloth  yoursell — But  ye  delight  in  surprising  and  hurrying 
one — I  am  sure  I  am  no  to  hand  out  forever  against  this  sort 
of  going  on. — But  when  folk's  missed,  then  they  are  moaned." 

Pshaw  !  pshaw !  deuce  take  the  beef,  and  the  gown,  and 
table,  and  the  neckcloth  ! — we  shall  do  all  very  well. — Where's 
the  Dominie,  John  ? — (to  a  servant  who  was  busy  about  the  table) 
-^w^here's  the  Dominie  and  little  Harry  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Sampson's  been  at  hame  these  twa  hours  and  mair,  but 
I  dinna  think  Mr.  Harry  came  hame  wi'  him." 

"Not  come  hame  wi'  him?"  said  the  lady ;"  desire  Mr. 
Sampson  to  step  this  way  directly." 

"  Mr.  Sampson,"  said  she,  upon  his  entrance,  "  is  it  not  the 
most  extraordinary  thing  in  this  world  wide,  that  you,  that 
have  free  up-putting — bed,  board,  and  washing — and  twelve 
pounds  sterling  a  year,  just  to  look  after  that  boy,  should  let  him 
out  of  your  sight  for  twa  or  three  hours  ? " 


GUY  MANNERING. 


SI 


Sampson  made  a  bow  of  humble  acknowledgment  at  each 
pause  which  the  angry  lady  made  in  her  enumeration  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  his  situation,  in  order  to  give  more  weight  to  her 
remonstrance,  and  then,  in  words  which  we  will  not  do  him  the 
injustice  to  imitate,  told  how  Mr.  Francis  Kennedy  had 
of  his  remonstrances  in  the  contrary." 

"  I  am  very  little  obliged  to  Mr.  Francis  Kennedy  for  his 
pains,"  said  the  lady  peevishly ;  suppose  he  lets  the  boy  drop 
from  his  horse,  and  lames  him  ? — or  suppose  one  of  the  cannons 
comes  ashore  and  kills  him  ? — or  suppose"  

"  Or  suppose,  my  dear,"  said  Ellangowan,  "  what  is  much 
more  likely  than  anything  else,  that  they  have  gone  aboard  the 
sloop  or  the  prize,  and  are  to  come  round  the  Point  with  the 
tide  ? " 

"  And  then  they  may  be  drowned,"  said  the  lady. 

"  Verily,"  said  Sampson,  "  I  thought  Mr.  Kennedy  had  re- 
turned an  hour  since — Of  a  surety,  I  deemed  I  heard  his  horse's 
feet." 

"  That,"  said  John,  with  a  broad  grin, was  Grizzel  chasing 
the  humble-cow  ^  out  of  the  close." 

Sampson  colored  up  to  the  eyes — not  at  the  implied  taunt, 
which  he  would  never  have  discovered,  or  resented  if  he  had, 
but  at  some  idea  which  crossed  his  own  mind.  have  been  in  an 
error,"  he  said,  "  of  a  surety  I  should  have  tarried  for  the  babe." 
So  saying,  he  snatched  his  bone-headed  cane  and  hat,  and 
hurried  away  toward  Warroch  wood,  faster  than  he  was  ever 
known  to  walk  before,  or  after. 

The  Laird  lingered  some  time,  debating  the  point  with  the 
lady.  At  length  he  saw  the  sloop  of  war  again  make  her 
appearance  ;  but,  without  approaching  the  shore,  she  stood  away 
to  the  westward,  with  all  her  sails  set,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 
The  lady's  state  of  timorous  and  fretful  apprehension  was  so 
habitual,  that  her  fears  went  for  nothing  with  her  lord  and 
master  ;  but  an  appearance  of  disturbance  and  anxiety  among 
the  servants  now  excited  his  alarm,  especially  when  he  was  called 
out  of  the  room,  and  told  in  private  that  Mr.  Kennedy's  horse 
had  come  to  the  stable  door  alone,  with  the  saddle  turned  round 
below  its  belly  and  the  reins  of  the  bridle  broken  ;  and  that  a 
farmer  had  informed  them  in  passing  that  there  was  a  smuggling 
lugger  burning  like  a  furnace  on  the  other  side  of  the  Point  of 
Warroch,  and  that,  though  he  had  come  through  the  wood,  he 
had  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  Kennedy  or  the  young  Laird,  "  only 
there  was  Dominie  Sampson,  gaun  rampauging  about,  like  mad, 
seeking  for  them." 

*  A  cow  without  horns. 


5^ 


GUY  MANNERING, 


All  was  now  bustle  at  Eilangowan.  The  Laird  and  his 
servants,  male  and  female,  hastened  to  the  wood  of  Warroch 
The  tenants  and  cottagers  in  the  neighborhood  lent  their 
assistance,  partly  out  of  zeal,  partly  from  curiosity.  Boats  were 
manned  to  search  the  sea-shore,  which,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Point,  rose  into  high  and  indented  rocks.  A  vague  suspicion 
was  entertained,  though  too  horrible  to  be  expressed,  that  the 
child  might  have  fallen  from  one  of  these  cliffs. 

The  evening  had  begun  to  close  when  the  parties  entered  the 
wood,  and  dispersed  different  ways  in  quest  of  the  boy  and  his 
companion.  The  darkening  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  hoarse 
sighs  of  the  November  wind  through  the  naked  trees,  the 
rustling  of  the  withered  leaves  which  strewed  the  glades,  the 
repeated  halloos  of  the  different  parties,  which  often  drew  them 
together  in  expectation  of  meeting  the  objects  of  their  search, 
gave  a  cast  of  dismal  sublimity  to  the  scene. 

At  length,  after  a  minute  and  fruitless  investigation  through 
the  wood,  the  searchers  began  to  draw  together  into  one  body 
and  to  compare  notes.  The  agony  of  the  father  grew  beyond 
concealment,  yet  it  scarcely  equaled  the  anguish  of  the  tuton 
Would  to  God  I  had  died  for  him  !  "  the  affectionate  creature 
repeated,  in  tones  of  the  deepest  distress.  Those  who  were  less 
interested,  rushed  into  a  tumultuary  discussion  of  chances  and 
possibilities.  Each  gave  his  opinion,  and  each  was  alternately 
swayed  by  that  of  the  others.  Some  thought  the  objects  of 
the  search  had  gone  aboard  the  sloop  ;  some,  that  they  had 
gone  to  a  village  at  three  miles  distance  ;  some  whispered  they 
might  have  been  on  board  the  lugger,  a  few  planks  and  beams 
of  which  the  tide  now  drifted  ashore. 

At  this  instant,  a  shout  was  heard  from  the  beach,  so  loud, 
so  shrill,  so  piercing,  so  different  from  every  sound  which  the 
woods  that  day  had  rung  to,  that  nobody  hesitated  a  moment 
to  believe  that  it  conveyed  tidings,  and  tidings  of  dreadful 
import.  All  hurried  to  the  place,  and,  venturing  without 
scruple  upon  paths  which  at  another  time  they  would  have 
shuddered  to  look  at,  descended  toward  a  cleft  of  the  rock, 
where  one  boat's  crew  was  already  landed.  Here,  sirs  ! — 
here  ! — this  way,  for  God's  sake  ! — this  way  !  this  way  !  "  was 
the  reiterated  cry. — Eilangowan  broke  through  the  throng 
which  had  already  assembled  at  the  fatal  spot,  and  beheld  the 
object  of  their  terror.  It  was  the  dead  body  of  Kennedy.  At 
first  sight  he  seemed  to  have  perished  by  a  fall  from  the  rocks, 
which  rose  above  the  spot  on  which  he  lay,  in  a  perpendicular 
precipice  of  a  hundred  feet  above  the  beach.  The  corpse  was 
lying  half  in,  half  out  of  the  water;  the  advancing  tide,  raisii]'; 


GUY  MAiVNERIiSTG. 


the  arm  and  stirring  the  clothes,  had  given  it  at  some  distance 
the  appearance  of  motion,  so  that  those  who  first  discovered  the 
body  thought  that  life  remained.  But  every  spark  had  been 
long  extinguished. 

My  bairn  !  my  bairn  !  "  cried  the  distracted  father,  where 
can  he  be  ? — A  dozen  mouths  were  open  to  communicate  hopes 

which  no  one  felt.    Some  one  at  length  mentioned  the 

gypsies  !  In  a  moment  Ellangowan  had  reascended  the  cliffs^ 
flung  himself  upon  the  first  horse  he  met,  and  rode  furiously  to 
the  huts  at  Derncleugh.  All  was  there  dark  and  desolate  ;  and 
as  he  dismounted  to  make  more  minute  search,  he  stumbled 
over  fragments  of  furniture  which  had  been  thrown  out  of  the 
cottages,  and  the  broken  wood  and  thatch  which  had  been 
pulled  down  by  his  orders.  At  that  moment  the  prophecy  or 
anathema  of  Meg  Merrilies  fell  heavy  on  his  mind.  "  You 
have  stripped  the  thatch  from  seven  cottages, — see  that  the 
roof-tree  of  your  own  house  stand  the  surer  1  " 

"  Restore,"  he  cried,  restore  my  bairn  !  bring  me  back  my 
son,  and  all  shall  be  forgot  and  forgiven  !  "  As  he  uttered  these 
words  in  a  sort  of  frenzy,  his  eye  caught  a  glimmering  of  light 
in  one  of  the  dismantled  cottages — it  was  that  in  which  Meg 
Merrilies  formerly  resided.  The  light,  which  seemed  to  proceed 
from  fire,  glimmered  not  only  through  the  window,  but  also 
through  the  rafters  of  the  hut  where  the  roofing  had  been  torn 
off. 

He  flew  lo  the  place  ;  the  entrance  was  bolted  :  despair  gave 
the  miserable  father  the  strength  of  ten  men  :  he  rushed  against 
the  door  with  such  violence,  that  it  gave  way  before  the  momen- 
tum of  his  weight  and  force.  The  cottage  was  empty,  but  bore 
marks  of  recent  habitation  :  there  was  fire  on  the  hearth,  a 
kettle,  and  some  preparation  for  food.  As  he  eagerly  gazed 
round  for  something  that  might  confirm  his  hope  that  his  child 
yet  lived,  although  in  the  power  of  those  strange  people,  a  man 
entered  the  hut. 

It  was  his  old  gardener.  "  Oh  sir  !  "  said  the  old  man, 
**such  a  night  as  this  I  trusted  never  to  live  to  see  ! — ye  maun 
come  to  the  Place  directly  !  " 

"  Is  my  boy  found  ? — is  he  alive  ? — have  ye  found  Harry 
Bertram  ? — Andrew,  have  ye  found  Harry  Bertram  ? 

"  No,  sir;  but  

"  Then  he  is  kidnapped  !  I  am  sure  of  it,  Andrew — as  sure 
as  that  I  tread  upon  earth  !  She  has  stolen  him — and  I  will 
never  stir  from  this  place  till  I  have  tidings  of  my  bairn  !  " 

O,  but  ye  maun  come  hame,  sir  !  ye  maun  come  hame  !  we 
have  sent  for  the  Sheriff,  and  we'll  set  a  watch  here  a'  night,  \v 


54 


GUY  MANNERING. 


case  the  gypsies  return  ;  but  you — ye  maun  come  hame,  sir,  

for  my  lady's  in  the  dead-thraw."  ^ 

Bertram  turned  a  stupefied  and  unmeaning  eye  on  the 
messenger  who  uttered  this  calamitous  news  ;  and,  repeating 
the  words  in  the  dead-thraw  !  as  if  he  could  not  comprehend 
their  meaning,  suffered  the  old  man  to  drag  him  toward  his 
horse.  During  the  ride  home,  he  only  said,  "Wife  and  bairn, 
baith — mother  and  son,  baith — Sair,  sair  to  abide  !  " 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  new  scene  of  agony  which 
awaited  him.  The  news  of  Kennedy's  fate  had  been  eagerly 
and  incautiously  communicated  at  Ellangowan,  with  the  gra- 
tuitous addition,  that,  doubtless,  "  he  had  drawn  the  young 
Laird  over  the  craig  with  him,  though  the  tide  had  swept  away 
the  child's  body — he  was  light,  puir  thing !  and  would  flee 
further  into  the  surf." 

Mrs.  Bertram  heard  the  tidings  ;  she  was  far  advanced  in 
her  pregnancy  ;  she  fell  into  the  pains  of  premature  labor,  and 
ere  Ellangowan  had  recovered  his  agitated  faculties,  so  as  to 
comprehend  the  full  distress  of  his  situation,  he  was  the  father 
of  a  female  infant  and  a  widower. 


CHAPTER  TENTH. 

But  see  his  face  is  black,  and  full  of  blood  ; 

His  eye-balls  further  out  than  when  he  lived, 

Staring  full  ghastly  like  a  strangled  man  ; 

His  hair  upreared,  his  nostrils  stretched  with  struggling, 

His  hands  abroad  displayed,  as  one  that  gasped 

And  tugged  for  life,  and  was  by  strength  subdued. 

Henry  VI.  Part  Second, 

The  Sheriff-depute  of  the  county  arrived  at  Ellangowan 
next  morning  by  daybreak.  To  this  provincial  magistrate  the 
law  of  Scotland  assigns  judicial  powers  of  considerable  extent, 
and  the  task  of  inquiring  into  all  crimes  committed  within  his 
jurisdiction,  the  apprehension  and  commitment  of  suspected 
persons,  and  so  forth. f 

The  gentleman  who  held  the  office  in  the  shire  of  at 

the  time  of  this  catastrophe,  was  well  born  and  well  educated, 
and,  though  somewhat  pedantic  and  professional  in  his  habits. 

*  Death-agony. 

fThe  Scottish  Sheriff  discharges,  on  such  occasions  as  that  now  men- 
tioned, pretty  much  the  same  duty  as  a  Coroner. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


55 


he  enjoyed  general  respect  as  an  active  and  intelligent  magis- 
trate. His  first  employment  was  to  examine  all  witnesses 
whose  evidence  could  throw  light  upon  this  mysterious  event, 
and  make  up  the  written  report,  proces  verbal^  or  precognition, 
as  it  is  technically  called,  which  the  practice  of  Scotland  has 
substituted  for  a  coroner's  inquest.  Under  the  Sheriff's  minute 
and  skilful  inquiry,  many  circumstances  appeared  which  seemed 
incompatible  with  the  original  opinion  that  Kennedy  had  acci- 
dentally fallen  from  the  cliff.  We  shall  briefly  detail  some  of 
these. 

The  body  had  been  deposited  in  a  neighboring  fisher-hut, 
but  without  altering  the  condition  in  which  it  was  found.  This 
was  the  first  object  of  the  Sheriff's  examination.  Though 
fearfully  crushed  and  mangled  by  the  fall  from  such  a  height, 
the  corpse  was  found  to  exhibit  a  deep  cut  in  the  head,  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  a  skilful  surgeon,  must  have  been  inflicted 
by  a  broadsword,  or  cutlass.  The  experience  of  this  gentleman 
discovered  other  suspicious  indications.  The  face  was  much 
blackened,  the  eyes  distorted,  and  the  veins  of  the  neck  swelled. 
A  colored  handkerchief  which  the  unfortunate  man  wore  round 
his  neck,  did  not  present  the  usual  appearance,  but  was  much 
loosened,  and  the  knot  displaced  and  dragged  extremely  tight : 
the  folds  were  also  compressed,  as  if  it  had  been  used  as  a 
means  of  grappling  the  deceased,  and  dragging  him  perhaps  to 
the  precipice. 

On  the  other  hand,  poor  Kennedy^s  purse  was  found  un- 
touched ;  and  what  seemed  yet  more  extraordinary,  the  pistols 
which  he  usually  carried  when  about  to  encounter  any  hazardous 
adventure,  were  found  in  his  pockets  loaded.  This  appeared 
particularly  strange,  for  he  was  known  and  dreaded  by  the 
contraband  traders  as  a  man  equally  fearless  and  dexterous  in 
the  use  of  his  weapons,  of  which  he  had  given  many  signal 
proofs.  The  Sheriff  inquired,  whether  Kennedy  was  not  in  the 
practice  of  carrying  any  other  arms.  Most  of  Mr.  Bertram's 
servants  recollected  that  he  generally  had  a  couteaii  de  chasse^ 
or  short  hanger,  but  none  such  was  found  upon  the  dead  body ; 
nor  could  those  who  had  seen  him  on  the  morning  of  the  fatal 
day,  take  it  upon  them  to  assert  whether  he  then  carried  that 
weapon  or  not. 

The  corpse  afforded  no  other  i7idicia  respecting  the  fate  of 
Kennedy  ;  for  though  the  clothes  were  much  displaced,  and  the 
limbs  dreadfully  fractured,  the  one  seemed  the  probable,  the 
other  the  certain,  consequences  of  such  a  fall.  The  hands  of 
the  deceased  were  clenched  fast,  and  full  of  turf  and  earth;  but 
this  also  seemed  equivocal. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


The  magistrate  then  proceeded  to  the  place  where  the  corpse 

was  first  discovered,  and  made  those  who  had  found  it  give, 
upon  the  spot,  a  particular  and  detailed  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  lying.  A  large  fragment  of  the  rock  appeared 
to  have  accompanied,  or  followed  the  fall  of  the  victim  from 
the  cliff  above.  It  was  of  so  solid  and  compact  a  substance, 
that  it  had  fallen,  without  any  great  diminution  by  splintering, 
so  that  the  Sheriff  was  enabled,  first  to  estimate  the  weight  by 
measurement,  and  then  to  calculate,  from  the  appearance  of 
the  fragment,  what  portion  of  it  had  been  bedded  into  the  cliff 
from  which  it  had  descended.  This  was  easily  detected  by  the 
raw  appearance  of  the  stone  where  it  had  not  been  exposed  to 
the  atmosphere  :  they  then  ascended  the  cliff  and  surveyed  the 
place  from  whence  the  stony  fragment  had  fallen.  It  seemed 
plain,  from  the  appearance  of  the  bed,  that  the  mere  weight  of 
one  man  standing  upon  the  projecting  part  of  the  fragment, 
supposing  it  in  its  original  situation,  could  not  have  destroyed 
its  balance,  and  precipitated  it,  with  himself,  from  the  cliff. 
At  the  same  time,  it  appeared  to  have  lain  so  loose,  that  the 
use  of  a  lever,  or  the  combined  strength  of  three  or  four  men, 
might  easily  have  hurled  it  from  its  position.  The  short  turf 
about  the  brink  of  the  precipice  was  much  trampled,  as  if 
stamped  by  the  heels  of  men  in  a  mortal  struggle,  or  in  the  act 
of  some  violent  exertion.  Traces  of  the  same  kind,  less  visibly 
marked,  guided  the  sagacious  investigator  to  the  verge  of  the 
copsewood,  which  in  that  place  crept  high  up  the  bank  toward 
the  top  of  the  precipice. 

With  patience  and  perseverance,  they  traced  these  marks 
into  the  thickest  part  of  the  copse,  a  route  which  no  person 
would  have  voluntarily  adopted,  unless  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
cealment. Here  they  found  plain  vestiges  of  violence  and 
struggling,  from  space  to  space.  Small  boughs  were  torn 
down,  as  if  grasped  by  some  resisting  wretch,  who  was  dragged 
forcibly  along ;  the  ground,  where  in  the  least  degree  soft  or 
marshy,  showed  the  print  of  many  feet;  there  were  vestiges 
also,  which  might  be  those  of  human  blood.  At  any  rate,  it  was 
certain  that  several  persons  must  have  forced  their  passage 
among  the  oaks,  hazels,  and  underwood,  with  which  they  were 
mingled  ;  and  in  some  places  appeared  traces  as  if  a  sack  full 
of  grain,  a  dead  body,  or  something  of  that  heavy  and  solid 
description,  had  been  dragged  along  the  ground.  In  one  part 
of  the  thicket  there  was  a  small  swamp,  the  clay  of  which  was 
whitish,  being  probably  mixed  with  marl.  The  back  of  Keri- 
nedy*s  coat  appeared  besmeared  with  stains  of  the  same 
color. 


GUY  MAN-N-ERING, 


57 


At  length  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  brink  of  the 
fatal  precipice,  the  traces  conducted  them  to  a  small  open 
space  of  ground,  very  much  trampled,  and  plainly  stained  with 
blood,  although  withered  leaves  had  been  strewed  upon  the 
spot,  and  other  me.ins  hastily  taken  to  efface  the  marks,  which 
seemed  obviously  to  have  been  derived  from  a  desperate  affray. 
On  one  side  of  this  patch  of  open  ground,  was  found  the 
sufferer's  naked  hanger,  which  seemed  to  have  been  thrown 
into  the  thicket  ;  on  the  other,  the  belt  and  sheath,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  hidden  with  more  leisurely  care  and 
precaution. 

The  magistrate  caused  the  foot-prints  which  marked  this 
spot  to  be  carefully  measured  and  examined.  Some  corre- 
sponded to  the  foot  of  the  unhappy  victim ;  some  were  larger, 
some  less ;  indicating  that  at  least  four  or  five  men  had  been 
busy  around  him.  Above  all,  here,  and  here  only,  were  ob- 
served the  vestiges  of  a  child's  foot ;  and  as  it  could  be  seen 
nowhere  else,  and  the  hard  horse-track  which  traversed  the 
wood  of  Warroch  was  contiguous  to  the  spot,  it  was  natural  to 
think  that  the  boy  might  have  escaped  in  that  direction  during 
the  confusion.  But  as  he  was  never  heard  of,  the  Sheriff,  who 
made  a  careful  entry  of  all  these  memoranda,  did  not  suppress 
his  opinion  that  the  deceased  had  met  with  foul  play,  and  that 
the  murderers,  whoever  they  were,  had  possessed  themselves 
of  the  person  of  the  child  Harry  Bertram. 

Every  exertion  was  now  made  to  discover  the  criminals. 
Suspicion  hesitated  between  the  smugglers  and  the  gypsies. 
The  fate  of  Dirk  Hatteraick's  vessel  was  certain.  Two  men 
from  the  opposite  side  of  Warroch  Bay  (so  the  inlet  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  Point  of  Warroch  is  called)  had  seen, 
though  at  a  great  distance,  the  lugger  drive  eastward,  after 
doubling  the  headland,  and,  as  they  judged  from  her  manoeu- 
vres, in  a  disabled  state.  Shortly  after,  they  perceived  that  she 
grounded,  smoked,  and  finally  took  fire.  She  was,  as  one  of 
them  expressed  himself,  in  a  light  lo7v  (bright  flame)  when 
they  observed  a  king's  ship,  with  her  colors  up,  heave  in 
sight  from  behind  the  cape.  The  guns  of  the  burning  vessel 
discharged  themselves  as  the  fire  reached  them  ;  and  they  saw 
her  at  length  blow  up  with  a  great  explosion.  The  sloop  of 
war  kept  albof  for  her  own  safety  ;  and  after  hovering  till  the 
other  exploded,  stood  away  southward  under  a  press  of  sail. 
The  Sheriff  anxiously  interrogated  these  men  whether  any  boats 
had  left  the  vessel.  They  could  not  say — they  had  seen  none — 
but  they  might  have  put  off  in  such  a  direction  as  placed  the 


58 


GUY  MANNERING, 


burning  vesse^,  and  the  thick  smoke  which  floated  landward 
from  it,  between  their  course  and  the  witnesses'  observation. 

That  the  ship  destroyed  was  Dirk  Hatteraick's,  no  one 
doubted.  His  lugger  was  well  known  on  the  coast,  and  had 
been  expected  just  at  this  time.  A  letter  from  the  commander 
of  the  king's  sloop,  to  whom  the  Sheriff  made  application,  put 
the  matter  beyond  doubt ;  he  sent  also  an  extract  from  his  log- 
book of  the  transactions  of  the  day,  which  intimated  their  being 
on  the  outlook  for  a  smuggling  lugger,  Dirk  Hatteraick  master, 
upon  the  information  and  requisition  of  Francis  Kennedy,  of 
his  Majesty's  excise  service  ;  and  that  Kennedy  w^as  to  be  upon 
the  outlook  on  the  shore,  in  case  Hatteraick,  who  was  known  to 
be  a  desperate  fellow,  and  had  been  repeatedly  outlawed,  should 
attempt  to  run  his  sloop  aground.  About  nine  o'clock,  a.m. 
they  discovered  a  sail,  which  answered  the  description  of  Hat- 
teraick's  vessel,  chased  her,  and  after  repeated  signals  to  her 
to  show  colors  and  bring  to,  fired  upon  her.  The  chase  then 
showed  Hamburgh  colors,  and  returned  the  fire ;  and  a  running 
fight  was  maintained  for  three  hours,  when,  just  as  the  lugger 
was  doubling  the  Point  of  Warroch,  they  observed  that  the 
main-yard  was  shot  in  the  slings,  and  that  the  vessel  was  dis- 
abled. It  was  not  in  the  power  of  the  man-of-war's  men  for 
some  time  to  profit  by  the  circumstance,  owing  to  their  having 
kept  too  much  in  shore  for  doubling  the  headland.  After  two 
tacks,  they  accomplished  this,  and  observed  the  chase  on  fire, 
and  apparently  deserted.  The  fire  having  reached  some  casks 
of  spirits,  which  were  placed  on  the  deck,  with  other  combus- 
tibles, probably  on  purpose,  burnt  with  such  fury,  that  no  boats 
durst  approach  the  vessel,  especially  as  her  shotted  guns  were 
discharging,  one  after  another,  by  the  heat.  The  captain  had 
no  doubt  whatever  that  the  crew  had  set  the  vessel  on  fire,  and 
escaped  in  their  boats.  After  watching  the  conflagration  till 
the  ship  blew  up,  his  Majesty's  sloop,  the  Shark,  stood  toward 
the  Isle  of  Man,  with  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the  retreat  of 
the  smugglers,  who,  though  they  might  conceal  themselves  in 
the  woods  for  a  day  or  two,  would  probably  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  endeavoring  to  make  for  this  asylum.  But  they  never 
saw  more  of  them  than  is  above  narrated. 

Such  was  the  account  given  by  William  Pritchard,  master 
and  commander  of  his  Majesty's  sloop  of  war  Shark,"  who  con- 
cluded by  regretting  deeply  that  he  had  not  had  the  happiness 
to  fall  in  with  the  scoundrels,  who  had  had  the  impudence  to 
fire  on  his  Majesty's  flag,  and  with  an  assurance,  that,  should  he 
meet  Mr.  Dirk  Hatteraick  in  any  future  cruise,  he  would  not 


GUY  MANNERING. 


59 


fail  to  bring  him  into  port  under  his  stern,  to  answer  whatever 
might  be  alleged  against  him. 

As,  therefore,  it  seemed  tolerably  certain  that  the  men  on 
board  the  lugger  had  escaped,  the  death  of  Kennedy,  if  he  fell 
in  with  them  in  the  woods,  when  irritated  by  the  loss  of  their 
vessel,  and  by  the  share  he  had  in  it,  was  easily  to  be  accounted 
for.  And  it  was  not  improbable,  that  to  such  brutal  tempers, 
rendered  desperate  by  their  own  circumstances,  even  the  mur- 
der of  the  child,  against  whose  father,  as  having  become  sud- 
denly active  in  the  prosecution  of  smugglers,  Hatteraick  was 
known  to  have  uttered  deep  threats,  would  not  appear  a  very 
heinous  crime. 

Against  this  hypothesis  it  was  urged,  that  a  crew  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  men  could  not  have  lain  hidden  upon  the  coast  when 
so  close  a  search  took  place  immediately  after  the  destruction 
of  their  vessel ;  or.  at  least,  that  if  they  had  hid  themselves  in 
the  woods,  their  boats  must  have  been  seen  on  the  beach  ; — • 
that  in  such  precarious  circumstances,  and  when  all  retreat 
must  have  seemed  difficult  if  not  impossible,  it  was  not  to  be 
thought  that  they  would  have  all  united  to  commit  a  useless 
murder,  for  the  mere  sake  of  revenge.  Those  who  held  this 
opinion  supposed,  either  that  the  boats  of  the  lugger  had  stood 
out  to  sea  without  being  observed  by  those  who  were  intent 
upon  gazing  at  the  burning  vessel,  and  so  gained  safe  distance 
before  the  sloop  got  round  the  headland ;  or  else,  that,  the 
boats  being  staved  or  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  the  shot  during 
the  chase,  the  crew  had  obstinately  determined  to  perish  with 
the  vessel.  What  gave  some  countenance  to  this  supposed  act 
of  desperation  was,  that  neither  Dirk  Hatteraick  nor  any  of  his 
sailors,  all  well-known  men  in  the  fair-trade,  were  again  seen 
upon  that  coast,  or  heard  of  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  where  strict 
inquiry  was  made.  On  the  other  hand,  only  one  dead  body, 
apparently  that  of  a  seamen  killed  by  a  cannon-shot,  drifted 
ashore.  So  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  register  the  names, 
description,  and  appearance  of  the  individuals  belonging  to  the 
ship's  company,  and  offer  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of 
them,  or  any  one  of  them  ;  extending  also  to  any  person,  not 
the  actual  murderer  who  should  give  evidence  tending  to  convict 
those  who  had  murthered  Francis  Kennedy. 

Another  opinion,  which  was  also  plausibly  supported,  went  to 
charge  this  horrid  crime  upon  the  late  tenants  of  Derncleugh. 
They  were  known  to  have  resented  highly  the  conduct  of  the 
Laird  of  Ellangow^an  toward  them,  and  to  have  used  threatening 
expressions,  which  everyone  supposed  them  capable  of  carrying 
into  effect.    The  kidnapping  the  child  was  a  crime  much  more 


6o 


GUY  MANNERING. 


consistent  with  their  habits  than  with  those  of  smugglers,  and 
his  temporary  guardian  might  have  fallen  in  an  attempt  to 
protect  him.  Besides,  it  was  remembered  that  Kennedy 
had  been  an  active  agent,  two  or  three  days  before,  in  the 
forcible  expulsion  of  these  people  from  Derncleugh,  and  that 
harsh  and  miCnacing  language  had  been  exchanged  between 
him  and  some  of  the  Egyptian  patriarchs  on  that  memorable 
occasion. 

The  Sheriff  received  also  the  depositions  of  the  unfortunate 
father  and  his  servant,  concerning  what  had  passed  at  their 
meeting  the  caravan  of  gypsies,  as  they  left  the  estate  of  Elian- 
gowan.  The  speech  of  Meg  Merrilies  seemed  particularly 
suspicious.  There  was,  as  the  magistrate  observed  in  his  law 
language,  dam?ium  nmiatum — a  damage,  or  evil  turn,  threat- 
ened, and  malimi  seciitum — an  evil  of  the  very  kind  predicted, 
shortly  afterward  following.  A  young  woman,  who  had  been 
gathering  nuts  in  Warroch  wood  upon  the  fatal  day,  was  also 
strongly  of  opinion,  though  she  declined  to  make  positive  oath, 
that  she  had  seen  Meg  Merrilies,  at  least  a  woman  of  her 
remarkable  size  and  appearance,  start  suddenly  out  of  a  thicker 
— she  said  she  had  called  to  her  by  name,  but  as  the  figure 
turned  from  her,  and  made  no  answer,  she  was  uncertain  if  V: 
were  the  gypsy  or  her  wraith,  and  was  afraid  to  go  nearer  to 
one  who  was  always  reckoned,  in  the  vulgar  phrase,  no  caimy. 
This  vague  story  received  some  corroboration  from  the  circum- 
stance of  a  fire  being  that  evening  found  in  the  gypsy's  deserted 
cottage.  To  this  fact  Ellangowan  and  his  gardener  bore 
evidence.  Yet  it  seemed  extravagant  to  suppose,  that,  had 
this  woman  been  accessory  to  such  a  dreadful  crime,  she  would 
have  returned  that  very  evening  on  which  it  was  committed,  to 
the  place  of  all  others,  where  she  was  most  likely  to  be 
sought  after. 

Meg  Merrilies  was,  however,  apprehended  and  examined. 
She  denied  strongly  having  been  either  at  Derncleugh  or  in  the 
wood  of  Warroch  upon  the  day  of  Kennedy's  death ;  and 
several  of  her  tribe  made  oath  in  her  behalf,  that  she  had  never 
quitted  their  encampment,  which  was  in  a  glen,  about  ten  miles 
distant  from  Ellangowan.  Their  oaths  were  indeed  little  to  be 
trusted  to; — but  what  other  evidence  could  be  had  in  the  cir- 
cumstances ?  There  was  one  remarkable  fact,  and  only  one, 
which  arose  from  her  examination.  Her  arm  appeared  to  be 
slightly  wounded  by  the  cut  of  a  sharp  weapon,  and  was  tied 
up  with  a  handkerchief  of  Harry  Bertram's.  But  the  chief  of 
the  horde  acknowledged  he  had  corrected  her  "  that  dc-^y  with 
his  whinger — she  herself,  and  others,  gave  the  same  account  of 


GUY  MANNERING. 


6i 


her  hurt ;  and  for  the  handkerchief,  the  quantity  of  linen  stolen 
from  Ellangowan  during  the  last  months  of  their  residence  on 
the  estate,  easily  accounted  for  it,  without  charging  Meg  with  a 
more  heinous  crime. 

It  was  observed,  upon  her  examination,  that  she  treated  the 
questions  respecting  the  death  of  Kennedy,  or  "  the  ganger,"  as 
she  called  him,  with  indifference ;  but  expressed  great  and 
emphatic  scorn  and  indignation  at  being  supposed  capable  of 
injuring  little  Harry  Bertram.  She  was  long  confined  in  jail 
under  the  hope  that  something  might  yet  be  discovered  to  throw 
light  upon  this  dark  and  bloody  transaction.  Nothing,  however, 
occurred  ;  and  Meg  was  at  length  liberated,  but  under  sentence 
of  banishment  from  the  county  as  a  vagrant,  common  thief,  and 
disorderly  person.  No  traces  of  the  boy  could  ever  be  dis- 
covered ;  and,  at  length,  the  story,  after  making  much  noise, 
was  gradually  given  up  as  altogether  inexplicable,  and  only 
perpetuated  by  the  name  of  "  The  Ganger's  Loup,"  which  was 
generally  bestowed  on  the  cliff  from  which  the  unfortunate  man 
had  fallen  or  been  precipitated. 


CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 

Enter  Time  as  Chorus. 

I — that  please  some,  try  all;  both  joy  and  terror 
Of  good  and  bad;  that  make  and  unfold  error — 
Now  take  upon  me,  in  the  name  of  Time, 
To  use  my  wings.    Impute  it  not  a  crime 
To  me,  or  my  swift  passage,  that  I  slide 
O'er  sixteen  years,  and  leave  the  growth  untried 
Of  that  wide  gap.  

Winter's  Tale. 

Our  narration  is  now  about  to  make  a  large  stride,  and  omit 
a  space  of  nearly  seventeen  years ;  during  which  nothing  oc- 
curred of  any  particular  consequence  with  respect  to  the  story 
we  have  undertaken  to  tell.  The  gap  is  a  wide  one  ;  yet  if  the 
reader's  experience  in  life  enables  him  to  look  back  on  so  many 
years,  the  space  will  scarce  appear  longer  in  his  recollection 
than  the  time  consumed  in  turning  these  pages. 

It  was,  then,  in  the  month  of  November,  about  seventeen 
years  after  the  catastrophe  related  in  the  last  chapter,  that, 
during  a  cold  and  stormy  night,  a  social  group  had  closed  round 
the  kitchen-fire  of  the  Gordon  Arms  at  Kippletringan,  a  small 


62 


GUY  MANNERTNG. 


but  comfortable  inn,  kept  by  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  in  that  village. 
The  conversation  which  passed  among  them  will  save  me  the 
trouble  of  telling  the  few  events  occurring  during  this  chasm  in 
our  history,  with  which  it  is  necessary  that  the  reader  should 
be  acquainted. 

Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  throned  in  a  comfortable  easy  chair 
lined  with  black  leather,  was  regaling  herself,  and  a  neighbor- 
ing gossip  or  two,  with  a  cup  of  genuine  tea,  and  at  the  same 
time  keeping  a  sharp  eye  upon  her  domestics,  as  they  went  and 
came  in  prosecution  of  their  various  duties  and  commissions. 
The  clerk  and  precentor  of  the  parish  enjoyed  at  a  little  dis« 
tance  his  Saturday  night's  pipe,  and  aided  its  bland  fumigation 
by  an  occasional  sip  of  brandy  and  water.  Deacon  Bearcliff,  a 
man  of  great  importance  in  the  village,  combined  the  induF 
gence  of  both  parties — he  had  his  pipe  and  his  tea-cup,  the 
latter  being  laced  with  a  little  spirits.  One  or  two  clowns  sat 
at  some  distance,  drinking  their  twopenny  ale. 

"  Are  you  sure  the  parlor's  ready  for  them,  and  the  fire 
burning  clear,  and  the  chimney  no  smoking  ?  "  said  the  hostess 
to  a  chambermaid. 

She  was  answered  in  the  affirmative. — "  Ane  wadna  be  un- 
civil  to  them,  especially  in  their  distress,"  said  she,  turning  to 
the  Deacon. 

Assuredly  not,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  ;  assuredly  not.  I  am 
sure  ony  sma'  thing  they  might  want  frae  my  shop,  under  seven, 
or  eight,  or  ten  pounds,  I  would  book  them  as  readily  for  it  as 
the  first  in  the  country. — Do  they  come  in  the  auld  chaise  ? '' 

"  I  dare  say  no,"  said  the  precentor ;  for  Miss  Bertram 
comes  on  the  white  powny  ilka  day  to  the  kirk — and  a  constant 
kirk-keeper  she  is — and  it's  a  pleasure  to  hear  her  singing  the 
psalms,  winsome  young  thing." 

"  Ay,  and  the  young  Laird  of  Hazlewood  rides  hame  half 
road  wi'  her  after  sermon,"  said  one  of  the  gossips  in  com* 
pany  ;  "  I  wonder  how  auld  Hazlewood  likes  that." 

"  I  kenna  how  he  may  like  it  now,"  answered  another  of  the 
tea-drinkers  ;  but  the  day  has  been  when  Ellangowan  wad  hae 
liked  as  little  to  see  his  daughter  laking  up  with  their  son." 

"  Ay,  has  bcen^'^  answered  the  first,  with  somewhat  of  em- 
phasis. 

"I  am  sure,  neighbor  Ovens,"  said  the  hostess,  "the  Hazle- 
woods  of  Hazlewood,  though  they  are  a  very  gude  auld  family 
in  the  county,  never  thought,  till  within  these  twa  score  o' 
years,  of  evening  themselves  till  the  Ellangowans — Wow, 
woman,  the  Bertrams  of  Ellangowan  are  the  auld  Dingawaies 


GUY  MANNERING. 


63 


lang  syne — there  is  a  sang  about  ane  them  marrying  a 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Man  ;  it  begins, 

Blythe  Bertram's  ta'en  him  ower  the  faem, 
To  wed  a  wife  and  bring  her  hame  

I  daur  say  Mr.  Skreigh  can  sing  us  the  ballant/^ 

"  Gudewife,"  said  Skreigh,  gathering  up  his  mouth,  and  sij> 
ping  his  tiff  of  brandy  punch  with  great  solemnity,  ^'our  talents 
were  gien  us  to  other  use  than  to  sing  daft  auld  sangs  sae  near 
the  Sabbath-day." 

"  Hout  fie,  Mr.  Skreigh  ;  Tse  warrant  I  hae  heard  you  sing 
a  blythe  sang  on  Saturday  at  e'en  before  now. — But  as  for  the 
chaise,  Deacon,  it  hasna  been  out  of  the  coach-house  since  Mrs. 
Bertram  died,  that's  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  sin  syne. — Jock 
Jabos  is  away  wd'  a  chaise  of  mine  for  them  ; — I  wonder  he's 
no  come  back.  It's  pit  mirk — but  there's  no  an  ill  turn  on  the 
road  but  twa,  and  the  brigg  ower  Warroch  burn  is  safe  eneugh, 
if  he  baud  to  the  right  side.  But  then  there's  Heaviside-brae, 
that's  just  a  murder  for  post-cattle — but  Jock  kens  the  road 
brawly." 

A  loud  rapping  was  heard  at  the  door. 

"  That's  no  them.  I  didna  hear  the  wheels. — Grizzel,  ye 
limmer,  gang  to  the  door." 

"  It's  a  single  gentleman,"  whined  out  Grizzel ;  "  maun  I 
take  him  into  the  parlor  ?  " 

"  Foul  be  in  your  feet,  then  ;  it'll  be  some  English  riden 
Coming  without  a  servant  at  this  time  o'  night ! — Has  the  ostler 
ta'en  the  horse  — Ye  may  light  a  spunk  o'  fire  in  the  red  room." 

"I  wish,  ma'am,"  said  the  traveler,  entering  the  kitchen, 
"you  would  give  me  leave  to  warm  myself  here,  for  the  night 
is  very  cold." 

His  appearance,  voice,  and  manner,  produced  an  instanta- 
neous effect  in  his  favor.  He  w^is  a  handsome,  tall,  thin  figure, 
dressed  in  black,  as  appeared  when  he  laid  aside  his  riding- 
coat  ;  his  age  might  be  between  forty  and  fifty ;  his  cast  or 
features  grave  and  interesting,  and  his  air  somewhat  military,. 
Every  point  of  his  appearance  and  address  bespoke  the  gentle- 
man.  Long  habit  had  given  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  an  acute  tact 
in  ascertaining  the  quality  of  her  visitors,  and  porportioning 
her  reception  accordingly 

To  every  guest  the  appropriate  speech  was  made, 
And  every  duty  with  distinction  paid  ; 
Respectful,  easy,  pleasant,  or  polite— 
**  Your  honor's  servant  I — Mister  Smith,  good  night." 


64 


GUV  MANNERING, 


On  the  present  occasion,  she  was  low  in  her  curtsey,  and 
profuse  in  her  apologies.  The  stranger  begged  his  horse  might 
be  attended  to — she  went  out  herself  to  school  the  ostler. 

There  was  never  a  prettier  bit  o^  horse  flesh  in  the  stable 
the  Gordon  Arms,"  said  the  man ;  which  information  in- 
creased the  landlady's  respect  for  the  rider.  Finding,  on  her 
return,  that  the  stranger  declined  to  go  into  another  apartment 
(which,  indeed,  she  allowed,  w^ould  be  but  cold  and  smoky  till 
the  fire  bleezed  up),  she  installed  her  guest  hospitably  by  the 
fireside,  and  offered  what  refreshment  her  house  afforded. 

"A  cup  of  your  tea,  ma'am,  if  you  will  favor  me." 

Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  bustled  about,  reinforced  her  teapot 
with  hyson,  and  proceeded  in  her  duties  with  her  best  grace. 
"We  have  a  very  nice  parlor,  sir,  and  everything  very  agreeable 
for  gentlefolks ;  but  it's  bespoke  the  night  for  a  gentleman  and 
his  daughter,  that  are  going  to  leave  this  part  of  the  country — 
ane  of  my  chaises  is  gane  for  them,  and  will  be  back  forthwith. 
They're  no  sae  weel  in  the  warld  as  they  have  been ;  but  we're 
a'  subject  to  ups  and  downs  in  this  life,  as  your  honor  must 
needs  ken — but  is  not  the  tobacco-reek  disagreeable  to  your 
honor  t " 

"  By  no  means,  ma'am ;  I  am  an  old  campaigner,  and  per- 
fectly used  to  it. — Will  you  permit  me  to  make  some  inquiries 
about  a  family  in  this  neighborhood  t  " 

The  sound  of  wheels  was  nov/  heard,  and  the  landlady 
hurried  to  the  door  to  receive  her  expected  guests  ;  but  returned 
in  an  instant,  followed  by  the  postilion. — No,  they  canna 
come  at  no  rate,  the  Laird's  sae  ill." 

^'But  God  help  them  !  "  said  the  landlady,  "the  morn's  the 
term — the  very  last  day  they  can  bide  in  the  house — a'  thing's 
to  be  roupit." 

"  Weel,  but  they  can  come  at  no  rate,  I  tell  ye — Mr.  Ber- 
tram canna  be  moved." 

"  What  Mr.  Bertram  ? "  said  the  stranger  ;  "  not  Mr.  Ber- 
tram of  Ellangowan,  I  hope?" 

"  Just  e'en  that  same,  sir  ;  and  if  ye  be  a  friend  o'  his,  ye 
have  come  at  a  time  when  he's  sair  bested." 

"  I  have  been  abroad  for  many  years  ; — is  his  health  so 
much  deranged  1 " 

"  Ay,  and  his  affairs  an'  a',"  said  the  Deacon;  "the  credi- 
tors have  entered  into  possession  o'  the  estate,  and  it's  for  sale  ; 
and  some  that  made  the  maist  by  him — I  name  nae  names,  but 
Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  kens  wha  I  mean" — (the  landlady  shook 
her  head  significantly) — "  they're  sairest  on  him  e'en  now.  I 
have  a  sma'  matter  due  myself,  but  I  would  rather  have  lost  it 


GUY  MANNERING. 


65 


than  gane  to  turn  the  auld  man  out  of  his  house,  and  him  just 
dying." 

Ay,  but,"  said  the  parish-clerk,  Factor  Glossin  wants  to 
get  rid  of  the  auld  Laird,  and  drive  on  the  sale,  for  fear  the 
heir-male  should  cast  up  upon  them ;  for  I  have  heard  say,  if 
there  was  an  heir-male,  they  couldna  sell  the  estate  for  auld 
Ellangowan's  debt.'' 

"  He  had  a  son  born  a  good  many  years  ago,"  said  the 
stranger  ;     he  is  dead,  I  suppose  ?  " 

Nae  man  can  say  for  that,"  answered  the  clerk  mysteri^ 
ously. 

"  Dead  !  "  said  the  Deacon  ;  "  Tse  warrant  him  dead  lang 
syne;  he  hasna  been  heard  o'  these  twenty  years  or  thereby." 

I  wot  weel  it's  no  twenty  years,"  said  the  landlady  ;  it's 
no  abune  seventeen  at  the  outside  in  this  very  month  ;  it  made 
an  unco  noise  ower  a'  this  country — the  bairn  disappeared  the 
very  day  that  Supervisor  Kennedy  cam  by  his  end. — If  ye 
kenn'd  this  country  lang  syne,  your  honor  wad  maybe  ken 
Frank  Kennedy  the  Supervisor.  He  was  a  heartsome  pleasant 
man,  and  company  for  the  best  gentleman  in  the  county,  and 
muckle  mirth  he's  made  in  this  house.  I  was  young,  then,  sir, 
and  newly  married  to  Bailie  MacCandlish,  that's  dead  and 
gone — (a  sigh) — and  muckle  fun  I've  had  wi'  the  Supervisor. 
He  was  a  daft  dog. — O,  an  he  could  hae  hauden  aff  the  smug- 
glers a  bit !  but  he  was  aye  venturesome. — And  so  ye  see,  sir, 
there  was  a  king's  sloop  down  in  Wigton  Bay,  and  Frank  Ken- 
nedy, he  behoved  to  have  her  up  to  chase  Dick  Hatteraick's 
lugger — ye'll  mind  Dirk  Hatteraick,  Deacon  1  I  dare  say  ye 
may  have  dealt  wi'  him — (the  Deacon  gave  a  sort  of  acquies- 
cent nod  and  humph).  He  was  a  daring  chield,  and  he  fought 
his  ship  till  she  blew  up  like  peelings  of  ingans  :  and  Frank 
Kennedy  he  had  been  the  first  man  to  board,  and  he  was  flung 
like  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off,  and  fell  into  the  water  below  the 
rock  at  Warroch  Point,  that  they  ca'  the  Ganger's  Loup  to  this 
day." 

"  And  Mr.  Bertram's  child,"  said  the  stranger,  "  what  is  all 
this  to  him  ?  " 

"  Ou,  sir,  the  bairn  aye  held  an  unca  work  wi'  the  Super- 
visor ;  and  it  was  generally  thought  he  went  on  board  the  vessel 
alang  wi'  him,  as  bairns  are  aye  forward  to  be  in  mischief." 

"  No,  no,"  said  the  Deacon,  ye're  clean  out  there  Luckie 
— for  the  young  Laird  was  stown  away  by  a  randy  gypsy  woman 
they  ca'd  Meg  Merrilies, — I  mind  her  looks  weel,  in  revenge 
for  Ellangowan  having  gar'd  her  be  drumm'd  through  Kipple- 
tringan  for  stealing  a  silver  spoon." 


66 


GUY  MANNERING, 


If  ye'U  forgie  me,  Deacon,"  said  the  precentor.  ve're  e'en 
as  far  wrang  as  the  gudewife." 

And  what  is  your  edition  of  the  story,  sir  ?  ^'  said  the 
stranger,  turning  to  him  with  interest. 

"That's  maybe  no  sae  canny  to  tell,"  said  the  precentor, 
with  solemnity. 

Upon  being  urged,  however,  to  speak  out,  he  preluded  with 
two  or  three  large  puffs  of  tobacco-smoke,  and  out  of  the  cloudy 
sanctuary  which  these  whiffs  formed  around  him,  delivered  the 
following  legend,  having  cleared  his  voice  with  one  or  two  hems, 
and  imitating,  as  near  as  he  could,  the  eloquence  which  weekly 
thundered  over  his  head  from  the  pulpit. 

^' What  we  are  now  to  deliver,  my  brethren, — hem — hem, — 
I  mean,  my  good  friend, — was  not  done  in  a  corner,  and  may 
serve  as  an  answer  to  witch-advocates,  atheists,  and  misbelievers 
of  all  kinds.  Ye  must  know  that  the  worshipful  Laird  of 
Ellangowan  was  not  so  preceese  as  he  might  have  been  in 
clearing  his  land  of  witches  (concerning  whom  it  is  said  'Thou 
shalt  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live'),  nor  of  those  who  had  familiar 
spirits,  and  consulted  with  divination,  and  sorcery,  and  lots, 
which  is  the  fashion  with  the  Egyptians,  as  they  ca'  themsells, 
and  other  unhappy  bodies,  in  this  our  country.  And  the  Laird 
was  three  years  married  without  having  a  family — and  he  was 
sae  left  to  himsell,  that  it  was  thought  he  held  ower  muckle 
troking  and  communing  wi'  that  Meg  MerriJies,  wha  was  the 
maist  notorious  witch  in  a'  Galloway  and  Dumfries-shire  baith.'* 

"  Aweel,  I  wot  there's  something  in  that,"  said  Mrs.  Mao 
Candlish  ;  "  I've  kenn'd  him  order  her  twa  glasses  o'  brandy  in 
this  very  house." 

"  Aweel,  gudewife,  then  the  less  I  lee. — Sae  the  lady  was  wi' 
bairn  at  last,  and  in  the  night  when  she  should  have  been 
delivered,  there  comes  to  the  door  of  the  ha'  house — the  Place 
of  Ellangowan  as  they  ca'd — an  ancient  man,  strangely  habited, 
and  asked  for  quarters.  His  head,  and  his  legs,  and  his  arms 
were  bare,  although  it  was  winter  time  o'  the  year,  and  he  had 
a  gray  beard  three  quarters  lang.  Weel,  he  was  admitted  ;  and 
when  the  lady  was  delivered,  he  craved  to  know  the  very  moment 
of  the  hour  of  the  birth,  and  he  went  out  and  consulted  the 
stars.  And  when  he  came  back  he  tell'd  the  Laird,  that  the 
Evil  One  would  have  power  over  the  knave-bairn  that  was  that 
night  born,  and  he  charged  him  that  the  babe  should  be  bred 
up  in  the  ways  of  piety,  and  that  he  should  hae  a  godly  minister 
at  his  elbow,  to  pray  wi,  the  bairn  and  for  him.  And  the  aged 
man  vanished  away,  and  no  man  of  this  country  ever  saw  mair 
him." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


67 


Now,  that  will  not  pass/^  said  the  postilion,  who,  at  a 
respectful  distance,  was  listening  to  the  conversation,  "begging 
Mr.  Skreigh's  and  the  company's  pardon, — there  was  no  sae 
mony  Iiairs  on  the  Warlock's  face  as  there's  on  Letter-Gae's  ^ 
ain  at  this  moment ;  and  he  had  as  gude  a  pair  o'  boots  as  a 
man  need  streik  on  his  legs,  and  gloves  too ; — and  I  should 
understand  boots  by  this  time,  I  think.'' 

"  Whisht,  Jock,'''  said  the  landlady. 
Ay  t  and  what  do  ye  ken  o'  the  matter,  friend  Jabos  ?  " 
said  the  precentor,  contemptuously. 

*'  No  muckle,  to  be  sure,  Mr.  Skreigh — only  that  I  lived 
within  a  penny-stane  cast  o'  the  head  o'  the  avenue  at  Ellan- 
gowan,  when  a  man  cam  jingling  to  our  door  that  night  the 
young  Laird  was  born,  and  my  mother  sent  me,  that  was  a 
hafflin  callant,  to  show  the  stranger  the  gate  to  the  Place, 
which,  if  he^  had  been  sic  a  warlock,  he  might  have  kenn'd 
himsell,  ane  wad  think — and  he  was  a  young,  weel-faured, 
weel-dressed  lad,  like  an  Englishman.  And  I  tell  3^e  he  had  as 
gude  a  hat,  and  boots,  and  gloves,  as  ony  gentleman  need  to 
have.  To  be  sure  he  did  gie  an  awsome  glance  up  at  the  auld 
castle — and  there  7ifas  some  spae-work  gaed  on — I  aye  heard 
that ;  but  as  for  his  vanishing,  I  held  the  stirrup  mysell  when 
he  gaed  away,  and  he  gied  me  a  round  half-crown — he  was 
riding  on  a  haick  they  ca'd  Souple  Sam — it  belanged  to  the 
George  at  Dumfries — it  was  a  blood-bay  beast,  very  ill  o'  the 
spavin — I  hae  seen  the  beast  baith  before  and  since.'' 

"  Aweel,  aweel,  Jock,"  answered  Mr.  Skreigh,  with  a  tone  of 
mild  solemnity,  "  our  accounts  differ  in  no  material  particulars  ; 
but  I  had  no  knowledge  that  ye  had  seen  the  man. — So  ye  see, 
my  friends,  that  this  soothsayer  having  prognosticated  evil  to 
the  boy,  his  father  engaged  a  godly  minister  to  be  with  him 
morn  and  night." 

"  Ay,  that  was  him  they  ca'd  Dominie  Sampson,"  said  the 
postilion. 

He's  but  a  dumb  dog  that,"  observed  the  Deacon  ;  "  I  have 
heard  that  he  never  could  preach  five  words  of  a  sermon  end- 
lang,  for  as  long  as  he  has  been  licensed." 

"  Weel,  but,"  said  the  precentor,  waving  his  hand,  as  if  eager 
to  retrieve  the  command  of  the  discourse,  "he  waited  on  the 
young  Laird  by  night  and  day.  Now  it  chanced,  when  the 
bairn  was  near  five  years  auld,  that  the  Laird  had  a  sight  of  his 
errors,  and  determined  to  put  these  Egyptians  aff  his  ground  ; 
and  he  caused  them  to  remove  ;  and  that  Frank  Kennedy,  that 

The  precentor  is  called  by  Allan  Ramsay, — 

"  The  Letter-Gae  o£  haly  rhyme. 


68 


GUY  MANNERING. 


was  a  rough  swearing  fellow,  he  was  sent  to  turn  them  aff.  And 
he  cursed  and  damned  at  them,  and  they  swure  at  him  ;  and 
that  Meg  Merrilies,  that  was  the  maist  powerfu'  with  the  Enemy 
of  Mankind,  she  as  gude  as  said  she  would  have  him,  body  and 
soul,  before  three  days  were  ower  his  head.  And  I  have  it 
from  a  sure  hand,  and  that's  ane  wha  saw  it,  and  that's  John 
Wilson  that  was  the  Laird's  groom,  that  Meg  appeared  to  the 
Laird  as  he  was  riding  hame  from  Singleside,  over  Gibbie's- 
know,  and  threatened  him  wi'  what  she  wad  do  to  his  family; 
but  whether  it  was  Meg,  or  something  waur  in  her  likeness,  for 
it  seemed  bigger  than  ony  mortal  creature,  John  could  not  say/* 
"  Aweel,"  said  the  postilion,  ''it  might  be  sae — I  canna  say 
against  it,  for  I  was  not  in  the  country  at  the  time  ;  but  John 
Wilson  was  a  blustering  kind  of  a  chield,  without  the  heart  of  a 
sprug." 

"  And  what  was  the  end  of  all  this  !  "  said  the  stranger,  with 
some  impatience. 

"  Ou,  the  event  and  upshot  of  it  was,  sir,"  said  the  precen- 
tor, "  that  while  they  were  all  looking  on,  beholding  a  king's 
ship  chase  a  smuggler,  this  Kennedy  suddenly  brake  away  frae 
them,  without  any  reason  that  could  be  descried — ropes  nor 
tows  w^ad  not  hae  held  him — and  made  for  the  wood  of  Warroch 
as  fast  as  his  beast  could  carry  him  :  and  by  the  way  he  met 
the  young  Laird  and  his  Governor,  and  he  snatched  up  the  bairn, 
and  swure,  if  he  was  bewitched,  the  bairn  should  have  the  same 
luck  as  him  ;  and  the  minister  followed  as  fast  as  he  could,  and 
almaist  as  fast  as  them,  for  he  was  wonderfully  swift  of  foot — 
and  he  saw  Meg  the  witch,  or  her  master  in  her  similitude,  rise 
suddenly  out  of  the  ground,  and  claught  the  bairn  suddenly  out 
of  the  ganger's  arms — and  then  he  rampnuged  and  drew  his 
sword — for  ye  ken  a  fie  man  and  a  cusser  fearsna  the  deil." 

"  I  believe  that's  very  true,"  said  the  postilion. 

"  So,  sir,  she  grippit  him,  and  clodded  him  like  a  stane  from 
the  sling  ower  the  craigs  of  Warroch-head,  where  he  was  found 
that  evening — but  what  became  of  the  babe,  frankly  I  cannot 
say.  But  he  that  was  minister  here  then,  that's  now  in  a  better 
place,  had  an  opinion  that  the  bairn  v^as  only  conveyed  to 
Fairy-land  for  a  season." 

The  stranger  had  smiled  slightly  at  some  parts  of  this  recital, 
but  ere  he  could  answer,  the  clatter  of  a  horse's  hoofs  was  heard, 
and  a  smart  servant,  handsomely  dressed,  with  a  cockade  in  his 
hat,  bustled  into  the  kitchen,  with  ''  Make  a  little  room,  good 
people  ;  "  when,  observing  the  stranger,  he  descended  at  once 
into  the  modest  and  civil  domestic,  his  hat  sunk  down  by  his 
side,  and  he  put  a  letter  into  his  master's  hands.    "  The  family 


GUY  MANNERING. 


69 


at  Eilangowan,  sir,  are  in  great  distress,  and  unable  to  receive 
any  visits." 

"  I  know  it/'  replied  his  master. — "  And  now,  madam,  if  you 
will  hav^e  the  goodness  to  allow  me  to  occupy  the  parlor  you 
mentioned,  as  you  are  disappointed  of  your  guests  "  

"  Certai?ily,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  and  hastened  to 
light  the  way  with  all  the  imperative  bustle  which  an  active 
landlady  loves  to  display  on  such  occasions. 

"  Young  man,"  said  the  Deacon  to  the  servant,  filling  a  glass. 
^*  ye'll  no  be  the  waur  o'  this,  after  your  ride." 

"  Not  a  feather,  sir, — thank  ye — your  very  good  health, 
sir." 

And  wha  may  your  master  be  friend  ?  " 

"  What,  the  gentleman  that  was  here  ? — that's  the  famous 
Colonel  Mannering,  sir,  from  the  East  Indies." 

"  What,  him  we  read  of  in  the  newspapers  ?  " 

"  Ay  ay,  just  the  same.  It  was  he  relieved  Cuddieburn, 
and  defended  Chingalore,  and  defeated  the  great  Mahratta 
Chief,  Ram  JoUi  Bundleman — I  was  with  him  in  most  of  his 
campaigns." 

"  Lord  safe  us,"  said  the  landlady,  "  I  must  go  see  what  he 
would  have  for  supper — that  I  should  set  him  down  here  1  " 

"  O,  he  likes  that  all  the  better,  mother  ; — you  never  saw  a 
plainer  creature  in  your  life  than  our  old  Colonel  ;  and  yet  he 
has  a  spice  of  the  devil  in  him  too." 

The  rest  of  the  evening's  conversation  below  stairs  tending 
little  to  edification,  we  shall,  with  the  reader's  leave,  step  up  to 
the  parlor. 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

 -Reputation  ?  that's  man's  idol 

Set  up  against  God,  the  Maker  of  all  laws, 
Who  hath  commanded  us  we  should  not  kill. 
And  yet  we  say  we  must,  for  Reputation  ! 
What  honest  man  can  either  fear  his  own, 
Or  else  will  hurt  another's  reputation  ? 
Fear  to  do  base  unworthy  things  is  valor; 
If  they  be  done  to  us  to  suffer  them 
Is  valor  too.  

Ben  Jonson, 

The  Colonel  was  walking  pensively  up  and  down  the  parlor, 
when  the  officious  landlady  re-entered  to  take  his  commands. 
Having  given  them  in  the  manner  he  thought  would  be  most 


70 


GUY  MANNERING, 


acceptable  for  the  good  of  the  house,"  he  begged  to  detain  her 
a  moment. 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  "  madam,  if  I  understood  the  good  people 
right,  Mr.  Bertram  lost  his  son  in  his  fifth  year  t  " 

"  O  ay,  sir,  there's  nae  doubt  o'  that,  though  there  are  mony 
idle  clashes  about  the  way  and  manner  ;  for  irs  an  auld  story 
now,  and  everybody  tells  it,  as  we  were  doing,  their  ain  way  by 
the  ingleside.  But  lost  the  bairn  was  in  his  fifth  year,  as  your 
honor  says.  Colonel ;  and  the  news  being  rashly  tell'd  to  the 
leddy,  then  great  with  child,  cost  her  her  life  that  samyn  night 
— and  the  Laird  never  throve  after  that  day,  but,  was  just  care- 
less of  everything — though,  when  his  daughter  Miss  Lucy  grew 
up,  she  tried  to  keep  order  within  doors — but  what  could  she 
do,  poor  thing  — so  now  they're  out  of  house  and  hauld." 

"  Can  you  recollect,  madam,  about  what  time  of  the  year 
the  child  was  lost  ? "  The  landlady,  after  a  pause,  and  some 
recollection,  answered,  "  she  was  positive  it  was  about  this 
season  ;  "  and  added  some  local  recollections  that  fixed  the 
date  in  her  memory,  as  occurring  about  the  beginning  of 
November,  17 — . 

The  stranger  took  two  or  three  turns  round  the  room  in 
silence,  but  signed  to  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  not  to  leave  it. 

"Did  I  rightly  apprehend,''  he  said,  "that  the  estate  of 
Ellangowan  is  in  the  market  1  " 

"  In  the  market  ? — it  will  be  sell'd  the  morn  to  the  highest 
bidder — that's  no  the  morn.  Lord  help  me  !  which  is  the  Sab- 
bath, but  on  Monday,  the  first  free  day ;  and  the  furniture  and 
stocking  is  to  be  roupit  at  the  same  time  on  the  ground.  It's 
the  opinion  of  the  haill  country,  that  the  sale  has  been  shame- 
fully forced  on  at  this  time,  when  there's  sae  little  money  stirring 
in  Scotland  wi'  this  weary  American  war,  that  somebody  may 
get  the  land  a  bargain — Deil  be  in  them,  that  I  should  say  sae  !  " 
— the  good  lady's  wrath  rising  at  the  supposed  injustice. 

"  And  where  will  the  sale  take  place  t  " 

"  On  the  premises,  as  the  advertisement  says — that's  at  the 
house  of  Ellangowan,  your  honor,  as  I  understand  it." 

"  And  who  exhibits  the  title-deeds,  rent-roll,  and  plan  " 

"  A  very  decent  man,  sir  ;  the  Sheriff-substitute  of  the  county, 
who  has  authority  from  the  Court  of  Session.  He's  in  the  town 
just  now,  if  your  honor  would  like  to  see  him  ;  and  he  can 
tell  you  mair  about  the  loss  of  the  bairn  than  onybody,  for  the 
Sheriff-depute  (that's  his  principal,  like)  took  much  pains  to 
come  at  the  truth  o'  that  matter,  as  I  have  heard." 

"  And  this  gentleman's  name  is  " 


GUY  MANh'ERmc, 


"  Mac-Mori  an,  sir, — he's  a  man  o'  character,  and  weel 
spoken  o\" 

Send  my  comf)liments — Colonel  Mannering's  compliments 
to  him,  and  1  would  be  glad  he  would  do  me  the  pleasure  of 
supping  with  me,  and  bring  these  papers  with  him — and  I  beg, 
good  madam,  you  wall  say  nothing  of  this  to  any  one  else." 

Me,  sir  ?  ne'er  a  word  shall  I  say — I  wish  your  honor  (a 
curtsey),  or  ony  honorable  gentleman  that's  fought  for  his 
country  (another  curtsey),  l>ad  the  land,  since  the  auld  family 
maun  quit  (a  sigh),  rather  than  that  wily  scoundrel,  Glossin, 
that's  risen  on  the  ruin  of  the  best  friend  he  ever  had — and 
now  I  think  on't,  I'll  slip  on  my  hood  and  pattens,  and  gang 
to  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  mysell — he's  at  hame  e'en  now — its  hardly 
a  step." 

"  Do  so,  my  good  landlady,  and  many  thanks — and  bid  my 
servant  step  here  with  my  portfolio  in  the  meantime." 

In  a  minute  or  two,  Colonel  Mannering  was  quietly  seated 
with  his  writing  materials  before  him.  We  have  the  privilege 
of  looking  over  his  shoulder  as  he  writes,  and  we  willingly 
communicate  its  substance  to  our  readers.  The  letter  was 
addressed  to  Arthur  Mervyn,  Esq.  of  Mervyn-Hall,  Llanbraith- 
waite,  Westmoreland.  It  contained  some  account  of  the  writer's 
previous  journey  since  parting  with  him,  and  then  proceeded  as 
follows  : — 

"  And  now,  why  will  you  still  upbraid  me  with  my  melancholy, 
Mervyn  ? — Do  you  think,  after  the  lapse  of  twenty-five  years, 
battles,  wounds,  imprisonment,  misfortunes  of  every  description, 
I  can  be  still  the  same  lively,  unbroken  Guy  Mannering,  who 
climbed  Skiddaw  with  you,  or  shot  grouse  upon  Crossfell  ? 
That  you,  who  have  remained  in  the  bosom  of  domestic  happi- 
ness, experience  little  change,  that  your  step  is  as  light,  and 
your  fancy  as  full  of  sunshine,  is  a  blessed  effect  of  health  and 
temperament,  co-operating  with  content,  and  a  smooth  current 
down  the  course  of  life.  But  career  has  been  one  of  diffi- 
culties, and  doubts,  and  errors.  From  my  infancy  I  have  been 
the  sport  of  accident,  and  though  the  wind  has  often  borne  me 
into  harbor,  it  has  seldom  been  into  that  which  the  pilot 
destined.  Let  me  recall  to  you  -  but  the  task  must  be  brief — 
the  odd  and  wayward  fates  of  my  youth,  and  the  misfortunes  of 
my  manhood. 

The  former,  you  will  say,  had  nothing  very  appallinp-.  All 
was  not  for  the  best ;  but  all  was  tolerable.  My  father,  the 
eldest  son  of  an  ancient  but  reduced  family,  left  me  with  little, 
save  the  name  of  the  head  of  the  house,  to  the  protection  of  his 
more  fortunate  brothers.    They  were  so  fond  of  me  that  they 


72 


GUY  MANNERIN-G. 


almost  quarreled  about  me.  My  uncle,  the  bishop,  would  have 
had  me  in  orders,  and  offered  me  a  living — my  uncle,  the 
merchant,  would  have  put  me  into  a  counting-house,  and  pro- 
posed to  give  me  a  share  in  the  thriving  concern  of  Mannering 
and  Marshall,  in  Lombard  Street.  So  between  these  two 
stools,  or  rather  these  two  soft,  easy,  well-stuffed  chairs  of 
divinity  and  commerce,  my  unfortunate  person  slipped  down, 
and  pitched  upon  a  dragoon  saddle.  Again,  the  bishop  wished 
me  to  marry  the  niece  and  heiress  of  the  Dean  of  Lincoln  ;  and 
my  uncle,  the  alderman,  proposed  to  me  the  only  daughter  of 
old  Sloethorn,  the  great  wine-merchant,  rich  enough  to  play  at 
span-counter  with  moidores,  and  make  thread-papers  of  bank 
notes — and  somehow  I  slipped  my  neck  out  of  both  nooses,  and 
married — poor — poor  Sophia  Wellwood. 

"  You  will  say,  my  military  career  in  India,  when  I  followed 
my  regiment  there,  should  have  given  me  some  satisfaction  ; 
and  so  it  assuredly  has.  You  will  remind  me  also,  that  if  I 
disappointed  the  hopes  of  my  guardians,  I  did  not  incur  their 
displeasure  ;  that  the  bishop,  at  his  death,  bequeathed  me  his 
blessing,  his  manuscript  sermon,  and  a  curious  portfolio,  con- 
taining the  heads  of  eminent  divines  of  the  church  of  England 
and  that  my  uncle.  Sir  Paul  Mannering,  left  me  sole  heir  and 
executor  to  his  large  fortune.  Yet  this  availeth  me  nothing  : 
I  told  you  I  had  that  upon  my  mind  which  I  should  carry  to 
my  grave  with  me — a  perpetual  aloes  in  the  draught  of  exist- 
ence. I  will  tell  you  the  cause  more  in  detail  than  I  had  the 
heart  to  do  while  under  your  hospitable  roof.  You  will  often 
hear  it  mentioned,  and  perhaps  with  different  and  unfounded 
circumstances.  I  will  therefore  speak  it  out ;  and  then  let  the 
event  itself,  and  the  sentiments  of  melancholy  with  which  it 
has  impressed  me,  never  again  be  subject  of  discussion  between 
us. 

"  Sophia,  as  you  well  know,  followed  me  to  India.  She  was 
as  innocent  as  gay ;  but,  unfortunately  for  us  both,  as  gay  as 
innocent.  My  own  manners  were  partly  formed  by  studies  I 
had  forsaken,  and  habits  of  seclusion,  not  quite  consistent  with 
my  situation  as  commandant  of  a  regiment  in  a  country  where 
universal  hospitality  is  offered  and  expected  by  every  settler 
claiming  the  rank  of  a  gentleman.  In  a  moment  of  peculiar 
pressure  (you  know  how  hard  we  were  sometimes  run  to  obtain 
white  faces  to  countenance  our  line-of-battle),  a  young  man, 
named  Brown,  joined  our  regiment  as  a  volunteer — and  finding 
the  military  duty  more  to  his  fancy  than  commerce,  in  which 
he  had  been  engaged,  remained  with  us  as  a  cadet.  Let  me  do 
my  unhappy  victim  justice — he  behaved  with  such  gallantry  on 


GUY  MANNERING, 


73 


every  occasion  that  offered,  that  the  first  vacant  commission 
was  considered  as  his  due.  I  was  absent  for  some  weeks  upon 
a  distant  expedition ;  when  I  returned,  I  found  this  young 
fellow  established  quite  as  the  friend  of  the  house,  and  habitual 
attendant  of  my  wife  and  daughter.  It  was  an  arrangement 
which  displeased  me  in  many  particulars,  though  no  objection 
could  be  made  to  his  manners  or  character.  Yet  I  might  have 
been  reconciled  to  his  familiarity  in  my  family,  but  for  the 
suggestions  of  another.  If  you  read  over — what  I  never  dare 
open — the  play  of  Othello,  you  will  hav^e  some  idea  of  what 
followed — I  mean,  of  my  motives  :  my  actions,  thank  God  ! 
were  less  reprehensible.  There  was  another  cadet  ambitious  of 
the  vacant  situation.  He  called  my  attention  to  what  he  led 
me  to  term  coquetry  between  my  wife  and  this  young  man. 
Sophia  was  virtuous,  but  proud  of  her  virtue  ;  and,  irritated  by 
my  jealousy,  she  was  so  imprudent  as  to  press  and  encourage 
an  intimacy  which  she  saw  I  disapproved  and  regarded  with 
suspicion.  Between  Brown  and  me  there  existed  a  sort  of 
internal  dislike.  He  made  an  effort  or  two  to  overcome  my 
prejudice ;  but,  prepossessed  as  I  was,  I  placed  them  to  a 
wrong  motive.  Feeling  himself  repulsed,  and  with  scorn,  he 
desisted ;  and  as  he  was  without  family  and  friends,  he  was 
naturally  more  watchful  of  the  deportment  of  one  who  had 
both. 

"  It  is  odd  with  what  torture  I  write  this  letter.  I  feel 
inclined,  nevertheless,  to  protract  the'  operation,  just  as  if  my 
doing  so  could  put  off  the  catastrophe  which  has  so  long  embit- 
tered my  life.    But  it  must  be  told,  and  it  shall  be  told 

briefly. 

"  My  wife,  though  no  longer  young,  was  still  eminently 
handsome,  and — let  me  say  thus  far  in  my  own  justification — • 
she  was  fond  of  being  thought  so — I  am  repeating  what  1  said 
before. — In  a  word,  of  her  virtue  I  never  entertained  a  doubt  ; 
but,  pushed  by  the  artful  suggestions  of  Archer,  I  thought  she 
cared  little  for  my  peace  of  mind,  and  that  the  young  fellow, 
Brown,  paid  his  attentions  in  my  despite,  and  in  defiance  of 
me  He  perhaps  considered  me,  on  his  part,  as  an  oppressive 
aristocratic  man,  who  made  my  rank  in  society,  and  in  the 
army,  the  means  of  galling  those  whom  circumstances  placed 
beneath  me.  And  if  he  discovered  my  silly  jealousy,  he  prob- 
ably considered  the  fretting  me  in  that  sore  point  of  my  char- 
acter, as  one  means  of  avenging  the  petty  indignities  to  which 
I  had  it  in  my  power  to  subject  him.  Yet  an  acute  friend  of 
mine  gave  a  more  harmless,  or  at  least  a  less  offensive,  con- 
struction to  his  attentions,  which  he  conceived  to  be  meant  for 


74 


GUY  MANl^ERING, 


my  daughter  Julia,  though  immediately  addressed  to  propitiate 
the  influence  of  her  mother.  This  could  have  been  no  very 
flattering  or  pleasing  enterprise  on  the  part  of  an  obscure  and 
nameless  young  man  ;  but  I  should  not  have  been  offended  at 
this  folly,  as  I  was  at  the  higher  degree  of  presumption  I  sus- 
pected.   Offended,  however,  I  was,  and  in  a  mortal  degree. 

"  A  very  slight  spark  will  kindle  a  flame  w^here  everything 
lies  open  to  catch  it.  I  have  absolutely  forgot  the  proximate 
cause  of  quarrel,  but  it  was  some  trifle  which  occurred  at  the 
card-table,  which  occasioned  high  words  and  a  challenge.  We 
met  in  the  morning  beyond  the  walls  and  esplanade  of  the 
fortress  w^hich  I  then  commanded,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  settle- 
ment. This  w^as  arranged  for  Brown's  safety,  had  he  escaped. 
I  almost  wish  he  had,  though  at  my  own  expense  ;  but  he  fell 
by  the  first  fire.  We  strove  to  assist  him  ;  but  some  of  these 
Looties,  a  species  of  native  banditti  who  w^ere  always  on  the 
watch  for  prey,  poured  in.  upon  us.  Archer  and  I  gained  our 
horses  with  difficulty,  and  cut  our  w^ay  through  them  after  a 
hard  conflict,  in  the  course  of  which  he  received  some  desperate 
wounds.  To  complete  the  misfortunes  of  this  miserable  day, 
my  wife,  who  suspected  the  design  with  which  I  left  the  fortress, 
had  ordered  her  palanquin  to  follow  me,  and  was  alarmed  and 
almost  made  prisoner  by  another  troop  of  these  plunderers. 
She  was  quickly  released  by  a  party  of  our  cavalry  ;  but  I 
cannot  disguise  from  myself,  that  the  incidents  of  this  fatal 
morning  gave  a  severe  shock  to  health  already  delicate.  The 
confession  of  Archer,  who  thought  himself  dying,  that  he  had 
invented  some  circumstances,  and,  for  his  purposes,  put  the 
worst  construction  upon  others,  and  the  full  explanation  and 
exchange  of  forgiveness  with  me  which  this  produced,  could  not 
check  the  progress  of  her  disorder.  She  died  within  about 
eight  months  after  this  incident,  bequeathing  me  only  the  girl 
of  w^hom  Mrs.  Mervyn  is  so  good  as  to  undertake  the  temporary 
charge.  Julia  was  also  extremely  ill  ;  so  much  so,  that  I  was 
induced  to  throw  up  my  command  and  return  to  Europe, 
where  her  native  air,  time,  and  the  novelty  of  the  scenes  around 
her  have  contributed  to  dissipate  her  dejection,  and  restore 
her  health. 

Now  that  you  know  my  story,  you  will  no  longer  ask  me 
the  reason  of  my  melancholy,  but  permit  me  to  brood  upon  it 
as  I  may.  There  is,  surely,  in  the  above  narrative,  enough  to 
embitter,  though  not  to  poison,  the  chalice,  which  the  fortune 
and  fame  you  so  often  mention  had  prepared  to  regale  my 
years  of  retirement. 

"  I  could  add  circumstances  which  our  old  tutor  would  have 


GUY  MANNERING, 


75 


quoted  as  instances  of  day  fatality^ — you  would  laugh  were  I 
to  mention  such  particulars,  especially  as  you  know  I  put  no 
faith  in  them.  Yet,  since  I  have  come  to  the  very  house  from 
which  I  now  write,  I  have  learned  a  singular  coincidence, 
which,  if  I  find  it  truly  established  by  tolerable  evidence,  will 
serve  us  hereafter  for  subject  of  curious  discussion.  But  I  will 
spare  you  at  present,  as  I  expect  a  person  to  speak  about  a 
purchase  of  property  now  open  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It 
is  a  place  to  which  I  have  a  foolish  partiality,  and  I  hope  my 
purchasing  may  be  convenient  to  those  who  are  parting  with  it, 
as  there  is  a  plan  for  buying  it  under  the  value.  My  respectful 
compliments  to  Mrs.  Mervyn,  and  I  will  trust  you,  though  you 
boast  to  be  so  lively  a  young  gentleman,  to  kiss  Julia,  for  me. 
— Adieu,  dear  Mervyn. — Thine  ever, 

Guy  Mannering.'* 

Mr.  Mac-Morlan  now  entered  the  room.  The  well-known 
character  of  Colonel  Mannering  at  once  disposed  this  gentle- 
man, who  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  probity,  to  be  open  and 
confidential,  he  explained  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
the  property.  "  It  was  settled,"  he  said,  "  the  greater  part  of 
it  at  least,  upon  heirs-male,  and  the  purchaser  would  have  the 
privilege  of  retaining  in  his  hands  a  large  proportion  of  the 
price,  in  case  of  the  re-appearance,  within  a  certain  limited 
term,  of  the  child  who  had  disappeared.'' 

To  what  purpose,  then,  force  forward  a  sale.'* "  said  Man- 
nering. 

Mac-Morlan  smiled.  Ostensibly,"  he  answered,  "  to  sub- 
stitute the  interest  of  money,  instead  of  the  ill-paid  and  precari- 
ous rents  of  an  unimproved  estate  ;  but  chiefly,  it  was  believed, 
to  suit  the  wishes  and  views  of  a  certain  intended  purchaser, 
who  had  become  a  principal  creditor,  and  forced  himself  into 
the  management  of  the  affairs  by  means  best  known  to  himself, 
and  who,  it  was  thought,  would  find  it  very  convenient  to  pur- 
chase the  estate  without  paying  down  the  price." 

Mannering  consulted  with  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  upon  the  steps 
for  thwarting  this  unprincipled  attempt.  They  then  conversed 
long  on  the  singular  disappearance  of  Harry  Bertram  upon  his 
fifth  birthday,  verifying  thus  the  random  prediction  of  Man- 
nering, of  which,  however,  it  will  readily  be  supposed  he  made 
no  boast.  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  was  not  himself  in  office  when  that 
incident  took  place ;  but  he  was  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
circumstances,  and  promised  that  our  hero  should  have  them 
detailed  by  the  sheriff-deputy  himself,  if,  as  he  proposed,  he 
should  become  a  settler  in  that  part  of  Scotland.    With  this 


76 


GUY  MANNERING. 


assurance  they  parted,  well  satisfied  with  each  other,  and  with 
the  evening's  conference. 

On  the  Sunday  following,  Colonel  Mannering  attended  the 
parish  church  with  great  decorum.  None  of  the  Ellangowan 
family  were  present ;  and  it  was  understood  that  the  old  Laird 
was  rather  worse  than  better.  Jock  Jabos,  once  more  de- 
spatched for  him,  returned  once  more  without  his  errand ;  but, 
on  the  following  day,  Miss  Bertram  hoped  he  might  be  removed. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 

They  told  me,  by  the  sentence  of  the  law, 
They  had  commission  to  seize  all  thy  fortune. — 
Here  stood  a  ruffian  with  a  horrid  face, 
Lording  it  o'er  a  pile  of  massy  plate, 
Tumbled  into  a  heap  for  public  sale  ; — 
There  was  another,  making  villainous  jests 
At  thy  undoing ;  he  had  ta'en  possession 
Of  all  thy  ancient  and  most  domestic  ornaments. 

Otway. 

Early  next  morning,  Mannering  mounted  his  horse,  and 
accompanied  by  his  servant,  took  the  road  to  Ellangowan. 
He  had  no  need  to  inquire  the  way.  A  sale  in  the  country  is 
a  place  of  public  resort  and  amusement,  and  people  of  various 
descriptions  streamed  to  it  from  all  quarters. 

After  a  pleasant  ride  of  about  an  hour,  the  old  towers  of  the 
ruin  presented  themselves  in  the  landscape.  The  thought, 
with  what  different  feelings  he  had  lost  sight  of  them  so  many 
years  before,  thronged  upon  the  mind  of  the  traveler.  The 
landscape  was  the  same ;  but  how  changed  the  feelings,  hopes 
and  views,  of  the  spectator  !  Then,  life  and  love  were  new, 
and  all  the  prospect  was  gilded  by  their  rays.  And  now,  disap- 
pointed in  affection,  sated  with  fame,  and  what  the  world  calls 
success,  his  mind  goaded  by  bitter  and  repentant  recollection, 
his  best  hope  was  to  find  a  retirement  in  which  he  might  nurse 
the  melancholy  that  was  to  accompany  him  to  his  grave.  "  Yet 
why  should  an  individual  mourn  over  the  instability  of  his 
hopes,  and  the  vanity  of  his  prospects  ?  The  ancient  chiefs, 
who  erected  these  enormous  and  massive  towers  to  be  the  fort- 
ress of  their  race,  and  the  seat  of  their  power, — could  they  have 
dreamed  the  day  was  to  come,  when  the  last  of  their  descendants 
should  be  expelled,  a  ruined  wanderer,  from  his  possessions  ! 
But  Nature's  bounties  are  unaltered.    The  sun  will  shine  as 


GUY  MANNERING. 


77 


fair  on  these  ruins,  whether  the  property  of  a  stranger,  or  of  a 
sordid  and  obscure  trickster  of  the  abused  law,  as  when  the 
banners  of  the  founder  first  waved  upon  their  battlements." 

These  reflections  brought  Mannering  to  the  door  of  the 
house,  which  was  that  day  open  to  all.  He  entered  among 
others,  who  traversed  the  apartments — some  to  select  articles 
for  purchase,  others  to  gratify  their  curiosity.  There  is  some- 
thing melancholy  in  such  a  scene,  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances.  The  confused  state  of  the  furniture, 
displaced  for  the  convenience  of  being  easily  viewed  and  carried 
off  by  the  purchasers,  is  disagreeable  to  the  eye.  Those  articles 
which,  properly  and  decently  arranged,  look  creditable  and 
handsome,  have  then  a  paltry  and  wretched  appearance  ;  and 
the  apartments,  stripped  of  all  that  render  them  commodious 
and  comfortable,  have  an  aspect  of  ruin  and  dilapidation.  It 
is  disgusting,  also,  to  see  the  scenes  of  domestic  society  and 
seclusion  thrown  open  to  the  gaze  of  the  curious  and  the  vulgar  ; 
to  hear  their  coarse  speculations  and  brutal  jests  upon  the  fash- 
ions and  furniture  to  which  they  are  unaccustomed, — a  frolic- 
some humor,  much  cherished  by  the  whisky  which  in  Scotland 
is  always  put  in  circulation  on  such  occasions.  All  these  are 
ordinary  effects  of  such  a  scene  as  EUangowan  now  presented ; 
but  the  moral  feeling,  that,  in  this  case,  they  indicated  the  total 
ruin  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  family,  gave  them  treble 
weight  and  poignancy. 

It  was  some  time  before  Colonel  Mannering  could  find  any 
one  disposed  to  answer  his  reiterated  questions  concerning  EUan- 
gowan himself.  At  length,  an  old  maidservant,  who  held  her 
apron  to  her  eyes  as  she  spoke,  told  him,  the  Laird  was  some- 
thing better,  and  they  hoped  he  would  be  able  to  leave  the 
house  that  day.  Miss  Lucy  expected  the  chaise  every  moment, 
and,  as  the  day  was  fine  for  the  time  o'  year,  they  had  carried 
him  in  his  easy  chair  up  to  the  green  before  the  auld  castle,  to 
be  out  of  the  way  of  this  unco  spectacle.'*  Thither  Colonel 
Mannering  went  in  quest  of  him,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the 
little  group,  which  consisted  of  four  persons.  The  ascent  was 
steep,  so  that  he  had  time  to  reconnoitre  them  as  he  advanced, 
and  to  consider  in  what  mode  he  should  make  his  address. 

Mr.  Bertram,  paralytic,  and  almost  incapable  of  moving, 
occupied  his  easy  chair,  attired  in  his  night-cap,  and  a  loose 
camlet  coat,  his  feet  wrapped  in  blankets.  Behind  him,  with 
his  hg^nds  crossed  on  the  cane  upon  which  he  rested,  stood 
Dominie  Sampson,  whom  Mannering  recognized  at  once. 
Time  had  rnade  no  change  upon  him,  unless  that  his  olack  coat 
seemed  more  brown,  and  his  gaunt  cheeks  more  lank,  than 


78 


G(/V  MANNERING. 


when  Mannering  last  saw  him.  On  one  side  of  the  old  man 
was  a  sylph-like  form — a  young  woman  of  about  seventeen, 
whom  the  Colonel  accounted  to  be  his  daughter.  She  was 
looking,  from  time  to  time,  anxiously  toward  the  avenue,  as  if 
expecting  a  post-chaise  ;  and  between  whiles  busied  herself  in 
adjusting  the  blankets,  so  as  to  protect  her  father  from  the  cold, 
and  in  answering  inquiries,  which  he  seemed  to  make  with  a 
captious  and  querulous  manner.  She  did  not  trust  herself  to 
look  toward  the  place,  although  the  hum  of  the  assembled 
crowd  must  have  drawn  her  attention  in  that  direction.  The 
fourth  person  of  the  group  was  a  handsome  and  genteel  young 
man,  who  seemed  to  share  Miss  Bertram's  anxiety,  and  her 
solicitude  to  soothe  and  accommodate  her  parent. 

This  young  man  was  the  first  who  observed  Colonel  Man- 
nering, and  immediately  stepped  forward  to  meet  him,  as  if 
politely  to  prevent  his  drawing  nearer  to  the  distressed  group. 
Mannering  instantly  paused,  and  explained.  "  He  was,"  he 
said,  "  a  stranger,  to  whom  Mr.  Bertram  had  formerly  shown 
kindness  and  hospitality  ;  he  would  not  have  intruded  himself 
upon  him  at  a  period  of  distress,  did  it  not  seem  to  be  in  some 
degree  a  moment  also  of  desertion ;  he  wished  merely  to  offer 
such  services  as  might  be  in  his  power  to  Mr.  Bertram  and  the 
young  lady.'' 

He  then  paused  at  a  little  distance  from  the  chair.  His 
old  acquaintance  gazed  at  him  with  lack-lustre  eye,  that  inti- 
mated no  tokens  of  recognition — the  Dominie  seemed  too  deeply 
sunk  in  distress  even  to  observe  his  presence.  The  young 
man  spoke  aside  with  Miss  Bertram,  who  advanced  timidly,  and 
thanked  Colonel  Mannering  for  his  goodness  ;  "  but,"  she  said, 
the  tears  gushing  fast  into  her  eyes,  "  her  father,  she  feared, 
was  not  so  much  himself  as  to  be  able  to  remember  him." 

She  then  retreated  toward  the  chair,  accompanied  by  the 
Colonel. — "  Father,"  she  said,  "  this  is  Mr.  Mannering,  an  old 
friend,  come  to  inquire  after  you." 

"  He's  very  heartily  welcome,"  said  the  old  man,  raising 
himself  in  his  chair,  and  attempting  a  gesture  of  courtesy,  while 
a  gleam  of  hospitable  satisfaction  seemed  to  pass  over  his  faded 
features. — "  But  Lucy,  my  dear,  let  us  go  down  to  the  house  ; 
you  should  not  keep  the  gentleman  here  in  the  cold, — Dominie, 
take  the  key  of  the  wine  cooler.  Mr.  a — a — the  gentleman 
will  surely  take  something  after  his  ride." 

Mannering  was  unspeakably  affected  by  the  contrast  which 
his  recollection  made  between  this  reception  and  that  with 
which  he  had  been  greeted  by  the  same  individual  when  they 
la$t  met.    He  could  not  restrain  his  tears,  and  his  evident  emo- 


79 


tion  at  once  attained  him  the  confidence  of  the  friendless  young 
lady. 

"  Alas  !  "  she  said,  this  is  distressing  even  to  a  stranger; 
but  it  may  be  better  for  my  poor  father  to  be  in  this  way,  than 
if  he  knew  and  could  feel  all/' 

A  servant  in  livery  now  came  up  the  path,  and  spoke  in  an 
undertone  to  the  young  gentleman : — Mr.  Charles,  my  lady's 
wanting  you  yonder  sadly,  to  bid  for  her  for  the  black  ebony 
cabinet ;  and  Lady  Jean  Devorgoil  is  wi'  her  an'  a — ye  maun 
come  away  directly." 

"  Tell  them  you  could  not  find  me,  Tom  ; — or  stay, — ^say  I 
am  looking  at  the  horses." 

No,  no,  no,"  said  Lucy  Bertram,  earnestly  ;— if  you  would 
not  add  to  the  misery  of  this  miserable  moment,  go  to  the  com- 
pany directly.  This  gentleman,  I  am  sure,  will  see  us  to  the 
carriage." 

"  Unquestionably,  madam,"  said  Mannering  ;  "your  young 
friend  may  rely  on  my  attention." 

"  Farewell,  then,"  said  young  Hazlewood,  and  whispered  a 
word  in  her  ear — then  ran  down  the  steep  hastily,  as  if  not  trust- 
ing his  resolution  at  a  slower  pace. 

Where's  Charles  Hazlewood  running  ?  "  said  the  invalid, 
who  apparently  was  accustomed  to  his  presence  and  attentions  ; 
"Where's  Charles  Hazlewood  running? — what  takes  him  away 
now  ? " 

"  He'll  return  in  a  little  while,"  said  Lucy,  gently. 

The  sound  of  voices  was  now  heard  from  the  ruins.  (The 
reader  may  remember  there  was  a  communication  between  the 
castle  and  the  beach,  up  which  the  speakers  had  ascended). 

*^Yes,  there's  plenty  of  shells  and  sea-ware  for  manure,  as 
you  observe — and  if  one  inclined  to  build  a  new  house,  which 
might  indeed  be  necessary,  there's  a  great  deal  of  good  hewn 
stone  about  thus  old  dungeon  for  the  devil  here  " — 

"Good  God  !  "  said  Miss  Bertram  hastily  to  Sampson,  "'tis 
that  wretch  Glossin's  voice  ! — if  my  father  sees  him,  it  will  kill 
him  outright ! " 

Sampson  wheeled  perpendicularly  round,  and  moved  with 
long  strides  to  confront  the  attorney,  as  he  issued  from  beneath 
the  portal  arch  of  the  ruin.  "  Avoid  ye  !  "  he  said — "  Avoid 
ye  !  wouldst  thou  kill  and  take  possession  ?  " 

"  Come,  come.  Master  Dominie  Sampson,"  answered 
Glossin,  insolently,  "  if  ye  cannot  preach  in  the  pulpit,  we'll 
have  no  preaching  here.  We  go  by  the  law,  my  good  friend ; 
we  leave  the  gospel  to  you." 

The  very  mention  of  this  man's  name  had  been  of  late  a 


So 


GUY  MAMJSrERim. 


subject  of  the  most  violent  irritation  to  the  unfortunate  patient. 
The  sound  of  his  voice  now  produced  an  instantaneous  effect 
Mr.  Bertram  started  up  without  assistance,  and  turned  round 
toward  him  ;  the  ghastliness  of  his  features  forming  a  strange 
contrast  with  the  violence  of  his  exclamations. — "  Out  of  my 
sight,  ye  viper!  ye  frozen  viper,  that  I  warmed  till  ye  stung 
me  ! — art  thou  not  afraid  that  the  walls  of  my  father's  dwelling 
should  fall  and  crush  thee  limb  and  bone  ? — are  ye  not  afraid 
the  very  lintels  of  the  door  of  Ellangowan  castle  should  break 
open  and  swallow  you  up  ? — Were  ye  not  friendless, — house- 
less,— penniless, — when  I  took  ye  by  the  hand — and  are  ye  not 
expelling  me — me  and  that  innocent  girl — friendless,  houseless, 
and  penniless,  from  the  house  that  has  sheltered  us  and  ours 
for  a  thousand  years  ?  " 

Had  Glossin  been  alone,  he  would  probably  have  slunk  off ; 
but  the  consciousness  that  a  stranger  was  present,  besides  the 
person  who  came  with  him  (a  sort  of  land-surveyor),  determined 
him  to  resort  to  impudence.  The  task,  however,  was  almost 
too  hard,  even  for  his  effrontery. — Sir — Sir — Mr.  Bertram — • 
Sir,  you  should  not  blame  me  but  your  own  imprudence,  sir  — 

The  indignation  of  Mannering  was  mounting  very  high. 
"  Sir,"  he  said  to  Glossin,  without  entering  into  the  merits  of 
this  controversy,  I  must  inform  you,  that  you  have  chosen  a 
very  improper  place,  time,  and  presence  for  it.  And  you  will 
oblige  me  by  withdrawing  without  more  words." 

Glossin.  being  a  tall,  strong,  muscular  man,  was  not  unwil- 
ling rather  to  turn  upon  a  stranger  whom  he  hoped  to  bully, 
than  maintain  his  wretched  cause  against  his  injured  patron  : — 
"I  do  not  know  who  you  are,  sir,"  he  said,  and  I  shall  per- 
mit no  man  to  use  such  d — d  freedom  with  me." 

Mannering  was  naturally  hot-tempered — his  eyes  flashed  a 
dark  light — he  compressed  his  nether  lip  so  closely  that  the 
blood  sprung,  and  approaching  Glossin — "  Look  you,  sir,"  he 
said,  "  that  you  do  not  know  me,  is  of  little  consequence.  1 
know  yon  ;  and,  if  you  do  not  instantly  descend  that  bank,  with- 
out uttering  a  single  syllable,  by  the  Heaven  that  is  above  us, 
you  shall  make  but  one  step  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  !  " 

The  commanding  tone  of  rightful  anger  silenced  at  once 
the  ferocity  of  the  bully.  He  hesitated,  turned  on  his  heel,  and 
muttering  something  between  his  teeth  about  unwillingness  to 
alarm  the  lady,  relieved  them  of  his  hateful  company. 

Mrs.  Mac-Candlish's  postilion,  who  had  come  up  in  time  to 
hear  what  passed,  said  aloud,  "  If  he  had  stuck  by  the  way,  I 
would  have  lent  him  a  heezie,  the  dirty  scoundrel,  as  willingly 
as  ever  I  pitched  a  boddle." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


81 


He  then  stepped  forward  to  announce  that  his  horses  were 
in  readiness  for  the  invalid  and  his  daughter. 

But  they  were  no  longer  necessary.  The  debilitated  frame 
of  Mr.  Bertram  was  exhausted  by  this  last  effort  of  indignant 
anger,  and  when  he  sunk  again  upon  his  chair,  he  expired 
almost  without  a  struggle  or  groan.  So  little  alteration  did  the 
extinction  of  the  vital  spark  make  upon  his  external  appearance, 
that  the  screams  of  his  daughter,  when  she  saw  his  eye  fix  and 
felt  his  pulse  stop,  first  announced  his  death  to  the  spectators. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH. 

The  bell  strikes  one. — We  take  no  note  of  time 
But  from  its  loss.    To  give  it  then  a  tongue 
Is  wise  in  man.    As  if  an  angel  spoke, 
I  feel  the  solemn  sound.  

Young. 

The  moral  which  the  poet  has  rather  quaintly  deduced  from 
the  necessary  mode  of  measuring  time,  may  be  well  applied  to 
our  feelings  respecting  that  portion  of  it  which  constitutes 
human  life.  We  observe  the  aged,  the  infirm,  and  those 
engaged  in  occupations  of  immediate  hazard,  trembling  as  it 
were  upon  the  very  brink  of  non-existence,  but  we  derive  no 
lesson  from  the  precariousness  of  their  tenure  until  it  has 
altogether  failed.    Then,  for  a  moment  at  least, 

Our  hopes  and  fears 
Startup  alarm 'd,  and  o'er  life's  narrow  verge 
Look,  down — On  what  t — a  fathomless  abyss, 
A  dark  eternity, — how  surely  ours  !  

The  crowd  of  assembled  gazers  and  idlers  at  Ellangowan  had 
followed  the  views  of  amusement,  or  what  they  call  business, 
which  brought  them  there,  with  little  regard  to  the  feelings  of 
those  who  were  suffering  upon  that  occasion.  Few,  indeed, 
knew  anything  of  the  family.  The  father,  betwixt  seclusion, 
misfortune,  and  imbecility,  had  drifted,  as  it  were,  for  many 
years,  out  of  the  notice  of  his  contemporaries — the  daughter 
had  never  been  known  to  them.  But  when  the  general  murmur 
announced  that  the  unfortunate  Mr.  Bertram  had  broken  his 
heart  in  the  effort  to  leave  the  mansion  of  his  forefathers,  there 
poured  forth  a  torrent  of  sympathy,  like  the  waters  from  the 
rock  when  stricken  by  the  wand  of  the  prophet.  The  ancient 
descent  and  unblemished  integrity  of  the  family  were  respect- 


82 


GVY  MANNERING. 


fully  remembered ; — above  all,  the  sacred  veneration  due  to 
misfortune,  which  in  Scotland  seldom  demands  its  tribute  in 
vain,  then  claimed  and  received  it. 

Mr.  Mac-Morlan  hastily  announced  that  he  would  suspend 
all  further  proceedings  in  the  sale  of  the  estate  and  other 
property,  and  relinquish  the  possession  of  the  premises  to  the 
young  lady,  until  she  could  consult  with  her  friends,  and  pro- 
vide for  the  burial  of  her  father. 

Glossin  had  cowered  for  a  few  minutes  under  the  general  ex- 
pression of  sympathy,  till  hardened  by  observing  that  no  ap- 
pearance of  popular  indignation  was  directed  his  way,  he  had 
the  audacity  to  require  that  the  sale  should  proceed. 

"  I  will  take  it  upon  my  own  authority  to  adjourn  it,''  said 
the  sheriff-substitute,  "  and  will  be  responsible  for  the  con- 
sequences. I  will  also  give  due  notice  when  it  is  again  to  go 
forward.  It  is  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned  that  the  lands 
should  bring  the  highest  price  the  state  of  the  market  will 
admit,  and  this  is  surely  no  time  to  expect  it — I  will  take  the 
responsibility  upon  myself." 

Glossin  left  the  room,  and  the  house  too,  with  secrecy  and 
dispatch  ;  and  it  was  probably  well  for  l^im  that  he  did  so,  since 
our  friend  Jock  Jabos  was  already  haranguing  a  numerous  tribe 
of  bare-legged  boys  on  the  propriety  of  pelting  him  olf  the 
estate. 

Some  of  the  rooms  were  hastily  put  in  order  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  young  lady,  and  of  her  father's  dead  body.  Man- 
nering  now  found  his  further  interference  would  be  unneces- 
sary, and  might  be  misconstrued.  He  observed,  too,  that 
several  families  connected  with  that  of  Filangowan,  and  who 
indeed  derived  their  principal  claim  of  g^entility  from  the 
alliance,  were  now  disposed  to  pay  to  their  trees  of  genealogy 
a  tribute,  which  the  adversity  of  their  supposed  relatives  had 
been  inadequate  to  call  forth  ;  and  that  the  honor  of  superin- 
tending the  funeral  rites  of  the  dead  Godfrey  Bertram  (as  in 
the  memorable  case  of  Homer's  birth-place)  was  likely  to  be 
debated  by  seven  gentlemen  of  rank  and  fortune,  none  of  whom 
had  offered  him  an  asylum  while  living.  He  therefore  re- 
solved, as  his  presence  was  altogether  useless,  to  make  a  short 
tour  of  a  fortnight,  at  the  end  of  which  period  the  adjourned 
sale  of  the  estate  of  Ellangowan  was  to  proceed. 

But  before  he  departed,  he  solicited  an  interview  with  the 
Dominie.  The  poor  man  appeared,  on  being  informed  a  gentle- 
man wanted  to  speak  to  him,  with  some  expression  of  surprise 
in  his  gaunt  features,  to  which  recent  sorrow  had  given  an  ex- 
pression yet  more  grisly.    He  made  two  or  three  profound 


GUY  MANNER  mo. 


83 


reverences  to  Mannering,  and  then,  standing  erect,  patiently 
waited  an  explanation  of  his  commands. 

"You  are  probably  at  a  loss  to  guess,  Mr.  Sampson/'  said 
Mannering,  "  what  a  stranger  may  have  to  say  to  you  1 " 

"  Unless  it  were  to  request  that  I  would  undertake  to  train 
up  some  youth  in  polite  letters,  and  humane  learnmg — But  I 
cannot — I  cannot — I  have  yet  a  task  to  perform.'^ 

"  No,  Mr.  Sampson,  my  wishes  are  not  so  ambitious«  I 
have  no  son,  and  my  only  daughter,  I  presume,  you  would  not 
consider  as  a  fit  pupil." 

Of  a  surety,  no,"  replied  the  simple-minded  Sampson, 
"  Natheless,  it  was  I  who  did  educate  Miss  Lucy  in  all  useful 
learning — albeit  it  was  the  housekeeper  who  did  teach  her  those 
unprofitable  exercises  of  hemming  and  shaping." 

"Well,  sir,"  replied  Mannering,  "  it  is  of  Miss  Lucy  I  meant 
to  speak — you  have,  I  presume,  no  recollection  of  me  ?  " 

Sampson,  always  sufficiently  absent  in  mind,  neither  remem- 
bered the  astrologer  of  past  years,  nor  even  the  stranger  who 
had  taken  his  patron's  part  against  Glossin,  so  much  had  his 
friend's  sudden  death  embroiled  his  ideas. 

"  Well,  that  does  not  signify,'*  pursued  the  Colonel ;  "  I  am 
an  old  acquaintance  of  the  late  Mr.  Bertram,  able  and  willing 
to  assist  his  daughter  in  her  present  circumstances.  Besides, 
I  have  thoughts  of  making  this  purchase,  and  I  should  wish 
things  kept  in  order  about  the  place  ;  will  you  have  the  good- 
ness to  apply  this  small  sum  in  the  usual  family  expenses  ?" — 
He  put  into  the  Dominie's  hand  a  purse  containing  some  gold. 

Pro-di-gious  !  "  exclaimed  Dominie  Sampson.  "  But  if 
your  honor  would  tarry  "  

"  Impossible,  sir — impossible,"  said  Mannering,  making  his 
escape  from  him. 

"  Pro-di-gi-ous  ! "  again  exclaimed  Sampson,  following  to 
the  head  of  the  stairs,  still  holding  out  the  purse.  "  But  as 
touching  this  coined  money  "  

Mannering  escaped  down  stairs  as  fast  as  possible. 

"  Pro-di-gi-ous !  "  exclaimed  Dominie  Sampson,  yet  the 
third  time,  now  standing  at  the  front  door.  "  But  as  touching 
this  specie  "  

But  Mannering  was  now  on  horseback,  and  out  of  hearing. 
The  Dominie,  who  had  never,  either  in  his  own  right,  or  as 
trustee  for  another,  been  possessed  of  a  quarter  part  of  this 
sum,  though  it  was  not  above  twenty  guineas,  "took  counsel," 
as  he  expressed  himself,  "  how  he  should  demean  himself  with 
respect  unto  the  fine  gold  "  thus  left  in  his  charge.  Fortu- 
nately he  found  a  disinterested  adviser  in  Mac-Morlan,  who 


84 


GUY  MANNEKING, 


pointed  out  the  most  proper  means  of  disposing  of  it  for  con- 
tributing to  Miss  Bertram's  convenience,  being  no  doubt  the 
purpose  to  which  it  was  destined  by  the  bestower. 

Many  of  the  neighboring  gentry  were  now  sincerely  eager 
in  pressing  offers  of  hospitaUty  and  kindness  upon  Miss  Ber- 
tram. But  she  felt  a  natural  reluctance  to  enter  any  family  for 
the  first  time,  as  an  object  rather  of  benevolence  than  hospi- 
tality, and  determined  to  wait  the  opinion  and  advice  of  her 
father's  nearest  female  relation.  Miss.  Margaret  Bertram  of 
Singleside,  an  old  unmarried  lady,  to  whom  she  wrote  an  ac- 
count of  her  present  distressful  situation. 

The  funeral  of  the  late  Mr.  Bertrarn  was  performed  with 
decent  privacy,  and  the  unfortunate  young  lady  was  now  to 
consider  herself  as  but  the  temporary  tenant  of  the  house  in 
which  she  had  been  born,  and  where  her  patience  and  soothing 
attentions  had  so  long  "  rocked  the  cradle  of  declining  age." 
Her  communication  with  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  encouraged  her  to 
hope  that  she  would  not  b*e  suddenly  or  unkindly  deprived  of 
this  asylum — But  fortune  had  ordered  otherwise. 

For  two  days  before  the  appointed  day  for  the  sale  of  the 
lands  and  estate  of  Ellangowan,  Mac-Morlan  daily  expected 
the  appearance  of  Colonel  Mannering,  or  at  least  a  letter  con- 
taining powers  to  act  for  him.  But  none  such  arrived.  Mr. 
Mac-Morlan  waked  early  in  the  morning — walked  over  to  the 
Post-office — there  were  no  letters  for  him.  He  endeavored  to 
persuade  himself  that  he  should  see  Colonel  Mannering  to 
breakfast,  and  ordered  his  wife  to  place  her  best  china,  and 
prepare  herself  accordingly.  But  the  preparations  were  in  vain. 
"  Could  I  have  foreseen  this,"  he  said,  ^'  I  would  have  traveled 
Scotland  over,  but  I  would  have  found  some  one  to  bid  against 
^  Glossin." — Alas !  such  reflections  were  all  too  late.  The  ap- 
pointed hour  arrived  ;  and  the  parties  met  in  the  Mason's  Lodge 
at  Kippletringan,  being  the  place  fixed  for  the  adjourned  sale. 
Mac-Morlan  spent  as  much  time  in  preliminaries  as  decency 
would  permit,  and  read  over  the  articles  of  sale  as  slowly  as  if 
he  had  been  reading  his  own  death-warrant.  He  turned  his 
eye  every  time  the  door  opened,  with  hopes  which  grew  fainter 
and  fainter.  He  listened  to  every  noise  in  the  street  of  the 
village.,  and  endeavored  to  distinguish  in  it  the  sound  of  hoofs 
or  wheels.  It  was  all  in  vain.  A  bright  idea  then  occurred, 
that  ('olonel  Mannering  might  have  employed  some  other 
person  in  the  transaction  ;  he  would  not  have  wasted  a  mo- 
ment's thought  upon  the  want  of  confidence  in  himself  which 
such  a  manoeuvre  would  have  evinced.  But  this  hope  also 
was  groundless.    After  a  solemn  pause,  Mr.  Glossin  offered 


GUY  MANNEKING. 


85 


the  upset  price  for  the  lands  and  barony  of  Ellangowan  No 
reply  was  made  and  no  competitor  appeared  ;  so,  after  n  lapse 
of  the  usual  interval  by  the  running  of  a  sand-glass  upon,  the 
intended  purchaser  entering  the  proper  sureties,  Mr.  Mac- 
Morlan  was  obliged,  in  technical  terms,  to  find  and  declare  the 
sale  lawfully  completed,  and  to  prefer  the  said  Gilbert  Glossin 
as  the  purchaser  of  the  said  lands  and  estate."  The  honest 
writer  refused  to  partake  of  a  splendid  entertainment  with 
which  Gilbert  Glossin  Esquire,  now  of  Ellangowan,  treated 
the  rest  of  the  company,  and  returned  home  in  huge  bitterness 
of  spirit,  which  he  vented  in  complaints  against  the  fickleness 
and  caprice  of  these  Indian  nabobs,  who  never  knew  what  they 
would  be  at  for  ten  days  together.  Fortune  generously  deter- 
mined to  take  the  blame  upon  herself,  and  cut  off  even  thi^ 
vent  of  Mac-Morlan's  resentment. 

An  express  arrived  about  six  o'clock  at  night,  "  very  particu- 
larly drunk,"  the  maid-servant  said,  with  a  packet  from  Colonel 
Mannering,  dated  four  days  back,  at  a  town  about  a  hundred 
miles'  distance  from  Kippletringan,  containing  full  powers  to 
Mr.  Mac-Morlen,  or  any  one  whom  he  might  employ,  to  make 
the  intended  purchase,  and  stating,  that  some  family  business 
of  consequence  called  the  Colonel  himself  to  Westmoreland, 
where  a  letter  would  find  him,  addressed  to  the  care  of  Arthur 
Mervyn,  Esq.,  of  Mervyn  Hall. 

Mac-Morlan,  in  the  transports  of  his  wrath,  flung  the  power 
of  attorney  at  the  head  of  the  innocent  maid-servant,  and 
was  only  forcibly  withheld  from  horsewhipping  the  rascally 
messenger,  by  whose  sloth  and  drunkenness  the  disappointment 
had  taken  place. 


CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 

My  gold  is  gone,  my  money  is  spent, 

My  land  now  take  it  unto  thee, 
Give  me  thy  gold,  good  John  o'  the  Scales, 

And  thine  for  aye  my  land  shall  be. 

Then  John  he  did  him  to  record  draw, 
And  John  he  caste  him  a  god's-pennie ; 

But  for  every  pounde  that  John  agreed, 
The  land,  I  wis,  was  well  worth  three. 

Heir  of  Linne. 

The  Galwegian  John  o'  the  Scales  was  a  more  clever  fellow 
than  his  prototype.  He  contrived  to  make  himself  heir  of 
Linne  without  the  disagreeable  ceremony  of  "  telling  down  the 


86 


GUY  MANNERTNG. 


good  red  gold."  Miss  Bertram  no  sooner  heard  this  painful, 
and  of  late  unexpected  intelligence,  then  she  proceeded  in  the 
preparations  she  had  already  made  for  leaving  the  mansion- 
house  immediately.  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  assisted  her  in  these 
arrangements,  and  pressed  upon  her  so  kindly  the  hospitality 
and  protection  of  his  roof,  until  she  should  receive  an  answer 
from  her  cousin,  or  be  enabled  to  adopt  some  settled  plan  of  life, 
that  she  felt  there  would  be  unkindness  in  refusing  an  invita- 
tion urged  with  such  earnestness.  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan  was  a 
ladylike  person,  and  well  qualified  by  birth  and  manners  to 
receive  the  visit,  and  to  make  her  house  agreeable  to  Miss 
Bertram.  A  home,  therefore,  and  an  hospitable  reception, 
were  secured  to  her,  and  she  went  on,  with  better  heart,  to  pay 
the  wages  and  receive  the  adieus  of  the  domestics  of  her 
father's  family. 

Where  there  are  estimable  qualities  on  either  side,  this  task 
is  always  affecting — the  present  circumstances  rendered  it  doubly 
so.  All  received  their  due,  and  even  a  trifle  more,  and  with 
thanks  and  good  wishes,  to  which  some  added  tears,  took  fare- 
well of  their  young  mistress.  There  remained  in  the  parlor 
only  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  who  came  to  attend  his  guest  to  his 
house,  Dominie  Sampson,  and  Miss  Bertram.  ^'  And  now," 
said  the  poor  girl,  "  I  must  bid  farewell  to  one  of  my  oldest  and 
kindest  friends — God  bless  you,  Mr.  Sampson  !  and  requite  to 
you  all  the  kindness  of  your  instructions  to  your  poor  pupil, 
and  your  friendship  to  him  that  is  gone  !  I  hope  I  shall  often 
hear  from  you."  She  slid  into  his  hand  a  paper  containing 
some  pieces  of  gold,  and  rose,  as  if  to  leave  the  room. 

Dominie  Sampson  also  rose  ;  but  it  was  to  stand  aghast  with 
utter  astonishment.  The  idea  of  parting  from  Miss  Lucy,  go 
where  she  might,  had  never  once  occurred  to  the  simplicity  of 
his  understanding.  He  laid  the  money  on  the  table.  "  It  is 
certainly  inadequate,"  said  Mac-Morlan,  mistaking  his  meaning, 
"  but  the  circumstances  "  

Mr.  Sampson  waved  his  hand  impatiently — "  It  is  not  the 
lucre — it  is  not  the  lucre — but  that  I,  that  have  ate  of  her 
father's  loaf,  and  drank  of  his  cup,  for  twenty  years  and  more — 
to  think  that  I  am  going  to  leave  her — and  to  leave  her  in  dis- 
tress and  dolour  !  No,  Miss  Lucy,  you  need  never  think  it !  You 
would  not  consent  to  put  forth  your  father's  poor  dog,  and  would 
you  use  me  waurthan  a  messan  ?  No,  Miss  Lucy  Bertram — while 
I  live,  I  will  not  separate  from  you.  I'll  be  no  burden — T  have 
thought  how  to  prevent  that.  But  as  Ruth  said  unto  Naomi, 
*  P^ntreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  nor  to  depart  from  thee 
for  whither  thou  goest  I  will  go,  and  where  thou  dwellest  I 


GUY  MANNERING. 


87 


will  dwell ;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  shall 
be  my  God.  Where  thou  diest  will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be 
buried.  The  Lrord  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but 
death  do  part  thee  and  me.'  '' 

During  this  speech,  the  longest  ever  Dominie  Sampson  was 
known  to  utter,  the  affectionate  creature's  eyes  streamed  with 
tears,  and  neither  Lucy  nor  Mac-Morlan  could  refrain  from 
sympathizing  with  this  unexpected  burst  of  feeling  and  attach- 
ment. Mr.  Sampson,"  said  Mac-Morlan,  after  having  had 
recourse  to  his  snuff-box  and  a  handkerchief  alternately,  "  my 
house  is  large  enough,  and  if  you  will  accept  of  a  bed  there, 
while  Miss  Bertram  honors  us  with  her  residence,  I  shall  think 
myself  very  happy,  and  my  roof  much  favored  by  receiving  a 
man  of  your  worth  and  fidelity.  And  then,  with  a  delicacy 
which  was  meant  to  remove  any  objection  on  Miss  Bertram's 
part  to  bringing  with  her  this  unexpected  satellite,  he  added, 
"  My  business  requires  my  frequently  having  occasion  for  a 
better  accountant  than  any  of  my  present  clerks,  and  I  should 
be  glad  to  have  recourse  to  your  assistance  in  that  way  now 
and  then." 

"  Of  a  surety,  of  a  surety,"  said  Sampson  eagerly  ;  "  I  under-  ' 
stand  book-keeping  by  double  entry  and  the  Italian  method." 

Our  postilion  had  thrust  himself  into  the  room  to  announce 
his  chaise  and  horses  ;  he  tarried,  unobserved,  during  this  ex- 
traordinary scene,  and  assured  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  it  was  the 
most  moving  thing  he  ever  saw  ;  "  the  death  of  the  gray  mare, 
puir  hizzie,  was  naething  till't."  This  trifling  circumstance 
afterward  had  consequence  of  greater  moment  to  the  Dominie. 

The  visitors  were  hospitably  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan, 
to  whom,  as  well  as  to  others,  her  husband  intimated  that  he 
had  engaged  Dominie  Sampson's  assistance  to  disentangle 
some  perplexed  accounts  ;  during  which  occupation  he  would, 
for  convenience  sake,  reside  with  the  family.  Mr.  Mac-Morlan's 
knowledge  of  the  world  induced  him  to  put  this  color  upon 
the  matter,  aware,  that  however  honorable  the  fidelity  of  the 
Doninie's  attachment  might  be,  both  to  his  own  heart  and  to 
the  family  of  EUangowan,  his  exterior  ill  qualified  him  to  be  a 
"  squire  of  dames,"  and  rendered  him,  upon  the  whole,  rather  a 
ridiculous  appendage  to  a  beautiful  young  woman  of  seven- 
teen. 

Dominie  Sampson  achieved  with  great  zeal  such  tasks  as 
Mr.  Mac-Morlan  chose  to  intrust  him  with  ;  but  it  was  speedily 
observed  that  at  a  certain  hour  after  breakfast  he  regularly 
disappeared,  and  returned  again  about  dinner  time.  The  even- 
ing he  occupied  in  the  labor  of  the  ofhce.    On  Saturday,  he 


88 


GUY  MANNERTNG. 


appeared  before  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  with  a  look  of  great  triumph, 
and  laid  on  the  table  two  pieces  of  gold. 

"  What  is  this  for,  Dominie  ? "  said  Mac-Morlan. 
First  to  indemnify  you  of  your  charges  in  my  behalf, 
worthy  sir — and  the  balance  for  the  use  of  Miss  Lucy  Ber- 
tram." 

"  But,  Mr.  Sampson,  your  labor  in  the  office  much  more 
Oian  recompenses  me — am  your  debtor,  my  good  friend." 

"Then  be  it  all,"  said  the  Dominie,  waving  his  hand,  "for 
Miss  Lucy  Bertram's  behoof." 

"  Well,  but.  Dominie,  this  money  "  

"  It  is  honestly  come  by,  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  ;  it  is  the  boun- 
tiful reward  of  a  young  gentleman,  to  whom  I  am  teaching  the 
tongues;  reading  with  him  three  hours  daily." 

A  few^  more  questions  extracted  from  the  Dominie,  that  this 
liberal  pupil  was  young  Hazlewood,  and  that  he  met  his  pre- 
ceptor daily  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  whose  proc- 
lamation of  Sampson's  disinterested  attachment  to  the  young 
Jady  had  procured  him  this  indefatigable  and  bounteous  scholar. 

Mac-Morlan  was  much  struck  with  what  he  heard.  Dominie 
Sampson  was  doubtless  a  very  good  scholar,  and  an  excellent 
man,  and  the  classics  were  unquestionably  very  well  worth 
reading ;  yet  that  a  young  man  of  twenty  should  ride  seven 
miles  and  back  again  each  day  in  the  w^eek,  to  hold  this  sort 
of  tete-a-tete  of  three  hours,  was  a  zeal  for  literature  to  which  he 
was  not  prepared  to  give  entire  credit.  Little  art  was  neces- 
sary to  sift  the  Dominie,  for  the  honest  man's  head  never  ad- 
mitted any  but  the  most  direct  and  simple  ideas.  "  Does  Miss 
Bertram  know  how  your  time  is  engaged,  my  good  friend  ?  " 

"  Surely  not  as  yet — Mr.  Charles  recommended  it  should  be 
concealed  from  her,  lest  she  should  scruple  to  accept  of  the 
small  assistance  arising  from  it ;  but,"  he  added,  "  it  would  not 
be  possible  to  conceal  it  long,  since  Mr.  Charles  proposed  tak- 
ing his  lessons  occasionally  in  this  house." 

"O,  he  does  !  "  said  Mac-Morlan  :  "  Yes,  yes,  I  can  under- 
stand that  better. — And  pray,  Mr.  Sampson,  are  these  three 
hours  entirely  spent  in  construing  and  translating  ?  " 

"  Doubtless,  no — we  have  also  colloquial  intercourse  to 
sweeten  study — neq^ie  semper  tvcum  ten dit  Apollo ^ 

The  querist  proceeded  to  elicit  from  this  Galloway  Phoebus 
what  their  discourse  chiefly  turned  upon. 

"  Upon  our  past  meetings  at  Kllangowan — and  truly,  I 
think  very  often  we  discourse  concerning  Miss  Lucy — for  Mr. 
Charles  Hazlewood,  in  that  particular,  rescmbleth  me,  Mr.  Mac- 
Morlan,    When  I  begin  to  speak  of  her  I  never  know  when  to 


GUY  MANNERING. 


89 


Stop — and,  as  I  say  (jocularly),  she  cheats  us  out  of  half  our 
lessons." 

"  O  ho  !  "  thought  Mac-Morlan  ;  sits  the  wind  in  that 
quarter  ?  I've  heard  something  like  this  before." 

He  then  began  to  consider  what  conduct  was  safest  for  his 
protege,  and  even  for  himself,  for  the  senior  Mr.  Hazlewood 
was  powerful,  wealthy,  ambitious,  and  vindictive,  and  looked  for 
both  fortune  and  title  in  any  connexion  which  his  son  might 
form.  At  length,  having  the  highest  opinion  of  his  guest's 
good  sense  and  penetration,  he  determined  to  take  an  oppor- 
tunity, when  they  should  happen  to  be  alone,  to  communicate 
the  matter  to  her  as  a  simple  piece  of  intelligence.  He  did  so 
in  as  natural  a  manner  as  he  could  : — "  I  wish  you  joy  of  your 
friend  Mr.  Sampson's  good  fortune.  Miss  Bertram  ;  he  has  got 
a  pupil  who  pays  him  two  guineas  for  twelve  lessons  of  Greek 
and  Latin." 

Indeed  ! — I  am  equally  happy  and  surprised.  Who  can 
be  so  liberal  ? — is  Colonel  Mannering  returned  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  not  Colonel  Mannering  ;  but  what  do  you  think  of 
your  acquaintance,  Mr.  Charles  Hazlewood  ?  He  talks  of 
taking  his  lessons  here  ;  I  wish  we  may  have  accommodation 
for  him." 

Lucy  blushed  deeply.  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  no,  Mr.  Mac- 
Morlan — do  not  let  that  be  ; — Charles  Hazlewood  has  had 
enough  of  mischief  about  that  already." 

"  About  the  classics,  my  dear  young  lady  !  "  wilfully  seeming 
to  misunderstand  her  ; — most  young  gentlemen  have  so  at 
one  period  or  another,  sure  enough  ;  but  his  present  studies  are 
voluntary." 

Miss  Bertram  let  the  conversation  drop,  and  her  host  made  no 
effort  to  renew  it,  as  she  seemed  to  pause  upon  the  intelli- 
gence, in  order  to  form  some  internal  resolution. 

The  next  day  Miss  Bertram  took  an  opportunity  of  conversing 
with  Mr.  Sampson.  Expressing  in  the  kindest  manner  hei 
grateful  thanks  for  his  disinterested  attachment,  and  her  joy 
that  he  had  got  such  a  provision,  she  hinted  to  him  that  his 
present  mode  of  superintending  Charles  Hazlewood's  studies 
must  be  so  inconvenient  to  his  pupil,  that,  while  that  engage- 
ment lasted,  he  had  better  consent  to  a  temporary  separation, 
and  reside  either  with  his  scholar,  or  as  near  him  as  might  be. 
Sampson  refused,  as  indeed  she  had  expected,  to  listen  for  a 
moment  to  this  proposition — he  would  not  quit  her  to  be  made 
preceptor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales.  But  I  see,"  he  added, 
"  you  are  too  proud  to  share  my  pittance  ;  and  peradventure  J 
grow  wearisome  unto  you." 


90 


GUY  MANNERING, 


"  No,  indeed — you  were  my  father's  ancient,  almost  his  only 
friend  ; — I  am  not  proud — God  knows,  I  have  no  reason  to  be 
so.  You  shall  do  what  you  judge  best  in  other  matters  ;  but 
oblige  me  by  telUng  Mr.  Charles  Hazlewood,  that  you  had  some 
conversation  with  me  concerning  his  studies^  that  I  was  of 
opinion  that  his  carrying  them  on  in  this  house  was  altogether 
impracticable,  and  not  to  be  thought  of.'' 

Dominie  Sampson  left  her  presence  altogether  crest-fallen, 
and  as  he  shut  the  door,  could  not  help  muttering  the  "  variiim 
et  miitabile "  of  Virgil.  Next  day  he  appeared  with  a  very 
rueful  visage,  and  tendered  Miss  Bertram  a  letter.  "  Mr. 
Hazlewood,"  he  said,  was  to  discontinue  his  lessons,  though 
he  had  generously  made  up  the  pecuniary  loss.  But  how  will 
he  make  up  the  loss  to  himself  of  the  knowledge  he  might  have 
acquired  under  my  instruction  ?  Even  in  that  one  article  of 
writing,  he  was  an  hour  before  he  could  write  that  brief  note, 
and  destroyed  many  scrolls,  four  quills,  and  some  good  white 
paper  ;  I  would  hiave  taught  him  in  three  weeks  a  firm,  current, 
clear,  and  legible  hand — he  should  have  been  a  caligrapher  ; 
but  God's  will  be  done." 

The  letter  contained  but  a  few  lines,  deeply  regretting  and 
murmuring  against  Miss  Bertram's  cruelty,  who  not  only  refused 
to  see  him,  but  to  permit  him  in  the  most  indirect  manner  to 
hear  of  her  health  and  contribute  to  her  service.  But  it 
concluded  with  assurances  that  her  severity  was  vain,  and  that 
nothing  could  shake  the  attachment  of  Charles  Hazlewood. 

Under  the  active  patronage  of  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  Sampson 
picked  up  some  other  scholars — very  different  indeed  from 
Charles  Hazlewood  in  rank — and  whose  lessons  were  proportion- 
ally uproductive.  Still,  however,  he  gained  something,  and 
it  was  the  glory  of  his  heart  to  carry  it  to  Mr.  Mac-Morlan 
weekly,  a  slight  peculium  only  subtracted,  to  supply  his  snuff- 
box and  tobacco-pouch. 

And  here  we  must  leave  Kippletringan  to  look  after  our 
hero,  lest  our  readers  should  fear  they  are  to  lose  sight  of  him 
for  another  quarter  of  a  century. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


91 


CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH. 

Our  Polly  is  a  sad  slut,  nor  heeds  what  we  have  taught  her ; 

I  wonder  any  man  alive  will  ever  rear  a  daughter ; 

For  when  she's  drest  with  care  and  cost,  all  tempting,  fine,  and  gay, 

As  men  should  serve  a  cucumber,  she  flings  herself  away. 

Beggar's  Opera. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Bertam,  Mannering  had  set  out 
upon  a  short  tour,  proposing  to  return  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Ellengowan  before  the  sale  of  that  property  should  take  place. 
He  went,  accordingly,  to  Edinburgh,  and  elsewhere,  and  it  was 
in  his  return  toward  the  south-western  district  of  Scotland,  in 
which  our  scene  lies,  at  a  post-town  about  a  hundred  miles 
from  Kippletringan,  to  which  he  had  requested  his  friend,  Mr. 
Mervyn,  to  address  his  letters,  he  received  one  from  that  gentle- 
man which  contained  rather  unpleasing  intelligence.  We  have 
assumed  already  the  privilege  of  acting  a  secretis  to  this  gentle- 
man, and  therefore  shall  present  the  reader  with  an  extract 
from  this  epistle. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  my  dearest  friend,  for  the  pain  I  have 
given  you,  in  forcing  you  to  open  wounds  so  festering  as 
those  your  letter  referred  to.  I  have  always  heard,  though 
erroneously  perhaps,  that  the  attentions  of  Mr.  Brown  were 
intended  for  Miss  Mannering.  But,  however  that  were,  it 
could  not  be  supposed  that  in  your  situation  his  boldness  should 
escape  notice  and  chastisement.  Wise  men  say  that  we  resign 
to  civil  society  our  natural  rights  of  self-defence  only  on  con- 
dition that  the  ordinances  of  law  should  protect  us.  Where  the 
price  cannot  be  paid,  the  resignation  becomes  void.  For  instance, 
no  one  supposes  that  I  am  not  entitled  to  defend  my  purse  and 
person  against  a  highwayman,  as  much  as  if  I  were  a  wild 
Indian  who  owns  neither  law  nor  magistracy.  The  question 
of  resistance,  or  submission,  must  be  determined  by  my  means 
and  situation.  But,  if,  armed  and  equal  in  force,  I  submit  to 
injustice  and  violence  from  any  man,  high  or  low,  I  presume  it 
will  hardly  be  attributed  to  religious  or  moral  feeling  in  me,  or 
in  any  one  but  a  Quaker.  An  aggression  on  my  honor  seems 
to  me  much  the  same.  The  insult,  however  trifling  in  itself, 
is  one  of  much  deeper  consequence  to  all  views  in  life  than  any 
wrong  which  can  be  inflicted  by  a  depredator  on  the  highway, 
and  to  redress  the  injured  party  is  much  less  in  the  power  of 


92 


GUY  MANNERING. 


public  jurisprudence,  or  rather  it  is  entirely  beyond  its  reach. 
If  any  man  chooses  to  rob  Arthur  Mervyn  of  the  contents  of  his 
purse,  supposing  the  said  Arthur  has  not  means  of  defence,  or 
the  skill  and  courage  to  use  them,  the  assizes  at  Lancaster  or 
Carlisle  will  do  him  justice  by  tucking  up  the  robber  : — Yet 
who  will  say  I  am  bound  to  wait  for  this  justice,  and  submit  to 
being  plundered  in  the  first  instance,  if  I  have  myself  the  means 
and  spirit  to  protect  my  own  property  ?  But  if  an  affront  is 
offered  to  me,  submission  under  which  is  to  tarnish  my  character 
forever  with  men  of  honor,  and  for  which  the  twelve  Judges 
of  England,  with  the  chancellor  to  boot,  can  afford  me  no 
redress,  by  what  rule  of  law  or  reason  am  I  to  be  deterred  from 
protecting  what  ought  to  be,  and  is,  so  infinitely  dearer  to  every 
man  of  honor  than  his  whole  fortune  ?  Of  the  religious  views 
of  the  matter  I  shall  say  nothing,  until  I  find  a  reverend  divine 
who  shall  condemn  self-defence  in  the  article  of  life  and  property. 
If  its  propriety  in  that  case  be  generally  admitted,  I  suppose 
little  distinction  can  be  drawn  between  defence  of  person  and 
goods,  and  protection  of  reputation.  That  the  latter  is  liable 
to  be  assailed  by  persons  of  a  different  rank  in  life,  untainted 
perhaps  in  morals,  and  fair  in  character,  cannot  affect  my  legal 
right  of  self-defence.  I  may  be  sorry  that  circumstances  have 
engaged  me  in  personal  strife  with  such  an  individual  ;  but  1 
should  feel  the  same  sorrow  for  a  generous  enemy  who  fell  under 
my  sword  in  a  national  quarrel.  I  shall  leave  the  question 
with  the  casuists,  however  ;  only  observing,  that  what  I  have 
written  will  not  avail  either  the  professed  duellist,  or  him  who 
is  the  aggressor  in  a  dispute  of  honor.  I  only  presume  to 
exculpate  him  who  is  dragged  into  the  field  by  such  an  offence, 
as,  submitted  to  in  patience,  would  forfeit  forever  his  rank  and 
estimation  in  society. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  have  thoughts  of  settling  in  Scotland,  and 
yet  glad  that  you  will  still  be  at  no  immeasurable  distance,  and 
that  the  latitude  is  all  in  our  favor.  To  move  to  Westmore- 
land from  Devonshire  might  make  an  East  Indian  shudder ; 
but  to  come  to  us  from  Galloway  or  Dumfriesshire,  is  a  step, 
though  a  short  one,  nearer  the  sun.  Besides,  if,  as  I  suspect, 
the  estate  in  view  be  connected  with  the  old  haunted  castle  in 
which  you  played  the  astrologer  in  your  northern  tour  some 
twenty  years  since,  I  have  heard  you  too  often  describe  the 
scene  with  comic  unction,  to  hope  you  will  be  deterred  from 
making  the  purchase.  I  trust,  however,  the  hospitable  gossip- 
ing Laird  has  not  run  himself  upon  the  shallows,  and  that  his 
chaplain,  whom  you  so  often  made  us  laugh  at,  is  still  in  rerum 
natura. 


'  GUY  MANNERING. 


93 


"  And  here,  dear  Mannering,  I  wish  I  could  stop,  for  I  have 
incredible  pain  in  telling  the  rest  of  my  story ;  although  I  am 
sure  I  can  warn  you  against  any  intentional  impropriety  on  the 
part  of  my  temporary  ward,  Julia  Mannering.  But  I  must 
still  earn  my  college  nickname  of  Downright  Dunstable.  In 
one  word,  then,  here  is  the  matter. 

"  Your  daughter  has  much  of  the  romantic  turn  of  your  dis- 
position, with  a  little  of  that  love  of  admiration  which  all  pretty 
women  share  less  or  more.  She  will  besides,  apparently,  be 
your  heiress  ;  a  trifling  circumstance  to  those  who  view  Julia 
with  my  eyes,  but  a  prevailing  bait  to  the  specious,  artful,  and 
worthless.  You  know  how  I  have  jested  with  her  about  her 
soft  melancholy,  and  lonely  walks  at  morning  before  any  one  is 
up,  and  in  the  moonlight  w^hen  all  should  be  gone  to  bed,  or 
set  down  to  cards,  which  is  the  same  thing.  The  incident 
which  follows  may  not  be  beyond  the  bounds  of  a  joke,  but  I 
had  rather  the  jest  upon  it  came  from  you  than  me. 

"  Two  or  three  times  during  the  last  fortnight,  I  heard,  at  a 
late  hour  in  the  night,  or  very  early  in  the  morning,  a  flageolet 
play  the  little  Hindu  tune  to  which  your  daughter  is  so  partial. 
I  thought  for  some  time  that  some  tuneful  domestic,  whose 
taste  for  music  was  laid  under  constraint  during  the  day,  chose 
that  silent  hour  to  imitate  the  strains  which  he  had  caught  up 
by  the  ear  during  his  attendance  in  the  drawing-room.  But 
last  night  I  sat  late  in  my  study,  which  is  immediately  under 
Miss  Mannering's  apartment,  and,  to  my  surprise,  I  not  only 
heard  the  flageolet  distinctly,  but  satisfied  myself  that  it  came 
from  the  lake  under  the  window.  Curious  to  know  who 
serenaded  us  at  that  unusual  hour,  I  stole  softly  to  the  window 
of  my  apartment.  But  there  were  other  watchers  than  me. 
You  may  remember,  Miss  Mannering  preferred  that  apartment 
on  account  of  a  balcony  which  opened  from  her  window  upon 
the  lake. — Well,  sir,  I  heard  the  sash  of  her  window  thrown 
up,  the  shutters  opened,  and  her  own  voice  in  conversation 
with  some  person  who  answered  from  below.  This  is  not, 
*  Much  ado  about  nothing  '  :  I  could  not  be  mistaken  in  her 
voice  and  such  tones,  so  soft,  so  insinuating — and,  to  say  the 
truth,  the  accents  from  below  were  in  passion's  tenderest  cadence 
too — but  of  the  sense  I  can  say  nothing.  I  raised  the  sash  of 
my  own  window  that  I  might  hear  something  more  than  the 
mere  murmur  of  this  Spanish  rendezvous ;  but  though  I  used 
every  precaution,  the  noise  alarmed  the  speakers  ;  down  slid 
the  young  lady's  casement,  and  the  shutters  were  barred  in  an 
instant.  The  dash  of  a  pair  of  oars  in  the  water  announced  the 
retreat  of  the  male  person  of  the  dialogue.    Indeed,  I  saw  his 


94 


GUY  MANNERINGr 


boat  , which  he  rowed  with  great  swiftness  and  dexterity,  fly 
across  the  lake  like  a  twelve-oared  barge.  Next  morning  I 
examined  some  of  my  domestics,  as  if  by  accident,  and  I  found 
the  game-keeper,  when  making  his  rounds,  had  twice  seen  that 
boat  beneath  the  house,  with  a  single  person,  and  had  heard 
the  flageolet.  I  did  not  care  to  press  any  further  questions, 
for  fear  of  implicating  Julia  in  the  opinions  of  those  of  whom 
ihey  might  be  asked.  Next  morning,  at  breakfast,  I  dropped 
a  casual  hint  about  the  serenade  of  the  evening  before,  and  I 
promise  you  Miss  Mannering  looked  red  and  pale  alternately. 
I  immediately  gave  the  circumstance  such  a  turn  as  might  lead 
her  to  suppose  that  my  observation  was  merely  casual.  I  have 
since  caused  a  watch-light  to  be  burnt  in  my  library,  and  have 
left  the  shutters  open,  to  deter  the  approach  of  our  nocturnal 
guest ;  and  1  have  stated  the  severity  of  approaching  winter, 
and  the  rawness  of  the  fogs,  as  an  objection  to  solitary  walks. 
Miss  Mannering  acquiesced  with  a  passiveness  which  is  no  part 
of  her  character,  and  which,  to  tell  you  the  plain  truth,  is  a 
feature  about  the  business  which  I  like  least  of  all.  Julia  has 
too  much  of  her  own  dear  papa's  disposition  to  be  curbed  in 
any  of  her  humors,  were  there  not  some  little  lurking  conscious- 
ness that  it  may  be  as  prudent  to  avoid  debate. 

"  Now  my  story  is  told,  and  you  will  judge  what  you  ought 
to  do.  I  have  not  mentioned  the  matter  to  my  good  woman, 
who,  a  faithful  secretary  to  her  sex's  foibles,  would  certainly 
remonstrate  against  your  being  made  acquainted  with  these 
particulars,  and  might,  instead,  take  it  into  her  head  to  exercise 
her  own  eloquence  on  Miss  Mannering, — a  faculty,  which, 
however  powerful  when  directed  against  me,  its  legitimate  ob- 
ject, might,  I  fear,  do  more  harm  than  good  in  the  case  sup- 
posed. Perhaps  even  you  yourself  will  And  it  most  prudent 
to  act  without  remonstrating,  or  appearing  to  be  aware  of  this 
little  anecdote.  Julia  is  very  like  a  certain  friend  of  mine  ;  she 
has  a  quick  and  lively  imagination,  and  keen  feelings,  which 
are  apt  to  exaggerate  both  the  good  and  evil  they  find  in  life. 
She  is  a  charming  girl,  however,  as  generous  and  spirited  as 
she  is  lovely.  I  paid  her  the  kiss  you  sent  her  with  all  my 
heart,  and  she  rapped  my  fingers  for  my  reward  with  all  hers. 
Pray  return  as  soon  as  you  can.  Meantime,  rely  upon  the  care 
of,  yours  faithfully,  Arthur  Mervyn. 

"  P.S. — You  will  naturally  wish  to  know  if  I  have  the  least 
guess  concerning  the  person  of  the  serenader.  In  truth,  I  have 
none.  There  is  no  young  gentleman  of  these  parts,  who  might 
be  in  rank  or  fortune  a  match  for  Miss  Julia,  that  I  think  at 


Gt/y  MANN&Rtm. 


95 


all  likely  to  play  such  a  character.  But  on  the  other  side  of 
the  lake,  nearly  opposite  to  Mervyn-halL  is  a  d — d  cake-house, 
the  resort  of  walking  gentlemen  of  all  descriptions, — poets, 
players,  painters,  musicians,  who  come  to  rave,  and  recite,  and 
madden,  about  this  picturesque  land  of  ours.  It  is  paying 
some  penalty  for  its  beauties,  that  they  are  the  means  of  draw- 
ing this  swarm  of  coxcombs  together.  But  were  Julia  my 
daughter,  it  is  one  of  those  sort  of  fellows  that  I  should  fear  on 
her  account.  She  is  generous  and  romantic,  and  writes  six 
sheets  a-week  to  a  female  correspondent ;  and  it's  a  sad  thing 
to  lack  a  subject  in  such  a  case  either  for  exercise  of  the  feel- 
ings or  of  the  pen.  Adieu,  once  more.  Were  I  to  treat  this  matter 
more  seriously  than  I  have  done,  I  should  do  injustice  to  your 
feelings  ;  were  I  altogether  to  overlook  it,  I  should  discredit 
my  own." 

The  consequence  of  this  letter  was,  that  having  first  de- 
spatched the  faithless  messenger  with  the  necessary  powers  to 
Mr.  Mac  Morlan  for  purchasing  the  estate  of  EUangowan, 
Colonel  Mannering  turned  his  horse's  head  in  a  more  southerly 
direction,  and  neither  ^'  stinted  nor  staid,"  until  he  arrived  at  the 
mansion  of  his  friend  Mr.  Mervyn,  upon  the  banks  of  one  of 
the  lakes  of  Westmoreland. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH. 

Heaven  first,  in  its  mercy  taught  mortals  their  letters, 
For  ladies  in  limbo,  and  lovers  in  fetters, 
Or  some  author,  who,  placing  his  persons  before  ye, 
Ungallantly  leaves  them  to  write  their  own  story. 

Pope,  imitated. 

When  Mannering  returned  to  England,  his  first  object  had 
been  to  place  his  daughter  in  a  seminary  for  female  education, 
of  established  character.  Not,  however,  finding  her  progress 
in  the  accomplishments  which  he  wished  her  to  acquire  so  rapid 
as  his  impatience  expected,  he  had  withdrawn  Miss  Manner- 
ing from  the  school  at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter.  So  she 
had  only  time  to  form  an  eternal  friendship  with  Miss  Matilda 
Marchmont,  a  young  lady  about  her  own  age,  which  was  nearly 
eighteen.  To  her  faithful  eye  were  addressed  those  formid- 
able quires  which  issued  from  Mervyn-hall,  on  the  wings  of  the 
post,  while  Miss  Mannering  was  a  guest  there.    The  perusal 


96 


GUV  MANNERim. 


of  a  few  short  extracts  from  these  may  be  necessary  to  rendeit 
our  story  intelligible  : 

First  Extract. 

"  Alas  !  my  dearest  Matilda,  what  a  tale  is  mine  to  tell  I 
Misfortune  from  the  cradle  has  set  her  seal  upon  your  unhappy 
friend.  That  we  should  be  severed  for  so  slight  a  cause — an 
ungrammatical  phrase  in  my  Italian  exercise,  and  these  false 
notes  in  one  of  Paesiello's  sonatas  !  But  it  is  a  part  of  my 
father's  character,  of  whom  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  I 
love,  admire,  or  fear  him  the  most.  His  success  in  life  and  in 
war — his  habit  of  making  every  obstacle  yield  before  the  energy 
of  his  exertions,  even  where  they  seemed  insurmountable — all 
these  have  given  a  hasty  and  peremptory  cast  to  his  character, 
which  can  neither  endure  contradiction,  nor  make  allowance 
for  deficiencies.  Then  he  is  himself  so  very  accomplished.  Do 
you  know  there  was  a  murmur,  half  confirmed  too  by  some 
mysterious  words  which  dropped  from  my  poor  mother,  that 
he  possesses  other  sciences,  now  lost  to  the  world,  which  enable 
the  possessor  to  summon  up  before  him  the  dark  and  shadowy 
forms  of  future  events  !  Does  not  the  very  idea  of  such  a 
power,  or  even  of  the  high  talent  and  commanding  intellect 
which  the  world  may  mistake  for  it, — does  it  not,  dear  Matilda, 
throw  a  mysterious  grandeur  about  its  possessor  ?  You  will 
call  this  romantic  :  but  consider  I  was  born  in  the  land  of 
talisman  and  spell,  and  my  childhood  lulled  by  tales  which 
you  can  only  enjoy  through  the  gauzy  frippery  of  a  French 
translation.  O  Matilda,  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  dusky 
visages  of  my  Indian  attendants,  bending  in  earnest  devotion 
round  the  magic  narrative  that  flowed,  half  poetry,  half  prose, 
from  the  lips  of  the  tale-teller!  No  wonder  that  European 
fiction  sounds  cold  and  meagre,  after  the  wonderful  effects 
which  I  have  seen  the  romances  of  the  East  produce  upon  their 
hearers/ 

Second  Extract. 

"  You  are  possessed,  my  dear  Matilda,  of  my  bosom-secret, 
in  those  sentiments  with  which  I  regard  Brown.  I  will  not 
say  his  memory — I  am  convinced  he  lives,  and  is  faithful.  His 
addresses  to  me  were  countenanced  by  my  deceased  parent ; 
imprudently  countenanced  perhaps,  considering  the  prejudices 
of  my  father  in  favor  of  birth  and  rank.  But  I,  then  almost 
a  girl,  could  not  be  expected  surely  to  be  wiser  than  she,  undei 


GVY  MANNERIiSTG, 


97 


\^hose  charge  nature  had  placed  me.  My  father,  constantly 
engaged  in  military  duty,  I  saw  but  at  rare  intervals,  and  was 
taught  to  look  up  to  him  with  more  awe  than  confidence. 
Would  to  Heaven  it  had  been  otherwise  !  It  might  have  been 
better  for  us  all  at  this  day !  " 

Third  Extract. 

"  You  ask  me  why  I  do  not  make  known  to  my  father  that 
Brown  yet  lives,  at  least  that  he  survived  the  wound  he  received 
in  that  unhappy  duel  ;  and  had  written  to  my  mother,  expressing 
his  entire  convalescence,  and  his  hope  of  speedily  escaping  from 
captivity.  A  soldier,  that  '  in  the  trade  of  war  has  oft  slain 
men,'  feels  probably  no  uneasiness  at  reflecting  upon  the 
supposed  catastrophe,  which  almost  turned  me  into  stone. 
And  should  I  show  him  that  letter,  does  it  not  follow,  that 
Brown,  alive  and  maintaining  with  pertinacity  the  pretensions 
to  the  affections  of  your  poor  friend,  for  which  my  father 
formerly  sought  his  life,  would  be  a  more  formidable  disturber 
of  Colonel  Mannering's  peace  of  mind  than  his  supposed  grave  ? 
If  he  escapes  from  the  hands  of  these  marauders,  I  am  convinced 
he  will  soon  be  in  England,  and  it  will  be  then  time  to  consider 
how  his  existence  is  to  be  disclosed  to  my  father. — But  if,  alas ! 
my  earnest  and  confident  hope  should  betray  me,  what  would 
it  avail  to  tear  open  a  mystery  fraught  with  so  many  painful 
recollections  ? — My  dear  mother  had  such  dread  of  its  being 
known,  that  I  think  she  even  suffered  my  father  to  suspect  that 
Brown's  attentions  were  directed  toward  herself,  rather  than 
permit  him  to  discover  their  real  object  : — and  O,  Matilda, 
whatever  respect  I  owe  to  the  memory  of  a  deceased  parent, 
let  me  do  justice  to  a  living  one.  I  cannot  but  condemn  the 
dubious  policy  which  she  adopted,  as  unjust  to  my  father,  and 
highly  perilous  to  herself  and  me.  But  peace  be  with  her 
ashes  ! — her  actions  were  guided  by  the  heart  rather  than  the 
head  ;  and  shall  her  daughter,  who  inherits  all  her  weakness, 
be  the  first  to  withdraw  the  veil  from  her  defects  1 '' 

Fourth  Extract. 

*^  Mervyn  Hall. 
"  If  India  be  the  land  or  magic,  this,  my  dearest  Matilda,  is 
the  country  of  romance.  The  scenery  is  such  as  nature  brings 
together  in  her  sublimest  moods  ; — sounding  cataracts — hills 
which  rear  their  scathed  heads  to  the  sky — lakes,  that,  winding 
up  the  shadowy  valleys,  lead  at  every  turn  to  yet  more  romantic 


gVy  MANNERINO. 


recesses — rocks  which  catch  the  clouds  of  heaven.  All  th  i 
wildness  of  Salvator  here — and  there,  the  fairy  scenes  of  Claude. 
I  am  happy,  too,  in  finding  at  least  one  object  upon  which  my 
father  can  share  my  enthusiasm.  An  admirer  of  nature,  both 
as  an  artist  and  a  poet,  I  have  experienced  the  utmost  pleasure 
from  the  observations  by  which  he  explains  the  character  and 
the  effect  of  these  brilliant  specimens  of  her  power.  I  wish  he 
would  settle  in  this  enchanting  land.  But  his  views  X\t  still 
further  north,  and  he  is  present  absent  on  a  tour  in  Scotland, 
looking,  I  believe,  for  some  purchase  of  land  which  may  suit 
him  as  a  residence.  He  is  partial,  from  early  recollections,  to 
that  country.  So  my  dearest  Matilda,  I  must  be  yet  further 
removed  from  you  before  I  am  established  in  a  home. — And  O 
how  delighted  shall  I  be  when  I  can  say,  Come,  Matilda,  and 
be  the  guest  of  your  faithful  Julia  ! 

"  I  am  at  present  the  inmate  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mervyn,  old 
friends  of  my  father.  The  latter  is  precisely  a  good  sort  of 
woman  ; — lady-like  and  house-wifely,  but  for  accomplishments 
or  fancy — good  lack,  my  dearest  Matilda,  your  friend  might  as 
well  seek  sympathy  from  Mrs.  Teach'em, — you  see  I  have  not 
forgot  school  nicknames.  Mervyn  is  a  different — quite  a  dif- 
ferent being  from  my  father ;  yet  he  amuses  and  endures  me. 
He  is  fat  and  good-natured,  gifted  with  strong,  shrewd  sense, 
and  some  powers  of  humor  ;  but  having  been  handsome,  I  sup- 
pose, in  his  youth,  has  still  some  pretension  to  be  3.  beau  ga^'fon 
as  well  as  an  enthusiastic  agriculturist.  I  delight  to  make  him 
scramble  to  the  tops  of  eminences  and  to  the  foot  of  waterfalls, 
and  am  obliged  in  turn  to  admire  his  turnips,  his  lucern,  and 
Ins  timothy-grass.  He  thinks  me,  I  fancy,  a  simple  romantic 
Miss,  with  some — (the  word  will  be  out)  beauty,  and  some  good- 
nature ;  and  I  hold  that  the  gentleman  has  good  taste  for  the 
female  outside,  and  do  not  expect  he  should  comprehend  my 
sentiments  further.  So  he  rallies,  hands,  and  hobbles  (for  the 
dear  creature  has  got  the  gout  too),  and  tells  old  stories  of  high 
life,  of  which  he  has  seen  a  great  deal ;  and  I  listen,  and  smile, 
and  look  as  pretty,  as  pleasant,  and  as  simple  as  I  can, — and 
we  do  very  well. 

"  But,  alas  ;  my  dearest  Matilda,  how  would  time  pass  away, 
even  in  this  paradise  of  romance,  tenanted  as  it  is  by  a  pair 
assorting  so  ill  with  the  scenes  around  them,  were  it  not  for 
your  fidelity  in  replying  to  my  uninteresting  details  ?  Pray  do 
not  fail  to  write  three  times  a-week  at  least — you  can  be  at  no 
loss  what  to  say." 


GUY  MANNERING, 


99 


Fifth  Extract. 

How  shall  I  communicate  what  I  have  now  to  tell !  My 
hand  and  heart  still  flutter  so  much,  that  the  task  of  writing  is 
almost  impossible  ?  Did  I  not  say  that  he  lived  ?  did  I  not  say 
I  would  not  despair  ?  How  could  you  suggest,  my  dear  Ma- 
tilda, that  my  feelings,  considering  I  had  parted  from  him  so 
young,  rather  arose  from  the  warmth  of  my  imagination  than  of 
my  heart  ?  O  !  I  was  sure  that  they  were  genuine,  deceitful 
as  the  dictates  of  our  bosom  so  frequently  are.  But  to  my 
tale — let  it  be,  my  friend,  the  most  sacred,  as  it  is  the  most 
sincere  pledge  of  our  friendship. 

Our  hours  here  are  early — earlier  than  my  heart,  with  its 
load  of  care,  can  compose  itself  to  rest.  I  therefore,  usually 
take  a  book  for  an  hour  or  two  after  retiring  to  my  own  room, 
which  I  think  I  have  told  you  opens  to  a  small  balcony,  look- 
down  upon  that  beautiful  lake,  of  which  I  attempted  to  give 
you  a  slight  sketch.  Mervyn-hall,  being  partly  an  ancient 
building,  and  constructed  with  a  view  to  defence,  is  situated  on 
the  verge  of  the  lake.  A  stone  dropped  from  the  projecting 
balcony  plunges  into  water  deep  enough  to  float  a  skiff.  I  had 
left  my  window  partly  unbarred,  that,  before  I  went  to  bed,  I 
might,  according  to  my  custom  lookout  and  see  the  moonlight 
shining  upon  the  lake.  I  was  deeply  engaged  with  that  beau- 
tiful scene  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  where  two  lovers,  de- 
scribing the  stillness  of  a  summer  night,  enhance  on  each 
other  its  charms,  and  was  lost  in  the  associations  of  story  and 
of  feeling  which  it  awakens,  when  I  heard  upon  the  lake  the 
sound  of  a  flageolet.  I  have  told  you  it  was  Brown's  favorite 
instrument.  Who  could  touch  it  in  a  night  which,  though  still 
and  serene,  was  too  cold,  and  too  late  in  the  year,  to  invite 
forth  any  wanderer  for  mere  pleasure  ?  I  drew  yet  nearer  the 
window,  and  hearkened  with  breathless  attention  ; — the  sounds 
paused  a  space,  were  then  resumed — paused  again — and  again 
reached  my  ear,  ever  coming  nearer  and  nearer.  At  length,  I 
distinguished  plainly  that  little  Hindu  air  which  you  called  my 
favorite — I  have  told  you  by  whom  it  was  taught  me ; — the  in- 
strument, the  tones,  were  his  own  !  Were  it  earthly  music,  or 
notes  passing  on  the  wind  to  warn  me  of  his  death  ? 

"  It  was  some  time  ere  I  could  summon  courage  to  step  on 
the  balcony — nothing  could  have  emboldened  me  to  do  so  but 
the  strong  conviction  of  my  mind  that  he  was  still  alive,  and 
that  we  should  again  meet ;  but  that  conviction  did  embolden 
me,  and  I  ventured,  though  with  a  throbbing  heart.  There  was 
a  small  skiff,  with  a  single  person — O,  Matilda,  it  was  himself ! 


too 


GUY  MANNERING. 


—I  knew  his  appearance  after  so  long  an  absence,  and  through 
the  shadow  of  the  night,  as  perfectly  as  if  we  had  parted 
yesterday,  and  met  again  in  the  broad  sunshine  !  He  guided 
his  boat  under  the  balcony,  and  spoke  to  me.  I  hardly  knew 
what  he  said,  or  what  I  replied.  Indeed,  I  could  scarcely  speak 
for  weeping, — but  they  were  joyful  tears.  We  were  disturbed 
by  the  barking  of  a  dog  at  some  distance,  and  parted,  but  not 
before  he  had  conjured  me  to  prepare  to  meet  him  at  the  same 
place  and  hour  this  evening. 

"  But  where  and  to  what  is  all  this  tending  ?  Can  I  answer 
this  question  ?  I  cannot.  Heaven,  that  saved  him  from  death, 
and  delivered  him  from  captivity — that  saved  my  father,  too, 
from  shedding  the  blood  of  one  who  would  not  have  blemished 
a  hair  of  his  head, — that  Heaven  must  guide  me  out  of  this 
labyrinth.  Enough  for  me  the  firm  resolution,  that  Matilda 
shall  not  blush  for  her  friend,  my  father  for  his  daughter,  nor 
my  lover  for  her  on  whom  he  has  fixed  his  affection." 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEENTH 

Talk  with  a  man  out  of  a  window  ! — a  proper  saying. 

Much  Ado  about  Nothing. 

We  must  proceed  with  our  extracts  from  Miss  Mannering's 
letters,  which  throw  light  upon  natural  good  sense,  principle, 
and  feelings,  blemished  by  an  imperfect  education,  and  the  folly 
of  a  misjudging  mother,  who  called  her  husband  in  her  heart  a 
tyrant  until  she  feared  him  as  such,  and  read  romances  until 
she  became  so  enamoured  of  the  complicated  intrigues  which 
they  contain,  as  to  assume  the  management  of  a  little  family 
novel  of  her  own,  and  constitute  her  daughter,  a  girl  of  sixteen, 
the  principal  heroine.  She  delighted  in  petty  mystery,  and  in- 
trigue, and  secrets,  and  yet  trembled  at  the  indignation  which 
these  paltry  manoeuvres  excited  in  her  husband's  mind.  Thus 
she  frequently  entered  upon  a  scheme  merely  for  pleasure,  or 
perhaps  for  the  love  of  contradiction — plunged  deeper  into  it 
than  she  was  aware — endeavored  to  extricate  herself  by  new 
arts,  or  to  cover  her  error  by  dissimulation — became  involved 
in  meshes  of  her  own  weaving,  and  was  forced  to  carry  on,  for 
fear  of  discovery,  machinations  which  she  had  at  first  resorted 
to  in  mere  wantonness. 

Fortunately  the  young  man  whom^  she  so  imprudently  intro- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


101 


duced  into  her  intimate  society,  and  encouraged  to  look  up  to 
her  daughter,  had  a  fund  of  principle  and  honest  pride,  which 
rendered  him  a  safer  intimate  than  Mrs.  Mannering  ought  to 
have  dared  to  hope  or  expect.  The  obscurity  of  his  birth  could 
alone  be  objected  to  him  ;  in  every  other  respect, 

With  prospects  bright  upon  the  world  he  came, 
Pure  love  of  virtue,  strong  desire  of  fame; 
Men  watched  the  way  his  lofty  mind  would  take, 
And  all  foretold  the  progress  he  would  make. 

But  it  could  not  be  expected  that  he  should  resist  the  snare 
which  Mrs.  Mannering's  imprudence  threw  in  his  way,  or  avoid 
becoming  attached  to  a  young  lady,  whose  beauty  and  manners 
might  have  justified  his  passion,  even  in  scenes  where  these 
are  more  generally  met  with,  than  in  a  remote  fortress  in  our 
Indian  settlements.  The  scenes  which  followed  have  been 
partly  detailed  in  Mannering's  letter  to  Mr.  Mervyn  ;  and  to 
expand  what  is  there  stated  into  further  explanation,  would  be 
to  abuse  the  patience  of  our  readers. 

We  shall,  therefore,  proceed  with  our  promised  extracts  from 
Miss  Mannering's  letters  to  her  friend  : — 

Sixth  Extract. 

"  I  have  seen  him  again,  Matilda — seen  him  twice.  I  have 
used  every  argument  to  convince  him  that  this  secret  intercourse 
is  dangerous  to  us  both.  I  even  pressed  him  to  pursue  his 
views  of  fortune  without  further  regard  to  me,  and  to  consider 
my  peace  of  mind  as  sufficiently  secured  by  the  knowledge  that 
he  had  not  fallen  under  my  father's  sword.  He  answers — but 
how  can  I  detail  all  he  has  to  answer.?  He  claims  those  hopes 
as  his  due  which  my  mother  permitted  him  to  entertain,  and 
would  persuade  me  to  the  madness  of  a  union  without  my 
father's  sanction.  But  to  this,  Matilda,  I  will  not  be  persuaded. 
I  have  resisted,  I  have  subdued,  the  rebellious  feelings  which 
arose  to  aid  his  plea  ; — yet  how  to  extricate  myself  from  this 
unhappy  labyrinth,  in  which  fate  and  folly  have  entangled  us 
both  ! 

1  have  thought  upon  it,  Matilda,  till  my  head  is  almost 
giddy — nor  can  I  conceive  a  better  plan  than  to  make  a  full 
confession  to  my  father.  He  deserves  it,  for  his  kindness  is 
unceasing;  and  I  think  I  have  observed  in  his  character,  since 
I  have  studied  it  more  nearly,  that  his  harsher  feelings  are 
chiefly  excited  where  he  suspects  deceit  or  imposition  ;  and  in 
that  respect,  perhaps,  his  character  was  formerly  misunderstood 


102 


GUY  MANN-ERTNG, 


by  one  who  was  dear  to  him.  He  has,  too,  a  tinge  of  romance 
in  his  disposition  ;  and  I  have  seen  the  narrative  of  a  generous 
action,  a  trait  of  heroism,  or  virtuous  self-denial,  extract  tears 
from  him,  which  refused  to  flow  at  a  tale  of  mere  distress.  But 
then,  Brown  urges,  that  he  is  personally  hostile  to  him.  And 
the  obscurity  of  his  birth — that  would  be  indeed  a  stumbling- 
block.  O  Matilda,  I  hope  none  of  your  ancestors  ever  fought 
at  Poictiers  or  Agincourt  !  If  it  were  not  for  the  veneration 
which  my  father  attaches  to  the  memory  of  old  Sir  Miles 
Mannering,  I  should  make  out  my  explanation  with  half  the 
tremor  which  must  now  attend  it.'* 


Seventh  Extract. 

I  have  this  instant  received  your  letter — your  most  wel- 
come letter  !  Thanks,  my  dearest  friend,  for  your  sympathy 
and  your  counsels — I  can  only  repay  them  with  unbounded 
confidence. 

"  You  ask  me,  what  Brown  is  by  origin,  that  his  descent 
should  be  so  unpleasing  to  my  father.  His  story  is  shortly 
told.  He  is  of  Scottish  extraction  ;  but,  being  left  an  orphan, 
his  education  was  undertaken  by  a  family  of  relations,  settled 
in  Holland.  He  was  bred  to  commerce,  and  sent  very  early  to 
one  of  our  settlements  in  the  East,  where  his  guardian  had  a 
correspondent.  But  this  correspondent  was  dead  when  he 
arrived  in  India,  and  he  had  no  other  resource  than  to  offer 
himself  as  a  clerk  to  a  counting-house.  The  breaking  out  of 
the  war,  and  the  straits  to  which  we  were  at  first  reduced,  threw 
the  army  open  to  all  young  men  who  were  disposed  to  embrace 
that  mode  of  life  ;  and  Brown,  whose  genius  had  a  strong 
military  tendency,  was  the  first  to  leave  what  might  have  been 
the  road  to  wealth,  and  to  choose  that  of  fame.  The  rest  of  his 
history  is  well  known  to  you  ; — but  conceive  the  irritation  of 
my  father,  who  despises  commerce,  (though  by  the  way,  the 
best  part  of  his  property  was  made  in  that  honorable  pro- 
fession by  my  great-uncle),  and  has  a  particular  antipathy  to 
the  Dutch — think  with  what  ear  he  would  be  likely  to  receive 
proposals  for  his  only  child  from  Vanbeest  Brown,  educated  for 
charity  by  the  house  of  Vanbeest  and  Vanbruggen  !  O  Matilda, 
it  will  never  do — nay,  so  childish  am  I,  I  hardly  can  help 
sympathizing  with  his  aristocratic  feelings.  Mrs.  Vanbeest 
Brown  !  The  name  has  little  to  recommend  it  to  be  sure. 
What  children  we  are  ! 


GC/y  MANNERING. 


Eighth  Extract. 

It  is  all  over  now,  Matilda  !  I  shall  never  have  courage  to 
tell  my  father — nay,  most  deeply  do  I  fear  he  has  already 
learned  my  secret  from  another  quarter,  which  will  entirely 
remove  the  grace  of  my  communication,  and  ruin  whatever 
gleam  of  hope  I  had  ventured  to  connect  with  it.  Yester- 
night, Brown  came  as  usual,  and  his  flageolet  on  the  lake 
announced  his  approach.  We  had  agreed  that  he  should  con- 
tinue to  use  this  signal.  These  romantic  lakes  attract  numerous 
visitors,  who  indulge  their  enthusiasm  in  visiting  the  scenery 
at  all  hours,  and  we  hoped,  that  if  Brown  were  noticed  from  the 
house,  he  might  pass  for  one  of  those  admirers  o^  nature,  who 
was  giving  vent  to  his  feelings  through  the  medium  of  music. 
The  sounds  might  also  be  my  apology,  should  I  be  observed  on 
the  balcony.  But  last  night,  while  I  was  eagerly  enforcing  my 
plan  of  a  full  confession  to  my  father,  which  he  as  earnestly 
deprecated,  we  heard  the  window  of  Mr.  Mervyn's  library, 
which  is  under  my  room,  open  softly.  I  signed'  to  Brown  to 
make  his  retreat,  and  immediately  re-entered,  with  some  faint 
hopes  that  our  interview  had  not  been  observed. 

"  But  alas  !  Matilda,  these  hopes  vanished  the  instant  I 
beheld  Mr.  Mervyn's  countenance  at  breakfast  the  next  morning. 
He  looked  so  provokingly  intelligent  and  confidential,  that,  had 
I  dared,  I  could  have  been  more  angry  than  ever  I  was  in  my 
life.  But  I  must  be  on  good  behavior,  and  my  walks  are  now 
limited  within  his  farm  precincts,  where  the  good  gentleman 
can  amble  along  by  my  side  without  inconvenience.  I  have 
detected  him  once  or  twice  attempting  to  sound  my  thoughts, 
and  watch  the  expression  of  my  countenance.  He  has  talked 
of  the  flageolet  more  than  once  ;  and  has  at  different  times 
made  eulogiums  upon  the  watchfulness  and  ferocity  of  his  dogs, 
and  the  regularity  with  which  the  keeper  makes  his  rounds 
with  a  loaded  fowding-piece.  He  mentioned  even  man-traps 
and  spring-guns.  I  should  be  loath  to  affront  my  father's  old 
friend  in  his  own  house  ;  but  I  do  long  to  show  him  that  I  am 
my  father's  daughter,  a  fact  of  which  Mr.  Mervyn  will  certainly 
be  convinced,  if  ever  I  trust  my  voice  and  temper  with  a  reply 
to  these  indirect  hints.  Of  one  thing  I  am  certain — I  am 
grateful  to  him  on  that  account — he  has  not  told  Mrs.  Mervyn. 
Lord  help  me,  I  should  have  had  such  lectures  about  the  dangers 
of  love  and  the  night  air  on  the  lake,  the  risk  arising  from  colds 
and  fortune-hunters,  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  sack-whey 
and  closed  windows !  I  cannot  help  trifling,  Matilda,  though 
my  heart  is  sad  enough.    What  Brown  will  do,  I  cannot  guess, 


I04 


GUY  MANNERING, 


I  presume,  however,  the  fear  of  detection  prevents  his  resuming 
his  nocturnal  visits.  He  lodges  at  an  inn  on  the  opposite  shore 
of  the  lake,  under  the  name,  he  tells  me,  of  Dawson — he 
has  a  bad  choice  in  names,  that  must  be  allowed.  He  has  not 
left  the  army,  I  believe,  but  he  says  nothing  of  his  present 
views. 

"  To  complete  my  anxiety,  my  father  is  returned  suddenly, 
and  in  high  displeasure.  Our  good  hostess,  as  I  learned  from 
a  bustling  conversation  between  her  housekeeper  and  her,  had 
no  expectation  of  seeing  him  for  a  week  ;  but  I  rather  suspect 
his  arrival  was  no  surprise  to  his  friend  Mr.  Mervyn.  His 
manner  to  me  was  singularly  cold  and- constrained — sufficiently 
so  to  have  damped  all  the  courage  with  which  I  once  resolved 
to  throw  myself  on  his  generosity.  He  lays  the  blame  of  his 
being  discomposed  and  out  of  humor  to  the  loss  of  a  purchase 
in  the  south-west  of  Scotland,  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart ; 
but  I  do  not  suspect  his  equanimity  of  being  so  easily  thrown 
off  its  balance.  His  first  excursion  was  with  Mr.  Mervyn's  barge 
across  the  lake,  to  the  inn  I  have  mentioned.  You  may 
imagine  the  agony  with  which  I  waited  his  return.  Had  he 
recognized  Brown,  who  can  guess  the  consequence }  He 
returned,  however,  apparently  without  having  made  any  dis- 
covery. I  understand,  that  in  consequence  of  his  late  disap- 
pointment, he  means  now  to  hire  a  house  in  the  neighborhood 
of  this  same  Ellangowan,  of  which  I  am  doomed  to  hear  so 
much — he  seems  to  think  it  probable  that  the  estate  for  which 
he  wishes  may  soon  be  again  in  the  market.  I  will  not  send 
away  this  letter  until  I  hear  more  distinctly  what  are  his 
intentions." 


"  I  have  now  had  an  interview  with  my  father,  as  confi- 
dential as,  I  presume,  he  means  to  allow  me.  He  requested 
me  to-day,  after  breakfast,  to  walk  with  him  into  the  library : 
my  knees,  Matilda,  shook  under  me,  and  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  I  could  scarce  follow  him  into  the  room.  I  feared  I 
knew  not  what  :  from  my  childhood  I  had  seen  all  around  him 
tremble  at  his  frown.  He  motioned  me  to  seat  myself,  and  I 
never  obeyed  a  command  so  readily,  for,  in  truth,  I  could  hardly 
stand.  He  himself  continued  to  walk  up  and  down  the  room. 
You  have  seen  my  father,  and  noticed  I  recollect,  the  remark- 
ably expressive  cast  of  his  fealures.  His  eyes  are  naturally 
rather  light  in  color,  but  agitation  or  anger  gives  them  a  darker 
and  more  fiery  glance  ;  he  has  a  custom  also  of  drawing  in  his 
lips,  when  much  moved,  which  implies  a  combat  between  native 


GUY  MANNERING. 


ardor  of  temper  and  the  habitual  power  of  self-command. 
This  was  the  first  time  we  had  been  alone  since  his  return  from 
Scotland,  and,  as  he  betrayed  these  tokens  of  agitation,  I  had 
little  doubt  that  he  w^as  about  to  enter  upon  the  subject  I  most 
dreaded. 

To  my  unutterable  relief,  I  found  I  was  mistaken,  and  that 
whatever  he  knew  of  Mr.  Mervyn's  suspicions  or  discoveries,  he 
did  not  intend  to  converse  with  me  on  the  topic.  Coward  as  I 
was,  I  was  inexpressibly  relieved,  though  if  he  had  really  inves- 
tigated the  reports  which  may  have  come  to  his  ear,  the  reality 
could  have  been  nothing  to  what  his  suspicions  might  have 
conceived.  But  though  my  spirits  rose  high  at  my  unexpected 
escape,  I  had  not  courage  myself  to  provoke  the  discussion, 
and  remained  silent  to  receive  his  commands. 

'^^  Julia,^  he  said,  *my  agent  writes  me  from  Scotland,  that 
he  has  been  able  to  hire  a  house  for  me,  decently  furnished, 
and  with  the  necessary  accommodation  for  my  family — it  is 
within  three  miles  of  that  I  had  designed  to  purchase.' 
 Then  he  made  a  pause,  and  seemed  to  expect  an  answer. 

"  '  Whatever  place  of  residence  suits  you,  sir,  must  be  per- 
fectly agreeable  to  me.' 

'  Umph  ! — I  do  not  propose,  however,  Julia,  that  you  shall 
reside  quite  alone  in  this  house  during  the  winter.' 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mervyn,  thought  I  to  myself. — Whatever 
company  is  agreeable  to  you,  sir,'  I  answered  aloud  

"  *  O,  there  is  a  little  too  much  of  this  universal  spirit  of 
submission  ;  an  excellent  disposition  in  action,  but  your  con- 
stantly repeating  the  jargon  of  it,  puts  me  in  mind  of  the 
eternal  salaams  of  our  black  dependents  in  the  East.  In  short, 
Julia,  I  know  you  have  a  relish  for  society,  and  I  intend  to 
invite  a  young  person,  the  daughter  of  a  deceased  friend,  to 
spend  a  few  months  with  us.' 

"  *  Not  a  governess,  for  the  love  of  Heaven,  papa  !  exclaim- 
ed poor  I,  my  fears  at  that  moment  totally  getting  the  better  of 
my  prudence. 

'  No,  not  a  governess,  Miss  Mannering,'  replied  the  Col- 
onel somewhat  sternly,  *  but  a  young  lady  from  whose  excellent 
example,  bred  as  she  has  been  in  the  school  of  adversity,  I 
trust  you  may  learn  the  art  to  govern  yourself.' 

"  To  answer  this  was  trenching  upon  too  dangerous  ground  ? 
so  there  was  a  pause. 

"  *  Is  the  young  lady  a  Scotch  woman,  papa  ?  ' 

"  *  Yes  ' — dryly  enough. 
'  Has  she  much  of  the  accent,  sir  ? ' 

"  *  Much  of  the  devil ! '  answered  my  father  hastily    *  do 


io6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


you  think  I  care  about  ^'s  and  aa^s^  and  /'s  and  ^^'s? — I 
tell  you,  Julia,  I  am  serious  in  the  matter.  You  have  a 
genius  for  friendship,  that  is,  for  running  up  intimacies  which 
you  call  such  ' — (was  not  this  very  harshly  said,  Matilda  ?) 
*  Now  I  wish  to  give  you  an  opportunity  at  least  to  make  one 
deserving  friend  ;  and  therefore  I  have  resolved  that  this  young 
lady  shall  be  a  member  of  my  family  for  some  months,  and  I 
expect  that  you  will  pay  to  her  that  attention  which  is  due  to 
misfortune  and  virtue/ 

"  '  Certainly,  sir.    Is  my  future  friend  red-haired  ?  * 

He  gave  me  one  of  his  stern  glances  ;  you  will  say,  per- 
haps, I  deserved  it ;  but  I  think  the  deuce  prompts  me  with 
teasing  questions  on  some  occasions.  ' 

'  She  is  as  superior  to  you,  my  love,  in  personal  appearance, 
as  in  prudence  and  aflection  for  her  friends.' 

'  Lord,  papa,  do  you  think  that  superiority  a  recommenda- 
tion ? — Well,  sir,  but  I  see  you  are  going  to  take  all  this  too 
seriously  :  whatever  the  young  lady  may  be,  I  am  sure,  being 
recommended  by  you,  she  shall  have  no  reason  to  complain  of 
my  want  of  attention.' — (After  a  pause) — *  Has  she  any  attend- 
ant? because  you  know  I  must  provide  for  her  proper  accom- 
modation if  she  is  without  one.' 

— no — no — not  properly  an  attendant  —  the  chaplain 
who  lived  with  her  father  is  a  very  good  sort  of  a  man,  and  I 
believe  I  shall  make  room  for  him  in  the  house.' 

*  Chaplain,  papa  ?  Lord  bless  us  !  ' 

Yes,  Miss  Mannering,  chaplain  ;  is  there  anything  very 
new  in  that  word  1  Had  we  not  a  chaplain  at  the  Residence, 
when  we  were  in  India  ? ' 

"  ^  Yes,  papa,  but  you  were  a  commandant  then.' 

"  *  So  I  will  be  now,  Miss  Mannering, — in  my  own  family  at 
least.' 

*  Certamly,  sir.  But  will  he  read  us  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land service  ? ' 

The  apparent  simplicity  with  which  I  asked  this  question 
got  the  better  of  his  gravity.  *  Come,  Julia,'  he  said,  *  you  are 
a  sad  girl,  but  I  gain  nothing  by  scolding  you.  Of  these  two 
strangers,  the  young  lady  is  one  whom  you  cannot  fail,  I  think, 
to  love  ; — the  person  whom,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  I  called 
chaplain,  is  a  very  worthy,  and  somewhat  ridiculous,  personage, 
who  will  never  find  out  you  laugh  at  him,  if  you  don't  laugh 
very  loud  indeed.' 

*  Dear  papa !  I  am  delighted  with  that  part  of  his  charac' 
ter.  But  pray,  is  the  house  we  are  going  to  as  pleasantly  sit» 
uated  as  this  ? ' 


ct/v  mannJeriMg. 


to) 


"  '  Not,  perhaps,  as  much  to  your  taste — there  is  no  lake 
under  the  windows,  and  you  will  be  under  the  necessity  of 
having  all  your  music  within  doors/ 

This  last  coup  de  main  ended  the  keen  encounter  of  our 
wits ;  for  you  may  believe,  Matilda,  it  quelled  all  my  courage 
to  reph^ 

Yet  my  spirits,  as  perhaps  will  appear  too  manifest  from 
this  dialogue,  have  risen  insensibly,  and,  as  it  were,  in  spite  of 
myself.  Brown  alive,  and  free,  and  in  England  !  Embarrassment 
and  anxiety  I  can  and  must  endure.  We  leave  this  in  two  days 
for  our  new  residence.  I  shall  not  fail  to  let  you  know  what 
I  think  of  these  Scotch  inmates,  whom  I  have  but  too  much 
reason  to  believe  my  father  means  to  quarter  in  his  house  as  a 
brace  of  honorable  spies;  a  sort  of  female  Rozencrantz  and 
reverend  Guildenstern,  one  in  tartan  petticoats,  the  other  in  a 
cassock.  What  a  contrast  to  the  society  I  would  willingly  have 
secured  to  myself !  I  shall  write  instantly  on  my  arriving  at 
our  new  place  of  abode,  and  acquaint  my  dearest  Matilda  with 
the  further  fates  of — her 

"  Julia  Mannering." 


CHAPTER  NINETEENTH. 

Which  sloping  hills  around  enclose, 
"Where  many  a  beecli  and  brown  oak  grows, 
Beneath  whose  dark  and  branching  bowers, 
Its  tides  a  far-famed  river  pours, 
By  nature's  beauties  taught  to  please, 
Sweet  Tusculane  of  rural  ease  ! — 

Warton. 

WooDBOURNE,  the  habitation  which  Mannering,  by  Mr. 
Mac-Morlan's  mediation,  had  hired  for  a  season,  was  a  large 
comfortable  mansion,  snugly  situated  beneath  a  hill  covered 
with  wood,  which  shrouded  the  house  upon  the  north  and  east; 
the  front  looked  upon  a  little  lawn  bordered  by  a  grove  of  old 
trees ;  beyond  were  some  arable  fields,  extending  down  to  the 
river,  which  was  seen  from  the  windows  of  the  house.  A  tol- 
erable, though  old-fashioned  garden,  a  w^ell-stocked  dove-cot, 
and  the  possession  of  any  quantity  of  ground  v/hich  the  conve- 
nience of  the  family  might  require,  rendered  the  place  in  every 
respect  suitable,  as  the  advertisements  have  it,  ^'  for  the  accom- 
modation of  a  genteel  family." 


GUY  MANNERmC. 


Here,  then,  Mannering  resolved,  for  some  time  at  least,  to 
set  up  the  staff  of  his  rest.  Though  an  East-Indian,  he  was  not 
partial  to  an  ostentatious  display  of  wealth.  In  fact,  he  was  too 
proud  a  man  to  be  a  vain  one.  He  resolved,  therefore,  to  place 
himself  upon  the  footing  of  a  country  gentleman  of  easy  for- 
tune, without  assuming,  or  permitting  his  household  to  assume 
any  of  the  faste  which  then  was  considered  as  characteristic  of  a 
nabob. 

He  had  still  his  eye  upon  the  purchase  of  Ellangowan,  which 
Mac-Morlan  conceived  Mr.  Glossin  would  be  compelled  to  part 
with,  as  some  of  the  creditors  disputed  his  title  to  retain  so 
large  a  part  of  the  purchase-money  in  his  own  hands,  and  his 
power  to  pay  it  was  much  questioned.  In  that  case  Mac-Morlan 
was  assured  he  would  readily  give  up  his  bargain,  if  tempted 
with  something  above  the  price  which  he  had  stipulated  to  pay. 
It  may  seem  strange  that  Mannering  was  so  much  attached  to 
a  spot  which  he  had  only  seen  once,  and  that  for  a  short  time 
in  early  life.  But  the  circumstances  which  passed  there  had 
laid  a  strong  hold  on  his  imagination.  There  seemed  to  be  a 
%  fate  which  conjoined  the  remarkable  passages  of  his  own  family 
history  with  those  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ellangowan,  and  he  felt 
a  mysterious  desire  to  call  the  terrace  his  own.  from  which  he 
had  read  in  the  book  of  heaven  a  fortune  strangely  accom- 
plished in  the  person  of  the  infant  heir  of  that  family,  and 
corresponding  so  closely  with  one  which  had  been  strikingly 
fulfilled  in  his  own.  Besides,  when  once  this  thought  had  got 
possession  of  his  imagination,  he  could  not  without  great  re- 
luctance brook  the  idea  of  his  plan  being  defeated,  and  by  a 
fellow  like  Glossin.  So  pride  came  to  the  aid  of  fancy  and 
both  combined  to  fortify  his  resolution  to  buy  the  estate  if 
possible. 

Let  us  do  Mannering  justice.  A  desire  to  serve  the  dis- 
tressed had  also  its  share  in  determining  him.  He  had  consid- 
ered the  advantage  which  Julia  might  receive  from  the  com-* 
pany  of  Lucy  Bertram,  whose  genuine  prudence  and  good  sense 
could  so  surely  he  relied  upon.  This  idea  had  become  much 
stronger  since  Mac-Morlan  had  confided  to  him,  under  the 
solemn  seal  of  secrecy,  the  whole  of  her  conduct  toward  young 
Hazlewood.  To  propose  to  her  to  become  an  inmate  in  his 
family,  if  distant  from  the  scenes  of  her  youth  and  the  few 
whom  she  called  friends,  would  have  been  less  delicate;  but 
at  Woodbourne  she  might  without  difficulty  be  induced  to  be- 
come the  visitor  of  a  season,  without  being  depressed  into  the 
situation  of  an  humbie  companion.  Lucy  Bertram,  with  some 
hesitation,  accepted  the  invitation  to  reside  a  few  weeks  with 


GUY  MANNERING. 


109 


Miss  Mannering.  She  felt  too  well,  that,  however  the  Colonel's 
delicacy  might  disguise  the  truth,  his  principal  motive  was  a 
generous  desire  to  afford  her  his  countenance  and  protection, 
which  his  high  connections,  and  higher  character,  were  likely 
to  render  influential  in  the  neighborhood. 

About  the  same  time  the  orphan  girl  received  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Bertram,  the  relation  to  whom  she  had  written,  as  cold 
and  comfortless  as  could  well  be  imagined.  It  inclosed,  indeed, 
a  small  sum  of  money,  but  strongly  recommended  economy  and 
that  Miss  Bertram  should  board  herself  in  some  quiet  family, 
either  at  Kippletringam,  or  in  the  neighborhood,  assuring  her, 
that  though  her  own  income  was  very  scanty,  she  would  not 
see  her  kinswoman  want.  Miss  Bertram  shed  some  natural 
tears  over  this  cold-hearted  epistle ;  for  in  her  mother's  time, 
this  good  lady  had  been  a  guest  at  Ellangowan  for  nearly  three 
years,  and  it  was  only  upon  succeeding  to  a  property  of  about 
;^4oo  a-year  that  she  had  taken  farewell  of  that  hospitable  man- 
sion, which  otherwise  might  have  had  the  honor  of  sheltering 
her  until  the  death  of  its  owner.  Lucy  was  strongly  inclined  to 
return  the  paltry  donation,  which,  after  some  struggles  with 
avarice,  pride  had  extorted  from  the  old  lady.  But,  on  consid- 
eration, she  contented  herself  with  writing,  that  she  accepted 
it  as  a  loan,  which  she  hoped  in  a  short  time  to  repay,  and  con- 
sulted her  relative  upon  the  invitation  she  had  received  from 
Colonel  and  Miss  Mannering.  This  time  the  answer  came  in 
course  of  post,  so  fearful  was  Mrs.  Bertram  that  some  frivolous 
delicacy,  or  nonsense,  as  she  termed  it,  might  induce  her  cousin 
to  reject  such  a  promising  offer,  and  thereby  at  the  same  time 
to  leave  herself  still  a  burden  upon  her  relations.  Lucy,  there-' 
fore,  had  no  alternative,  unless  she  preferred  continuing  a  bur- 
den upon  the  worthy  Mac-Morlans,  who  were  too  liberal  to  be 
rich.  Those  kinsfolk,  who  formerly  requested  the  favor  of  her 
company,  had  of  late,  either  silently,  or  with  expressions  of  re- 
sentment that  she  should  have  preferred  Mac-Morlan's  invita- 
tion to  theirs,  gradually  withdrawn  their  notice. 

The  fate  of  Dominie  Sampson  would  have  been  deplorable 
had  it  depended  upon  any  one  except  Mannering,  who  was  an 
admirer  of  originality  ;  for  a  separation  from  Lucy  Bertram 
would  have  certainly  broken  his  heart.  Mac-Morlan  had  given 
a  full  account  of  his  proceedings  toward  the  daughter  of  his 
patron.  The  answer  was  a  request  from  Mannering  to  know, 
whether  the  Dominie  still  possessed  that  admirable  virtue  of 
taciturnity  by  which  he  was  so  notably  distinguished  at  Ellan- 
gowan.—Mac-Morlan  replied  in  the  affirmative.  "  Let  M^.  Samp- 
son know,"  said  the  ColoneFs  next  letter,  "  that  I  shall  want 


GUY  MAAWERma. 


his  assistance  to  catalogue  and  put  in  order  the  library  of  my 

uncle,  the  bishop,  which  I  have  ordered  to  be  sent  down  by 
sea.  I  shall  also  want  him  to  copy  and  arrange  some  papers. 
Fix  his  salary  at  what  you  think  befitting.  Let  the  poor  man 
be  properly  dressed,  and  accompany  his  young  lady  to  Wood- 
bourne." 

Honest  Mac-Morlan  received  this  mandate  with  great  joy, 
but  pondered  much  upon  executing  that  part  of  it  which  related 
to  newly  attiring  the  worthy  Dominie.  He  looked  at  him  with 
a  scrutinizing  eye,  and  it  was  but  too  plain  that  his  present 
garments  were  daily  waxing  more  deplorable.  To  give  him 
money,  and  bid  him  go  and  furnish  himself,  would  be  only  giv- 
ing him  the  means  of  making  himself  ridiculous  ;  for  when  such 
a  rare  event  arrived  to  Mr.  Sampson  as  the  purchase  of  new 
garments,  the  additions  which  he  made  to  his  wardrobe  by  the 
guidance  of  his  own  taste,  usually  brought  all  the  boys  of  the 
village  after  him  for  many  days.  On  the  other  hand,  to  bring 
a  tailor  to  measure  him,  and  send  home  his  clothes  as  for  a 
schoolboy,  would  probably  give  offence.  At  length  Mac-Mor- 
lan resolved  to  consult  Miss  Bertram,  and  request  her  interfer- 
ence. She  assured  him,  that  though  she  could  not  pretend  to 
superintend  a  gentleman^s  wardrobe,  nothing  was  more  easy 
than  to  arrange  the  Dominie's. 

"  At  Ellangowan,''  she  said,  "  whenever  my  poor  father 
thought  any  part  of  the  Dominie's  dress  wanted  renewal,  a  ser- 
vant was  directed  to  enter  his  room  by  night,  for  he  sleeps  as 
fast  as  a  dormouse,  carry  off  the  old  vestment,  and  leave  the 
new  one  ; — nor  could  any  one  observe  that  the  Dominie  exhibi- 
ted the  least  consciousness  of  the  change  put  upon  him  on  such 
occasions." 

Mac-Morlan,  in  conformity  with  Miss  Bertram's  advice,  pro- 
cured a  skilful  artist,  who,  on  looking  at  the  Dominie  attentively, 
undertook  to  make  for  him  two  suits  of  clothes,  one  black,  and 
one  raven-gray,  and  even  engaged  that  they  should  fit  him — as 
well  at  least  (so  the  tailor  qualified  his  enterprise)  as  a  man  of 
such  an  out-of-the-way  build  could  be  fitted  by  merely  human 
needles  and  shears.  When  this  fashioner  had  accomplished  his 
task,  and  the  dresses  were  brought  home,  Mac-Morlan,  judici- 
ously resolving  to  accomplish  his  purpose  by  degrees,  withdrew 
that  evening  an  important  part  of  his  dress,  and  substituted  the 
new  article  of  raiment  in  its  stead.  Perceiving  that  this  passed 
totally  without  notice,  he  next  ventured  on  the  waistcoat,  and 
lastly  on  the  coat.  When  fully  metamorphosed,  and  arrayed  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life  in  a  decent  dress,  they  did  observe  that 
the  Dominie  seemed  to  have  some  instinct  and  embarrassing 


GUY  MANNERING. 


lit 


consciousness  that  a  change  had  taken  place  on  his  outward  man. 
Whenever  they  observed  this  dubious  expression  gather  upon  his 
countenance,  accompanied  with  a  glance,  that  fixed  now  upon  the 
sleeve  of  his  coat,  now  upon  the  knees  of  his  breeches,  where  he 
probably  missed  some  antique  patching  and  darning,  which,  being 
executed  with  blue  thread  upon  a  black  ground,  had  somewhat 
the  effect  of  embroidery,  they  always  took  care  to  turn  his  atten- 
tion into  some  other  channel,  until  his  garments,  *^by  the  aid  of 
use,  cleaved  to  their  mould/'  The  only  remark  he  was  ever 
known  to  make  on  the  subject  was,  that  the  air  of  a  town  like 
Kippletringan  seemed  favorable  unto  wearing  apparel,  for  he 
thought  his  coat  looked  almost  as  new  as  the  first  day  he  put  it 
on,  which  was  when  he  went  to  stand  trial  for  his  license  as  a 
preacher." 

When  the  Dominie  first  heard  the  liberal  proposal  of  Colonel 
Mannering,  he  turned  a  jealous  and  doubtful  glance  toward 
Miss  Bertram,  as  if  he  suspected  that  the  project  involved  their 
separation  ;  but  when  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  hastened  to  explain  that 
she  would  be  a  guest  at  Woodbourne  for  some  time,  he  rubbed 
his  huge  hands  together,  and  burst  into  a  portentous  sort  of 
chuckle,  like  that  of  the  Afrite  in  the  tale  of  the  Caliph  Vathek. 
After  this  unusual  explosion  of  satisfaction,  he  remained  quite 
passive  in  all  the  rest  of  the  transaction. 

It  has  been  settled  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan  should 
take  possession  of  the  house  a  few  days  before  Mannering's 
arrival,  both  to  put  everything  in  perfect  order,  and  to  make  the 
transference  of  Miss  Bertram's  residence  from  their  family  to 
as  easy  and  delicate  as  possible.  Accordingly,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month  of  December  the  party  were  settled  at  Wood- 
bourne. 


CHAPTER  TWENTIETH. 

A  gigantic  genius  fit  to  grapple  with  whole  libraries. 

Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson. 

The  appointea  day  arrived,  when  the  Colonel  and  Miss  Man- 
nering were  expected  at  Woodbourne.  The  hour  was  fast  ap- 
proaching, and  the  little  circle  within  doors  had  each  their  sepa- 
rate subjects  of  anxiety.  Mac-Morlan  naturally  desired  to  attach 
to  himself  the  patronage  and  countenance  of  a  person  of  Manner- 
ing's  wealth  and  consequence.  He  was  aware,  from  his  knowl- 
edge of  mankind,  that  Mannering,  though  generous  and  be- 


112 


GUY  MANNERING. 


nevolent,  had  the  foible  of  expecting  and  exacting  a  minute 
compliance  with  his  directions.  He  was  therefore  racking  his 
recollection  to  discover  if  everything  had  been  arranged  to  meet 
the  Colonel's  Vv^ishes  and  instructions,  and,  under  this  uncer- 
tainty of  mind,  he  traversed  the  house  more  than  once  from  the 
garret  to  the  stables.  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan  revolved  in  a  lesser 
orbit,  comprehending  the  dining  parlor,  housekeeper's  room, 
and  kitchen.  She  was  only  afraid  that  the  dinner  might  be 
spoiled,  to  the  discredit  of  her  housewifely  accomplishments. 
Even  the  usual  passiveness  of  the  Dominie  was  so  far  disturbed, 
that  he  twice  went  to  the  window  which  looked  out  upon  the 
avenue,  and  twice  exclaimed,  "  Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  their 
chariot  ? "  Lucy,  the  most  quiet  of  the  expectants,  had  her 
own  melancholy  thoughts.  She  was  now  about  to  be  consigned 
to  the  charge,  almost  to  the  benevolence,  of  strangers,  with 
whose  character,  though  hitherto  very  amiably  displayed,  she 
was  but  imperfectly  acquainted.  The  moments,  therefore,  of 
suspense,  passed  anxiously  and  heavily. 

At  length  the  trampling  of  horses  and  the  sound  of  wheels 
were  heard.  The  servants,  who  had  already  arrived,  drew  up 
in  the  hall  to  receive  their  master  and  mistress,  with  an  im- 
portance and  empresseme7ity  which,  to  Lucy,  who  had  never 
been  accustomed  to  society,  or  witnessed  what  is  called  the 
manners  of  the  great,  had  something  alarming.  Mac-Morlan 
went  to  the  door  to  receive  the  master  and  mistress  of 
the  family,  and  in  a  few  moments  they  were  in  the  drawing- 
room. 

Mannering,  who  had  traveled,  as  usual,  on  horseback, 
entered  with  his  daughter  on  his  arm.  She  was  of  the  middle 
size,  or  rather  less,  but  formed  with  much  elegance  ;  piercing 
dark  eyes,  and  jet  black  hair  of  great  length,  corresponded  wdth 
the  vivacity  and  intelligence  of  features,  in  which  were  blended 
a  little  haughtiness  and  a  little  bashfulness,  a  great  deal  of 
shrewdness,  and  some  power  of  humorous  sarcasm.  I  shall 
not  like  her,"  was  the  result  of  Lucy  Bertram's  first  glance  ; 
"  and  yet  I  rather  think  I  shall,"  was  the  thought  excited  by 
the  second. 

Miss  Mannering  was  furred  and  mantled  up  to  the  throat 
against  the  severity  of  the  weather  ;  the  Colonel  in  his  military 
great-coat.  He  bowed  to  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan,  whom  his  daughter 
also  acknowledged  with  a  fashionable  courtesy,  not  dropped  so 
low  as  at  all  to  incommode  her  person.  The  Colonel  then  led 
his  daughter  up  to  Miss  ]krtram,  and,  taking  the  hand  of  the 
latter  with  an  air  of  great  kindness,  and  almost  paternal 
affection,  he  said,    Julia,  this  is  the  young  lady  whom  1  hope 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"3 


our  good  friends  have  prevailed  on  to  honor  our  house  with 
a  long  visit.  I  shall  be  much  gratified  indeed  if  you  can  render 
Woodbourne  as  pleasant  to  Miss  Bertram,  as  Ellangowan  was 
to  me  when  I  first  came  as  a  wanderer  into  this  country." 

The  young  lady  courtesied  acquiescence,  and  took  her  new 
friend's  hand.  Mannering  now  turned  his  eye  upon  the  Dominie, 
who  had  made  bows  since  his  entrance  into  the  room,  sprawling 
out  his  leg,  and  bending  his  back  like  an  automaton,  which 
continues  to  repeat  the  same  movement,  until  the  motion  is 
stopt  by  the  artist.  "  My  good  friend,  Mr.  Sampson," — said 
Mannering,  introducing  him  to  his  daughter,  and  darting  at 
the  same  time  a  reproving  glance  at  the  damsel,  notwithstanding 
he  had  himself  some  disposition  to  join  her  too  obvious  incli- 
nation to  risibility. — "  This  gentleman,  Julia,  is  to  put  my  books 
in  order  when  they  arrive,  and  I  expect  to  derive  great  advantage 
from  his  extensive  learning." 

"  I  am  sure  we  are  obliged  to  the  gentleman,  papa, — and,  to 
borrow  a  ministerial  mode  of  giving  thanks,  I  shall  never  forget 
the  extraordinary  countenance  he  has  been  pleased  to  show  us 
But,  Miss  Bertram,"  continued  she  hastily,  for  her  father's 
brows  began  to  darken,  "we  have  traveled  a  good  way, — will 
you  permit  me  to  retire  before  dinner  ? " 

This  intimation  dispersed  all  the  company,  save  the  Dominie, 
who,  having  no  idea  of  dressing  but  when  he  was  to  rise,  or  of 
undressing  but  when  he  meant  to  go  to  bed,  remained  by  himself, 
chewing  the  cud  of  a  mathematical  demonstration,  until  the 
company  again  assembled  in  the  drawing-room,  and  from  thence 
adjourned  to  the  dining-parlor. 

When  the  day  was  concluded,  Mannering  took  an  opportu- 
nity to  hold  a  minute's  conversation  with  his  daughter  in  pri- 
vate. 

"  How  do  you  like  your  guests,  Julia  ?  " 
O,  Miss  Bertram  of  all  tnings. — But  this  is  a  most  origmal 
parson — why,  dear  sir,  no  human  being  will  be  able  to  look  at 
him  without  laughing." 

"  While  he  is  under  my  roof,  Julia,  every  one  must  learn  to 
do  so." 

Lord,  papa,  the  very  footmen  could  not  keep  their  grav- 
ity ! " 

^*Then  let  them  strip  off  my  livery,"  said  the  Colonel,  "and 
laugh  at  their  leisure.  Mr.  Sampson  is  a  man  whom  I  esteem 
for  his  simplicity  and  benevolence  of  character." 

O,  I  am  convinced  of  his  generosity  too,"  said  this  lively 
lady  ;  he  cannot  lift  a  spoonful  of  soup  to  his  mouth  without 
bestowing  a  share  on  everything  round/' 


114 


GUY  MANNERING, 


"  Julia,  you  are  incorrigible  ; — but  remember,  I  expect  youi 
mirth  on  this  subject  to  be  under  such  restraint,  that  it  shall 
neither  offend  this  worthy  man's  feelings  nor  those  of  Miss 
Bertram,  who  may  be  more  apt  to  feel  upon  his  account  than 
he  on  his  own.  And  so,  good  night,  my  dear ;  and  recollect 
that,  though  Mr.  Sampson  has  certainly  not  sacrificed  to  the 
graces,  there  are  many  things  in  this  world  more  truly  deserving 
of  ridicule  than  either  awkwardness  of  manners  or  simplicity  of 
character. 

In  a  day  or  two  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan  left  Woodbourne, 
after  taking  an  affectionate  farewell  of  their  late  guest.  The 
household  were  now  settled  in  their  new  quarters.  The  young 
ladies  followed  their  studies  and  amusements  together.  Colonel 
Mannering  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  Miss  Bertram 
was  well  skilled  in  French  and  Italian — thanks  to  the  assiduity 
of  Dominie  Sampson,  whose  labor  had  silently  made  him 
acquainted  with  most  modern  as  well  as  ancient  languages.  Of 
music  she  knew  little  or  nothing,  but  her  new  friend  undertook 
to  give  her  lessons  ;  in  exchange  for  which,  she  was  to  learn 
from  Lucy  the  habit  of  walking,  and  the  art  of  riding,  and  the 
courage  necessary  to  defy  the  season.  Mannering  was  careful 
to  substitute  for  their  amusement  in  the  evening  such  books  as 
might  convey  some  solid  instruction  with  entertainment,  and 
as  he  read  aloud  with  great  skill  and  taste,  the  winter  nights 
passed  pleasantly  away. 

Society  was  quickly  formed  where  there  were  so  many  in- 
ducements. Most  of  the  families  of  the  neighborhood  visited 
Colonel  Mannering,  and  he  was  soon  able  to  select  from  among 
them  such  as  best  suited  his  taste  and  habits.  Charles  Hazle- 
wood  held  a  distinguished  place  in  his  favor,  and  was  a  frequent 
visitor,  not  without  the  consent  and  approbation  of  his  parents ; 
for  there  was  no  knowing,  they  thought,  what  assiduous  attention 
might  produce  and  the  beautiful  Miss  Mannering,  of  high 
family,  with  an  Indian  fortune,  was  a  prize  worth  looking  after. 
Dazzled  with  such  a  prospect,  they  never  considered  the  risk 
which  had  once  been  some  object  of  their  apprehension,  that  his 
boyish  and  inconsiderate  fancy  might  form  an  attachment  to 
the  penniless  Lucy  Bertram,  who  had  nothing  on  earth  to  re- 
commend her,  but  a  pretty  face,  good  birth,  and  a  most  amiable 
disposition.  Mannering  was  more  prudent.  He  considered  him- 
self acting  as  Miss  Bertram's  guardian,  and  while  he  did  not 
think  it  incumbent  upon  him  altogether  to  check  her  intercourse 
with  the  young  gentleman  for  whom,  excepting  in  wealth,  she 
was  a  match  in  every  respect,  he  laid  it  under  such  insensible 
restraints  as  might  prevent  any  engagement  or  Maircissement 


GUY  MANNERIN-G, 


1^5 


taking  place  until  the  young  man  should  have  seen  a  little  more 
of  life  and  of  the  world,  and  have  attained  that  age  when  he 
might  be  considered  as  entitled  to  judge  for  himself  in  the 
matter  in  which  his  happiness  was  chiefly  interested. 

While  these  matters  engaged  the  attention  of  the  other 
members  of  the  Woodbourne  family,  Dominie  Sampson  was 
occupied,  body  and  soul,  in  the  arrangement  of  the  late  bishop's 
library,  which  had  been  sent  from  Liverpool  by  sea,  and  conveyed 
by  thirty  or  forty  carts  from  the  seaport  at  which  it  was  landed. 
Sampson's  joy  at  beholding  the  ponderous  contents  of  these 
chests  arranged  upon  the  floor  of  the  large  apartment,  from 
whence  he  Vv'as  to  transfer  them  to  the  shelves,  baffles  all 
description.  He  grinned  like  an  ogre,  swung  his  arms  like  the 
sails  of  a  wind-mill,  shouted  Prodigious  "  till  the  roof  rung  to 
his  raptures.  "  He  had  never,"  he  said,  "  seen  so  many  books 
together,  except  in  the  College  Library  and  now  his  dignity 
and  delight  in  being  superintendent  of  the  collection,  raised 
him,  in  his  own  opinion,  almost  to  the  rank  of  the  academical 
librarian,  whom  he  had  always  regarded  as  the  greatest  and 
happiest  man  on  earth.  Neither  were  his  transports  diminished 
upon  a  hasty  examination  of  the  contents  of  these  volumes. 
Some,  indeed,  of  belles  lettres,  poems,  plays,  or  memoirs,  he 
tossed  indignantly  aside,  with  the  implied  censure  of  psha," 
or  "  frivolous  ;  "  but  the  greater  and  bulkier  part  of  the  collection 
bore  a  very  different  character.  The  deceased  prelate,  a  divine 
of  the  old  and  deeply-learned  cast,  had  loaded  his  shelves  with 
volumes  which  displayed  the  antique  and  venerable  attributes 
so  happily  described  by  a  modern  poet : 

That  weight  of  wood,  with  leathern  coat  o'er  laid, 

Those  ample  clasps  of  solid  metal  made, 

The  close-pressed  leaves  unoped  for  many  an  age, 

The  dull  red-edging  of  the  well-filled  page, 

On  the  broad  back  the  stubborn  ridges  rolled, 

Where  yet  the  titles  stands  in  tarnished  gold. 

Books  of  theology  and  controversial  divinity,  commentaries, 
and  polyglots,  sets  of  the  fathers,  and  sermons,  which  might 
each  furnish  forth  ten  brief  discourses  of  modern  date,  books  of 
science,  ancient  and  modern,  classical  authors  in  their  best  and 
rarest  forms  ;  such  formed  the  late  bishop's  venerable  library, 
and  over  such  the  eye  of  Dominie  Sampson  gloated  with  rapture. 
He  entered  them  in  the  catalogue  in  his  best  running  hand, 
forming  each  letter  with  the  accuracy  of  a  lover  writing  a 
valentine,  and  placed  each  invividually  on  the  destined  shelf 
with  all  the  reverence  which  I  have  seen  a  lady  pay  to  a  jar  of 
old  china.    With  all  this  zeal  his  labors  advanced  slowly.  He 


ii6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


often  opened  a  volume  when  half-way  up  the  library-steps,  fell 
upon  some  interesting  passage,  and,  without  shifting  his  incon- 
venient posture,  continued  immersed  in  the  fascinating  perusal 
until  the  servant  pulled  him  by  the  skirts  to  assure  him  that 
dinner  waited.  He  then  repaired  to  the  parlor,  bolted  his  food 
down  his  capacious  throat  in  squares  of  three  inches,  answered 
ay  or  no  at  random  to  whatever  question  was  asked  at  him, 
and  again  hurried  back  to  the  library  as  soon  as  his  napkin  was 
removed,  and  sometimes  with  it  hanging  round  his  neck  like  a 
pinafore — 

How  happily  the  days 
Of  Thalaba  went  by  ! 

And  having  thus  left  the  principal  characters  of  our  tale  in 
a  situation  which,  being  sufficiently  comfortable  to  themselves, 
is  of  course  utterly  uninteresting  to  the  reader,  we  take  up  the 
history  of  a  person  who  has  as  yet  only  been  named,  and  who 
has  all  the  interest  that  uncertainty  and  misfortune  can  give. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST. 

Whot  say'st  thou,  Wise-One  ? — that  all  powerful  Love 
Can  fortune's  strong  impediments  remove; 
Nor  is  it  strange  that  worth  should  wed  to  worth, 
The  pride  of  genius  with  the  pride  of  birth. — Crab  be. 

V.  Brown — I  will  not  give  at  full  length  his  thrice  unhappy 
name — had  been  from  infancy  a  ball  for  fortune  to  spurn  at ; 
but  nature  had  given  him  that  elasticity  of  mind  which  rises 
higher  from  the  rebound.  His  form  was  tall,  manly,  and  active, 
and  his  features  corresponded  with  his  person  ;  for,  although 
far  from  regular,  they  had  an  expression  of  intelligence  and 
good  humor,  and  when  he  spoke,  or  was  particularly  animated, 
might  be  decidedly  pronounced  interesting.  His  manner  indi- 
cated the  military  profession,  which  had  been  his  choice,  and  in 
which  he  had  now  attained  the  rank  of  Captain,  the  person  who 
succeeded  Colonel  Mannering  in  his  command  having  labored 
to  repair  the  injustice  which  Brown  had  sustained  by  that 
gentleman's  prejudice  against  him.  But  this,  as  well  as  his 
liberation  from  captivity,  had  taken  place  after  Mannering  left 
India,  l^rown  followed  at  no  distant  period,  his  regiment 
being  recalled  home.  His  first  inquiry  was  after  the  family  of 
Mannering,  and,  easily  learning   their  route  northward,  he 


GUY  MANNERING. 


117 


followed  it  with  the  purpose  of  resuming  his  addresses  to  Julia. 
With  her  father  he  deemed  he  had  no  measures  to  keep  ;  for 
ignorant  of  the  more  venomous  belief  which  had  been  instilled 
into  the  Colonel's  mind,  he  regarded  him  as  an  oppressife 
aristocrat,  who  had  used  his  power  as  a  commanding  officer  to 
deprive  him  of  the  preferment  due  to  his  behavior,  and  who 
had  forced  upon  him  a  personal  quarrel,  without  any  better 
reason  than  his  attentions  to  a  pretty  young  woman,  agreeable 
to  herself,  and  permitted  and  countenanced  by  her  mother. 
He  was  determined,  therefore,  to  take  no  rejection  unless  from 
the  young  lady  herself,  believing  that  the  heavy  misfortunes  of 
his  painful  wounds  and  imprisonment  were  direct  injuries  re- 
ceived from  the  father,  which  might  dispense  with  his  using 
much  ceremony  toward  him.  How  far  his  scheme  had  suc- 
ceeded when  his  nocturnal  visit  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Mervyn, 
our  readers  are  already  informed. 

Upon  this  unpleasant  occurrence.  Captain  Brown  absented 
himself  from  the  inn  in  which  he  had  resided  under  the  name 
of  Dawson,  so  that  Colonel  Mannering's  attempts  to  discover 
and  trace  him  were  unavailing.  He  resolved,  however,  that  no 
difficulties  should  prevent  his  continuing  his  enterprise,  while 
Julia  left  him  a  ray  of  hope.  The  interest  he  had  secured  in 
her  bosom  was  such  as  she  had  been  unable  to  conceal  from 
him,  and  with  all  the  courage  of  romantic  gallantry  he  deter- 
mined upon  perseverance.  But  we  believe  the  reader  will  be 
as  well  pleased  to  learn  his  mode  of  thinking  and  intentions 
from  his  own  communication  to  his  special  friend  and  confidant. 
Captain  Delaserre,  a  Swiss  gentleman,  who  had  a  company 
in  his  regiment. 

Extract. 

"  Let  me  hear  from  you  soon,  dear  Delaserre. — Remember, 
I  can  learn  nothing  about  regimental  affairs  but  through  your 
friendly  medium,  and  I  long  to  know  what  has  become  of 
Ayre's  court-martial,  and  whether  Elliot  gets  the  majority ; 
also  how  recruiting  comes  on,  and  how  the  young  officers  like 
tlie  mess.  Of  our  kind  friend  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  I  need 
ask  nothing ;  I  saw  him  as  I  passed  through  Nottingham, 
happy,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  What  a  happiness  it  is, 
Philip,  for  us  poor  devils,  that  we  have  a  little  resting-place 
between  the  camp  and  the  grave,  if  we  can  manage  to  escape 
disease,  and  steel,  and  lead,  and  the  effects  of  hard  living.  yV 
retired  old  soldier  is  always  a  graceful  and  respected  character. 
He  grumbles  a  little  now  and  then,  but  then  his  is  licensed 


GUY  MANNERING. 


murmuring.  Were  a  lawyer,  or  a  physician,  or  a  clergyman^ 
to  breathe  a  complaint  of  hard  luck  or  want  of  preferment,  a 
hundred  tongues  would  blame  his  own  incapacity  as  the  cause ; 
btit  the  most  stupid  veteran  that  ever  faltered  out  the  thrice- 
told  tale  of  a  siege  and  a  battle,  and  a  cock  and  a  bottle,  is 
listened  to  with  sympathy  and  reverence,  when  he  shakes  his 
thin  locks,  and  talks  with  indignation  of  the  boys  that  are  put 
over  his  head.  And  you  and  I,  Delaserre,  foreigners  both — 
^.or  what  am  I  the  better  that  I  was  originally  a  Scotchman, 
since,  could  I  prov^e  my  descent,  the  English  would  hardly 
acknowledge  me  a  countryman  ? — we  may  boast  that  we  have 
fought  out  our  preferment,  and  gained  that  by  the  sword  which 
we  had  not  money  to  compass  otherwise.  The  English  are  a 
wise  people.  While  they  praise  themselves,  and  affect  to  under- 
value all  other  nations,  they  leave  us,  luckily,  trap-doors  and 
back-doors  open,  by  which  we  strangers,  less  favored  by  nature, 
may  arrive  at  a  share  of  their  advantages.  And  thus  they  are, 
in  some  respects,  like  a  boastful  landlord,  who  exalts  the  value 
and  flavor  of  his  six-years'-old  mutton,  while  he  is  delighted  to 
dispense  a  share  of  it  to  all  the  company.  In  short,  you,  whose 
proud  family,  and  I,  whose  hard  fate,  made  us  soldiers  of 
fortune,  have  the  pleasant  recollection,  that  in  the  British  service, 
stop  where  we  may  upon  our  career,  it  is  only  for  want  of  money 
to  pay  the  turnpike,  and  not  from  our  being  prohibited  to  travel 
the  road.  If,  therefore,  you  can  persuade  little  Weischel  to 
come  into  oiirs^  for  God's  sake  let  him  buy  the  ensigncy,  live 
prudently,  mind  his  duty,  and  trust  to  the  Fates  for  promotion. 

"  And  now,  I  hope  you  are  expiring  with  curiosity  to  learn 
the  end  of  my  romance.  I  told  you  I  had  deemed  it  convenient 
to  make  a  few  days'  tour  on  foot  among  the  mountains  of  West- 
moreland with  Dudley,  a  young  English  artist,  with  whom  I 
have  formed  some  acquaintance.  A  fine  fellow  this,  you  must 
know,  Delaserre — he  paints  tolerably,  draws  beautifully,  con- 
verses well,  and  plays  charmingly  on  the  flute  ;  and  though  thus 
well  entitled  to  be  a  coxcomb  of  talent,  is,  in  fact,  a  modest, 
unpretending  young  man.  On  our  return  from  our  little  tour, 
I  learned  that  the  enemy  had  been  reconnoitring.  Mr.  Mervyn's 
barge  had  crossed  the  lake,  I  was  informed  by  my  landlord, 
with  the  squire  himself  and  a  visitor. 

*^  *  What  sort  of  person,  landlord  1 ' 

"  *  Why,  he  was  a  dark  officer-looking  mon,  at  they  called 
Colonel — Squoire  Mervyn  questioned  me  as  close  as  I  had  been 
at  sizes — t  had  guess,  Mr.  Dawson  '  (I  told  you  that  was  my 
feigned  name) — *  But  I  tould  him  nought  of  your  vagaries,  and 
going  out  a-laking  in  the  mere  a-noights — not  1 — an  I  can 


GUY  MANNERING. 


119 


make  no  sport,  Tse  spoil  none — and  Squoire  Mervyn's  as  cross 
as  poy-crust  too,  mon — he's  aye  maundering  an  my  guests  but 
land  beneath  his  house,  though  it  be  marked  for  the  fourth 
station  in  the  Survey.  Noa,  noa,  e'n  let  un  smell  things  out  o' 
themselves  for  Joe  Hodges.'  

"  You  will  allow  there  was  nothing  for  it  after  this  but  pay 
ing  honest  Joe  Hodges'  bill  and  departing,  unless  I  had  pre- 
ferred making  him  my  confidant,  for  which  I  felt  in  no  way  in- 
clined. Besides,  I  learned  that  our  ci-deva7it  Colonel  was  on 
full  retreat  for  Scotland,  carrying  off  poor  Julia  along  with  him. 
I  understand  from  those  who  conduct  the  heavy  baggage,  that 
he  takes  his  winter-quarters  at  a  place  called  Woodbourne,  in 

 shire  in  Scotland.    He  will  be  all  on  the  alert  just  now,  so 

I  must  let  him  enter  his  entrenchments  without  any  new  alarm. 
And  then,  my  good  Colonel,  to  whom  I  owe  so  many  grateful 
thanks,  pray  look  to  your  defence. 

"  I  protest  to  you,  Delaserre,  I  often  think  there  is  a  little  con- 
tradiction enters  into  the  ardor  of  my  pursuit.  I  think  I  would 
rather  bring  this  haughty,  insulting  man  to  the  necessity  of  call- 
ing his  daughter  Mrs.  Brown,  than  I  would  wed  her  with  his 
full  consent,  and  with  the  king's  permission  to  change  my  name 
for  the  style  and  arms  of  Mannering,  though  his  whole  fortune 
went  with  them.  There  is  only  one  circumstance  that  chills  me 
a  little — Julia  is  young  and  romantic.  I  would  not  willingly 
hurry  her  into  a  step  which  her  riper  years  might  disapprove. 
— No  ; — nor  would  I  like  to  have  her  upbraid  me,  were  it  but 
with  a  glance  of  her  eye,  with  having  ruined  her  fortunes — far 
less  give  her  reason  to  say,  as  some  have  not  been  slow  to  tell 
their  lords,  that,  had  I  left  her  time  for  consideration,  she 
would  have  been  wiser  and  done  better.  No,  Delaserre — this 
must  not  be.  The  picture  presses  close  upon  me,  because  I  am 
aware  a  girl  in  Julia's  situation  has  no  distinct  and  precise  idea 
of  the  value  of  the  sacrifice  she  makes.  She  knows  difficulties 
only  by  name;  and  if  she  thinks  of  love  and  a  farm,  it  is  a 
ferme  ornec^  such  as  is  only  to  be  found  in  poetic  description, 
or  in  the  park  of  a  gentleman  of  twelve  thousand  a-year.  She 
would  be  ill  prepared  for  the  privations  of  that  real  Swiss  cot- 
tage we  have  so  often  talked  of,  and  for  the  difficulties  which 
must  necessarily  surround  us  even  before  we  attained  that  haven. 
This  must  be  a  point  clearly  ascertained.  Although  Julia's 
beauty  and  playful  tenderness  have  made  an  impression  on  my 
heart  never  to  be  erased,  I  must  be  satisfied  that  she  perfectly 
understands  the  advantages  she  foregoes  before  she  sacrifices 
them  for  my  sake. 

Am  I  too  proud,  Delaserre,  when  I  trust  that  even  this 


I20 


GUY  MANNERING. 


trial  may  terminate  favorably  to  my  wishes  ? — Am  I  too  vain 
when  I  suppose,  that  the  few  personal  qualities  which  I  possess, 
with  means  of  competence,  however  moderate,  and  the  deter- 
mination of  consecrating  my  life  to  her  happiness,  may  make 
amends  for  all  I  must  call  upon  her  to  forego  ?  Or  will  a 
difference  of  dress,  of  attendance,  of  style,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
power  of  shifting  at  pleasure  the  scenes  in  which  she  seeks 
amusement, — will  these  outweigh,  in  her  estimation,  the  pros- 
pect of  domestic  happiness,  and  the  interchange  of  unabating 
affection?  I  say  nothing  of  her  father; — his  good  and  evil 
qualities  are  so  strangely  mingled,  that  the  former  are  neutral- 
ized by  the  latter;  and  that  which  she  must  regret  as  a 
daughter  is  so  much  blended  with  what  she  would  gladly  escape 
from,  that  I  place  the  separation  of  the  father  and  child  as  a 
circumstance  which  weighs  little  in  her  remarkable  case.  Mean- 
time  I  keep  up  my  spirits  as  I  may.  I  have  incurred  too  many 
hardships  and  difficulties  to  be  presumptuous  or  confident  in 
success,  and  I  have  been  too  often  and  too  wonderfully  extricated 
from  them  to  be  despondent. 

"  I  wish  you  saw  this  country.  I  think  the  scenery  would 
delight  you.  At  least  it  often  brings  to  my  recollection  your 
glowing  descriptions  of  your  native  country.  To  me  it  has  in 
a  great  measure  the  charm  of  novelty.  Of  the  Scottish  hills, 
though  born  among  them,  as  I  have  always  been  assured,  I  have 
but  an  indistinct  recollection.  Indeed,  my  menory  rather 
dwells  upon  the  blank  which  my  youthful  mind  experienced  in 
gazing  on  the  levels  of  the  isle  of  Zealand,  than  on  anything 
which  preceded  that  feeling  ;  but  I  am  confident,  from  that 
sensation,  as  well  as  from  the  recollections  which  preceded  it, 
that  hills  and  rocks  have  been  familiar  to  me  at  an  early  period, 
and  that  though  now  only  remembered  by  contrast,  and  by  the 
blank  which  I  felt  while  gazing  around  for  them  in  vain,  they 
must  have  made  an  indelible  impression  on  my  infant  imagi- 
nation. I  remember,  when  we  first  mounted  that  celebrated 
pass  in  the  Mysore  country,  while  most  of  the  others  felt  only 
awe  and  astonishment  at  the  height  and  grandeur  of  the  scenery, 
I  rather  shared  your  feelings  and  those  of  Cameron,  whos6 
admiration  of  such  wild  rocks  was  blended  with  familiar  love, 
derived  from  early  association.  Despite  my  Dutch  education, 
a  blue  hill  to  me  is  as  a  friend,  and  a  roaring  torrent  like  the 
sound  of  a  domestic  song  that  hath  soothed  my  infancy.  I 
never  felt  the  impulse  so  strongly  as  in  this  land  of  lakes  and 
mountains,  and  nothing  grieves  me  so  much  as  that  duty  pre- 
vents your  being  with  me  in  my  numerous  excursions  among 
its  recesses.    Some  drawings  I  have  attempted,  but  I  succeed 


GUY  MANNERING. 


121 


vilely. — Dudley,  on  the  contrary,  draws  delightfully,  with  that 
rapid  touch  which  seems  like  magic,  while  I  labor  and  botch, 
and  make  this  too  heavy,  and  that  too  light,  and  produce  at  last 
a  base  caricature.  I  must  stick  to  the  flageolet,  for  music  is  the 
only  one  of  the  fine  arts  whch  deigns  to  acknowledge  me. 

"  Did  you  know  that  Colonel  Mannering  was  a  draughts- 
man ? — I  believe  not,  for  he  scorned  to  display  his  accomplish- 
ments to  the  view  of  a  subaltern.  He  draws  beautifully,  however. 
Since  he  and  Julia  left  Mervyn-hall,  Dudley  was  sent  for  there. 
The  squire,  it  seems,  wanted  a  set  of  drawings  made  up,  of 
which  Mannering  had  done  the  first  four,  but  was  interrupted, 
by  his  hasty  departure,  in  his  purpose  of  completing  them. 
Dudley  says  he  has  seldom  seen  anything  so  masterly,  though 
slight  ;  and  each  had  attached  to  it  a  short  poetical  description. 
Is  Saul,  you  will  say,  among  the  prophets  ? — Colonel  Mannering 
write  poetry  ! — Why,  surely  this  man  must  have  taken  all  the 
pains  to  conceal  his  accomplishments,  that  others  do  to  display 
theirs.  How  reserved  and  unsociable  he  appeared  among  us  ! 
— how  little  disposed  to  enter  into  any  conversation  which  could 
become  generally  interesting  ! — And  then  his  attachment  to 
that  unworthy  Archer,  so  much  below  him  in  every  respect  ; 
and  all  this,  because  he  was  the  brother  of  Viscount  Archerfield, 
a  poor  Scottish  peer  !  I  think,  if  Archer  had  long  survived  the 
wounds  in  the  affair  of  Cuddyboram,  he  would  have  told  some* 
thing  that  might  have  thrown  light  upon  the  inconsistencies  of 
this  singular  man's  character.  He  repeated  to  me  more  than 
once,  *  I  have  that  to  say,  which  will  alter  your  hard  opinion  of 
our  late  Colonel.'  But  death  pressed  him  too  hard  ;  and  if  he 
owed  me  any  atonement,  which  some  of  his  expressions  seemed 
to  imply,  he  died  before  it  could  be  made. 

"  I  propose  to  make  a  further  excursion  through  this  country 
while  this  fine  frosty  weather  serves,  and  Dudley,  almost  as 
good  a  walker  as  myself,  goes  with  me  for  some  part  of  the  way. 
We  part  on  the  borders  of  Cumberland,  when  he -must  return 
to  his  lodgings  in  Marybone,  up  three  pair  of  stairs,  and  labor 
at  what  he  calls  the  commercial  part  of  his  profession.  There 
cannot,  he  says,  be  such  a  difference  betwixt  any  two  portions 
of  existence  as  between  that  in  which  the  artist,  if  an  enthusiast, 
collects  the  subjects  of  his  drawings,  and  that  which  must 
necessarily  be  dedicated  to  turning  over  his  portfolio,  and 
exhibiting  them  to  the  provoking  indifference,  or  more  provoking 
criticism,  of  fashionable  amateurs.  *  During  the  summer  of  my 
year,'  says  Dudley,  *  I  am  as  free  as  a  wild  Indian,  enjoying 
myself  at  liberty  amid  the  grandest  scenes  of  nature  ;  while, 
during  my  winters  and  springs,  I  am  not  only  cabined,  cribbed, 


122 


GUY  MANNERING. 


and  confined  in  a  miserable  garret,  but  condemned  to  as  intoler 
able  subservience  to  the  humor  of  others,  and  to  as  indifferent 
company,  as  if  I  were  a  literal  galley-slave.'  I  have  promised 
him  your  acquaintance,  Delaserre  ; — you  will  be  delighted  with 
his  specimens  of  art,  and  he  with  your  Swiss  fanaticism  for 
mountains  and  torrents. 

"  When  I  lose  Dudley's  company,  I  am  informed  that  I  can 
easily  enter  Scotland,  by  stretching  across  a  wild  country  in  the 
upper  part  of  Cumberland  ;  and  that  route  I  shall  follow,  to 
give  the  Colonel  time  to  pitch  his  camp  ere  I  reconnoitre  his 
position. — Adieu  !  Delaserre — I  shall  hardly  find  another 
opportunity  of  writing  till  I  reach  Scotland." 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SECOND. 

Jog  on,  jog  on,  the  footpath  way, 

And  merrily  bend  the  stile-a; 
A  merry  heart  goes  all  the  day, 

A  sad  one  tires  in  a  mile-a. 

Winter's  Tale. 

Let  the  reader  conceive  to  himself  a  clear  frosty  November 
morning,  the  scene  an  open  heath,  having  for  the  back-ground 
that  huge  chain  of  mountains  in  which  Skiddaw  and  Saddleback 
are  pre-eminent ;  let  him  look  along  that  blmd  road^  by  which 
I  mean  the  track  so  slightly  marked  by  the  passengers'  foot- 
steps, that  it  can  but  be  traced  by  a  slight  shade  of  verdure 
from  the  dark  heath  around  it,  and,  being  only  visible  to  the 
eye  when  at  some  distance,  ceases  to  be  distinguished  while  the 
foot  is  actually  treading  it  :  along  this  faintly-traced  path 
advances  the  object  of  our  present  narrative.  His  firm  step, 
his  erect  and  free  carriage,  have  a  military  air,  which  corre- 
sponds well  with  his  well-proportioned  limbs,  and  stature  of  six 
feet  high.  His  dress  is  so  plain  and  simple,  that  it  indicates 
nothing  as  to  rank:  it  may  be  that  of  a  gentleman  who  travels 
in  this  manner  for  his  pleasure — or  of  an  inferior  person,  of 
whom  it  is  the  proper  and  usual  garb.  Nothing  can  be  on  a 
more  reduced  scale  than  his  traveling  equipment.  A  volume 
of  Shakspeare  in  each  pocket,  a  small  bundle  with  a  change  of 
linen  slung  across  his  shoulders,  an  oaken  cudgel  in  his  hand, 
complete  our  pedestrian's  accommodations ;  and  in  this 
equipage  we  present  him  to  our  readers. 


GUY  MANNEKING. 


Brown  had  parted  that  morning  from  his  friend  Dudley,  and 
began  his  solitary  walk  toward  Scotland. 

The  first  two  or  three  miles  were  rather  melancholy,  from 
want  of  the  society  to  which  he  had  of  late  been  accustomedo 
But  this  unusual  mood  of  mind  soon  gave  way  to  the  influence 
of  his  natural  good  spirits,  excited  by  the  exercise  and  the 
bracing  effects  of  the  frosty  air.  He  whistled  as  he  went  along, 
. — "  not  from  want  of  thought,"  but  to  give  vent  to  those 
buoyant  feelings  which  he  had  no  other  mode  of  expressing. 
For  each  peasant  whom  he  chanced  to  meet,  he  had  a  kind 
greeting  or  a  good-humored  jest :  the  hardy  Cumbrians  grinned 
as  they  passed,  and  said,  "  That's  a  kind  heart,  God  bless  un  !  " 
and  the  market-girl  looked  more  than  once  over  her  shoulder  at 
the  athletic  form,  which  corresponded  so  well  with  the  frank 
and  blithe  address  of  the  stranger.  A  rough  terrier  dog,  his 
constant  companion,  who  rivaled  his  master  in  glee,  scampered 
at  large  in  a  thousand  wheels  round  the  heath,  and  came  back 
to  jump  on  him,  and  assure  him  that  he  participated  in  the 
pleasure  of  the  journey.  Dr.  Johnson  thought  life  had  few 
things  better  than  the  excitation  produced  by  being  whirled 
rapidly  along  in  a  post-chaise  ;  but  he  who  has  in  youth 
experienced  the  confident  and  independent  feeling  of  a  stout 
pedestrian  in  an  interesting  country,  and  during  fine  weather, 
will  hold  the  taste  of  the  great  moralist  cheap  in  comparison. 

Part  of  Brown's  view  in  choosing  that  unusual  tract  which 
leads  through  the  eastern  wiWs  of  Cumberland  into  Scotland, 
had  been  a  desire  to  view  the  remains  of  the  celebrated  Roman 
Wall,  which  are  more  visible  in  that  direction  than  in  any  other 
part  of  its  extent.  His  education  had  been  imperfect  and 
desultory  ;  but  neither  the  busy  scenes  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged,  nor  the  pleasures  of  youth,  nor  the  precarious  state  of 
his  own  circumstances,  had  diverted  him  from  the  task  of  mental 
improvement. — "  And  this,  then,  is  the  Roman  Wall,''  he  said, 
scram.bling  up  to  a  height  which  commanded  the  course  of  that 
celebrated  work  of  antiquity  :  What  a  people  !  whose  labors, 
even  at  this  extremity  of  their  empire,  comprehended  such 
space,  and  were  executed  upon  a  scale  of  such  grandeur  !  In 
future  ages,  when  the  science  of  war  shall  have  changed,  how 
few  traces  will  exist  of  the  labors  of  Vauban  and  Coehorn, 
while  this  wonderful  people's  remains  will  even  then  continue 
to  interest  and  astonish  posterity  !  Their  fortifications,  their 
aqueducts,  their  theatres,  their  fountains,  all  their  public  works, 
bear  the  grave,  solid,  and  majestic  character  of  their  language  ; 
while  our  modern  labors,  like  our  modern  tongues,  seem  but 
constructed  out  of  their  fragments."    Having  thus  moralized, 


124 


GUV  MANNERING. 


he  remembered  that  he  was  hungry,  and  pursued  his  walk  to  a 
small  public-house  at  which  he  proposed  to  get  some  refreshment. 

The  alehouse,  for  it  was  no  better,  was  situated  in  the  bot- 
tom of  a  little  dell,  through  which  trilled  a  small  rivulet.  It 
was  shaded  by  a  large  ash  tree,  against  which  the  clay-built 
shed,  that  served  the  purpose  of  a  stable,  was  erected,  and 
upon  which  it  seemed  partly  to  recline.  In  this  shed  stood  a 
saddled  horse,  employed  in  eating  his  corn.  The  cottages  in 
this  part  of  Cumberland  partake  of  the  rudeness  which  char- 
acterizes those  of  Scotland — The  outside  of  the  house  promised 
little  for  the  interior,  notwithstanding  the  vaunt  of  a  sign,  where 
a  tankard  of  ale  voluntarily  decanted  itself  into  a  tumbler,  and 
a  hieroglyphical  scrawl  below  attempted  to  express  a  promise 
of  "good  entertainment  for  man  and  horse."  Brown  was  no 
fastidious  traveler — he  stopped  and  entered  the  cabaret."* 

The  first  object  which  caught  his  eye  in  the  kitchen,  was  a 
tall,  stout,  country-looking  man,  in  a  large  jockey  great-coat, 
the  owner  of  the  horse  which  stood  in  the  shed,  who  was  busy 
discussing  huge  slices  of  cold  boiled  beef,  and  casting  from 
time  to  time  an  eye  through  the  window,  to  see  how  his  steed 
sped  with  his  provender.  A  large  tankard  of  ale  flanked  his 
plate  of  victuals,  to  which  he  applied  himself  by  intervals.  The 
good  woman  of  the  house  was  employed  in  baking.  The  fire,  as 
is  usual  in  that  country,  was  on  a  stone  hearth,  in  the  midst  of 
an  immensely  large  chimney,  which  had  two  seats  extended 
beneath  the  vent.  On  one  of  thes^  sat  a  remarkably  tall  woman, 
in  a  red  cloak  and  slouched  bonnet,  having  the  appearance  of 
a  tinker  or  beggar.  She  was  busily  engaged  with  a  short  black 
tobacco-pipe. 

At  the  request  of  Brown  for  some  food,  the  landlady  wiped 
with  her  mealy  apron  one  corner  of  the  deal  table,  placed  a 
wooden  trencher  and  knife  and  fork  before  the  traveler,  point- 
ed to  the  round  of  beef,  recommended  Mr.  Dinmont's  good  ex- 
ample, and  finally  filled  a  brown  pitcher  with  her  home-brewed. 
Brown  lost  no  time  in  doing  ample  credit  to  both.  For  a  while, 
his  opposite  neighbor  and  he  were  too  busy  to  take  much  no- 
tice of  each  other,  except  by  a  good-humored  nod  as  each  in 
turn  raised  the  tankard  to  his  head.  At  length,  when  our  pe- 
destrian began  to  supply  the  wants  of  little  Wasp,  the  Scotch 
store-farmer,  for  such  was  Mr.  Dinmont,  found  himself  at  leis- 
ure to  enter  into  conversation. 

A  bonny  terrier  that,  sir — and  a  fell  chield  at  the  vermin, 
I  warrant  him — that  is,  if  he's  been  weel  entered,  for  it  2!  lies 
in  that." 

*  Note  B.    Mump's  Ha'. 


GUY  MANNERINf. 


125 


"Really,  sir,"  said  Brown,  "his  education  has  been  some- 
what neglected,  and  his  chief  property  is  being  a  pleasant  com- 
panion." 

"  Ay  sir  ? — that's  a  pity,  begging  your  pardon — it's  a  great 
pity  that — beast  or  body,  education  should  aye  be  minded.  I 
have  six  terriers  at  hame,  forbye  twa  couple  of  slow-hunds,  five 
grews,  and  a  wheen  other  dogs.  There's  auld  Pepper  and  auld 
Mustard,  and  young  Pepper  and  young  Mustard,  and  little  Pep- 
per and  little  Mustard.  I  had  them  a'  regularly  entered,  first 
wi'  rottens — then  wi'  stoats  or  weasels — and  then  wi'  the 
tods  and  brocks — and  now  they  fear  naething  that  ever  cam 
wi'  a  hairy  skin  on't." 

"  I  have  no  doubt,  sir,  they  are  thorough-bred — but,  to  have 
so  many  dogs,  you  seem  to  have  a  very  limited  variety  of  names 
for  them  ?  " 

"  O,  that's  a  fancy  of  my  ain  to  mark  the  breed,  sir — The 
Deuke  himsell  has  sent  as  far  as  Charlies-hope  to  get  ane  o' 
Dandie  Dinmont's  Pepper  and  Mustard  terriers — Lord,  man, 
he  sent  Tarn  Hudson  ^  the  keeper,  and  sicken  a  day  as  we  had 
wi'  the  fumarts  and  the  tods,  and  sicken  a  blythe  gaedown  as 
we  had  again  e'en  !    Faith,  that  was  a  night !  " 

"  I  suppose  game  is  very  plenty  with  you  ! 

"  Plenty,  man  ! — I  believe  there's  mair  hares  than  sheep  on 
my  farm  ;  and  for  the  moor-fowl,  or  the  gray  fowl,  they  lie  as 
thick  as  doos  in  a  dooket. — Did  ye  ever  shoot  a  black-cock, 
man  ?  " 

"  Really  I  had  never  even  the  pleasure  to  see  one,  except 
in  the  museum  at  Keswick." 

"  There  now — I  could  guess  that  by  your  Southland  tongue. 
It's  very  odd  of  these  English  folk  that  come  here,  how  few  of 
them  has  seen  a  black-cock !  I'll  tell  you  what — ye  seem  to 
be  an  honest  lad,  and  if  you'll  call  on  me — on  Dandie  Din- 
mont — at  Charlies-hope — ye  shall  see  a  black-cock,  and  shoot  a 
black-cock,  and  eat  a  black-cock  too,  man." 

"  Why,  the  proof  of  the  matter  is  the  eating,  to  be  sure,  sir  ; 
and  I  shall  be  happy,  if  I  can  find  time,  to  accept  your  in- 
vitation." 

"  Time,  man  ?  what  ails  ye  to  gae  hame  wi'  me  the  now  t 
How  d'ye  travel  1  " 

"  On  foot,  sir  ;  and  if  that  handsome  pony  be  yours,  I  should 
find  it  impossible  to  keep  up  with  you." 

"  No,  unless  ye  can  walk  up  to  fourteen  mile  an  hour.  But 
ye  can  come  ower  the  night  as  far  as  Riccarton,  where  there  is 


*  The  real  name  of  this  veteran  sportsman  is  now  restored. 


126 


Girr  MANNERING. 


a  public — or  if  ye  like  to  stop  at  Jockey  Grieve^s  at  the  Heuch, 
they  would  be  blythe  to  see  ye,  and  I  am  just  gaun  to  stop  and 
drink  a  dram  at  the  door  wi'  him,  and  I  would  tell  him  you're 
coming  up  ; — or  stay — Gudewife,  could  ye  lend  this  gentleman 
the  gudeman's  galloway,  and  I'll  send  it  ower  the  Waste  in  the 
morning  wi'  the  callant  ? 

The  galloway  was  turned  out  upon  the  fell,  and  was  swear  to 
catch. — "  Aweel,  aweel,  there's  nae  help  for't,  but  come  up  the 
morn  at  ony  rate.  And  now,  gudewife,  I  maun  ride,  to  get  to 
the  Liddel  or  it  be  dark,  for  your  Waste  has  but  a  kittle  char- 
acter, ye  ken  yoursell." 

"  Hout  fie,  Mr.  Dinmont,  that's  no  like  you,  to  gie  the  country 
an  ill  name. — I  wot,  there  has  been  nane  stirred  in  the  Waste 
since  Sawney  Culloch,  the  traveling-merchant,  that  Rowley 
Overdees  and  Jock  Penny  suffered  for  at  Carlisle  twa  years 
since.  There's  no  ane  in  Bewcastle  would  do  the  like  o'  that 
now — we  be  a'  true  folk  now." 

"  Ay,  Tib,  that  will  be  when  the  deil's  blind, — and  his  een's 
no  sair  yet.  But  hear  ye,  gudewife,  I  have  been  through  maist 
feck  o'  Galloway  and  Dumfries-shire,  and  I  have  been  round 
by  Carlisle,  and  I  was  at  the  Staneshiebank  fair  the  day,  and  I 
would  like  ill  to  be  rubbit  sae  near  hame — so  I'll  take  the 
gate." 

"  Hae  ye  been  in  Dumfries  and  Galloway,"  said  the  old 
dame,  who  sate  smoking  by  the  fire-side,  and  who  had  not  yet 
spoken  a  word. 

"  Troth  have  I,  gudewife,  and  a  weary  round  I've  had  o't." 

"  Then  ye'U  maybe  ken  a  place  they  ca'  Ellangowan  ?  " 

"  Ellangowan,  that  was  Mr.  Bertram's  ? — I  ken  the  place 
weel  eneugh.  The  Laird  died  about  a  fortnight  since,  as  I 
heard." 

"  Died  1 " — said  the  old  woman,  dropping  her  pipe,  and 
rising  and  coming  forward  upon  the  floor — "  died ! — are  you 
sure  of  that  r  " 

"  Troth  am  I,"  said  Dinmont,  "  for  it  made  nae  sma'  noise  in 
the  country-side.  He  died  just  at  the  roup  of  the  stocking  and 
furniture  ;  it  stoppit  the  roup,  and  mony  folk  were  disappointed. 
They  said  he  was  the  last  of  an  auld  family  too,  and  mony 
were  sorry — for  guide  blude's  scarcer  in  Scotland  than  it  has 
been." 

Dead  !  "  replied  the  old  woman,  whom  our  readers  hare 
already  recognized  as  their  acquaintance,  Meg  Merrihes — 
"  dead  !  that  quits  a'  scores.  And  did  ye  say  he  died  without 
an  heir  ?  " 

"  Ay  did  he,  gudewife,  and  the  estate's  sell'd  by  the  same 


GUY  MANNERING. 


i»7 


token ;  for  they  said,  they  couldna  have  selPd  it,  if  there  had 
been  an  heir-male/* 

"  Sell'd  !  "  echoed  the  gypsy,  with  something  like  a  scream  ; 
"  and  wha  durst  buy  Ellangowan  that  was  not  of  Bertram's 
blude  ? — and  wha  could  tell  whether  the  bonny  knave  bairn  may 
not  come  back  to  claim  his  ain  ? — wha  durst  buy  the  estate  and 
the  castie  of  Ellangowan  ? 

"  Troth,  gudewife,  just  ane  o'  thae  writer  chields  that  buys  a' 
thing — they  ca'  him  Glossin,  I  think. 

"  Glossin  ! — Gibbie  Glossin  ! — that  I  have  carried  in  my 
creels  a  hundred  times,  for  his  mother  wasna  muckle  better 
than  mysell — he  to  presume  to  buy  the  barony  of  Ellangowan  ! 
— Gude  be  wi'  us — it  is  an  awfu'  warld  !  I  wished  him  ill — ^Kut 
no  sic  a  downfa'  as  a'  that  neither  :  wae's  me  !  wae's  me  to  think 
o't — She  remained  a  moment  silent,  but  still  opposinor  ^'^^h 
her  hand  the  farmer's  retreat,  who,  betwixt  every  question,  was 
about  to  turn  his  back,  but  good-humoredly  stoppeu  on 
observing  the  deep  interest  his  answers  appeared  to  excite. 

"  It  will  be  seen  and  heard  of — earth  and  sea  will  not  hold 
their  peace  langer  ! — Can  ye  say  if  the  same  man  be  now  the 
Sheriff  of  the  county  that  has  been  sae  for  some  years  past  ? 

"  Na,  he's  got  some  other  berth  in  Edinburgh,  they  say — but 
gude  day,  gudewife,  I  maun  ride." — She  followed  him  to  his 
horse,  and,  while  he  drew  the  girths  of  his  saddle,  adjusted  the 
walise,  and  put  on  the  bridle,  still  plied  him  with  questions 
concerning  Mr.  Bertram's  death,  and  the  fate  of  his  daughter ; 
on  which,  however,  she  could  obtain  little  information  from  the 
honest  farmer. 

"  Did  ye  ever  see  a  place  they  ca'  Derncleugh,  about  a  mile 
frae  the  Place  of  Ellangowan  } " 

"  I  wot  weel  have  I,  gudewife, — a  wild-looking  den  it  is,  wi* 
a  whin  auld  wa's  o'  shealings  yonder.  I  saw  it  when  I  gaed 
ower  the  ground  wi'  ane  that  wanted  to  take  the  farm." 

"It  was  a  blithe  bit  ance  ! "  said  Meg,  speaking  to  herself. 
Did  ye  notice  if  there  was  an  auld  saugh  tree  that's  maist 
blawn  down,  but  yet  its  roots  are  in  the  earth,  and  it  hangs 
ower  the  bit  burn  ? — mony  a  day  hae  I  wrought  my  stocking, 
and  sat  on  my  sunkie  under  that  saugh." 

•  "  Hout,  deil's  i'  the  wife,  wi'  her  saughs,  and  her  sunkies, 
and  Ellangowans. — Godsake,  woman,  let  me  away  ; — there's 
saxpence  t'ye  to  buy  half-a-mutchkin,  instead  o' clavering  about 
thae  auld  warld  stories  " 

*'  Thanks  to  ye,  gudeman — and  now  ye  hae  answered  a'  my 
questions  and  never  speired  wherefore  I  asked  them,  I'll  gie 
you  a  bit  canny  advice,  and  ye  maunna  speir  what  for  neither 


128 


GC/V  MANNERING, 


Tib  Mumps  will  be  out  wi'  the  stirrup-dram  in  a  gliffing  ;  sne'll 
ask  ye  whether  ye  gang  ower  Willie's  brae,  or  through  Cons- 
cowtcart-moss  ; — tell  her  ony  ane  ye  like,  but  be  sure  "  (speak- 
ing low  and  emphatically)  to  tak  the  ane  ye  dinna  tell  her." 
The  farmer  laughed  and  promised,  and  the  gypsy  retreated. 

"  Will  you  take  her  advice  "  said  Brown,  who  had  been  an 
attentive  listener  to  his  conversation. 

"  That  will  I  no — the  randy  quean  !  Na,  I  had  far  rather 
Tib  Mumps  kenn'd  which  way  I  was  gaun  than  her — though 
Tib's  no  muckle  to  lippen  to  neither,  and  I  would  advise  ye  on 
no  account  to  stay  in  the  house  a'  night." 

In  a  moment  after,  Tib,  the  landlady,  appeared  with  her 
stirrup-cup,  which  was  taken  off.  She  then,  as  Meg  had  pre- 
dicted, inquired  whether  he  went  the  hill  or  the  moss  road.  He 
answered,  the  latter ;  and,  having  bid  Brown  good-by,  and  again 
to/d  him,  "  he  depended  on  seeing  him  at  Charlies-hope,  the 
morn  at  latest,"  he  rode  off  at  a  round  pace. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

Gallows  and  knock  are  too  powerful  on  the  highway. 

Winter's  Tale. 

The  hint  of  the  hospitable  farmer  was  not  lost  on  Brown. 
But,  while  he  paid  his  reckoning,  he  could  not  avoid  repeatedly 
fixing  his  eyes  on  Meg  Merrilies.  She  was,  in  all  respects,  the 
same  witch-like  figure  as  when  we  first  introduced  her  at  Ellan- 
gowan-Place.  Time  had  grizzled  her  raven  locks,  and  added 
wrinkles  to  her  wild  features,  but  her  height  remained  erect, 
and  her  activity  was  unimpaired.  It  was  remarked  of  this 
woman,  as  of  others  of  the  same  description,  that  a  life  of  action, 
though  not  of  labor,  gave  her  the  perfect  command  of  her  limbs 
and  figure,  so  that  the  attitudes  into  which  she  most  naturally 
threw  herself,  were  free,  unconstrained,  and  picturesque.  At 
present,  she  stood  by  the  window  of  the  cottage,  her  person 
draw©  up  so  as  to  show  to  full  advantage  her  masculine  stature, 
and  her  head  somewhat  thrown  back,  that  the  large  bonnet, 
with  which  her  face  was  shrouded,  might  not  interrupt  her 
steady  gaze  at  Brown.  At  every  gesture  he  made,  and  every 
tone  he  uttered,  she  seemed  to  give  an  almost  imperceptible 
start.  On  his  part,  he  was  surprised  to  find  that  he  could  not 
look  upon  this  singular  figure  without  some  emotion.    "  Have 


GC/V  MANNERING. 


129 


I  dreamed  of  such  a  figure  ? he  said  to  himself,  "  or  does  this 
wild  and  singular-looking  woman  recall  to  my  recollection  some 
of  the  strange  figures  I  have  seen  in  our  Indian  pagodas  ? 

While  he  embarrassed  himself  with  these  discussions,  and 
the  hostess  was  engaged  in  rummaging  out  silver  in  change  of 
half-a-guinea,  the  gypsy  suddenly  made  two  strides,  and  seized 
Brown's  hand.  He  expected,  of  course,  a  display  of  her  skill 
in  palmistry,  but  she  seemed  agitated  by  other  feelings. 

"  Tell  me,"  she  said,  "tell  me  in  the  name  of  God,  young 
man,  what  is  your  name,  and  whence  you  came  ? " 

"  My  name  is  Brown,  mother,  and  I  come  from  the  East 
Indies." 

"  From  the  East  Indies,"  dropping  his  hand  with  a  sigh. 
"  It  cannot  be,  then — I  am  such  an  auld  fool,  that  everything 
I  look  on  seems  the  thing  I  want  maist  to  see.  But  the  East 
Indies !  that  cannot  be. — Weel,  be  what  ye  will,  ye  hae  a  face 
and  a  tongue  that  puts  me  in  mind  of  auld  times.  Good-day — 
make  haste  on  your  road,  and  if  ye  see  ony  of  our  folk,  meddle 
not  and  make  not,  and  they'll  do  you  nae  harm." 

Brown,  who  had  by  this  time  received  his  change,  put  a 
shilling  into  her  hand,  bade  his  hostess  farewell,  and  taking 
the  route  which  the  farmer  had  gone  before,  walked  briskly  on, 
with  the  advantage  of  being  guided  by  the  fresh  hoof-prints  of 
his  horse.  Meg  Merrilies  looked  after  him  for  some  time,  and 
then  muttered  to  herself,  "  I  maun  see  that  lad  again — and  I 
maun  gang  back  to  Ellangowan  too.  The  Laird's  dead — • 
Aweel,  death  pays  a'  scores — he  was  a  kind  man  ance. — The 
Sheriff's  flitted,  and  I  can  keep  canny  in  the  bush — so  there's 
no  muckle  hazard  o'  scouring  the  cramp-ring."^ — I  would  like 
to  see  bonny  Ellangowan  again  or  I  die." 

Brown,  meanwhile,  proceeded  northward  at  a  round  pace 
along  the  moorish  tract  called  the  Waste  of  Cumberland.  He 
passed  a  solitary  house,  towards  which  the  horsemen  who  pre- 
ceded him  had  apparently  turned  up,  for  his  horse's  tread  was 
evident  in  that  direction.  A  little  further,  he  seemed  to  have 
returned  again  into  the  road.  Mr.  Dimmont  had  probably 
made  a  visit  there  either  of  business  or  pleasure. — I  wish, 
thought  Brown,  the  good  farmer  had  staid  till  I  came  up.  I 
should  not  have  been  sorry  to  ask  him  a  few  questions  about 
the  road,  which  seems  to  grow  wilder  and  wilder. 

In  truth,  nature,  as  if  she  had  designed  this  tract  of  country 
to  be  the  barrier  between  two  hostile  nations,  has  stamped  upon 
it  a  character  of  wildness  and  desolation.    The  hills  are  neither 

*  To  scour  the  cramp-ring,  is  said  metaphorically  for  being  thrown  into 
fetters,  or  generally,  into  prison. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


high  nor  rocky,  but  the  land  is  all  heath  and  morass ;  the  huts 
poor  and  jnesDy  and  at  a  great  distance  from  each  other.  Im- 
mediately around  them  there  is  generally  some  little  attempt 
at  cultivation  ;  but  a  half-bred  foal  or  two,  straggling  about  with 
shackles  on  their  hind  legs,  to  save  the  trouble  of  enclosures, 
intimate  the  farmer's  chief  resource  to  be  the  breeding  of 
horses.  The  people,  too,  are  of  a  ruder  and  more  inhospitable 
class  than  elsewhere  to  be  found  in  Cumberland,  arising  partly 
from  their  own  habits,  partly  from  their  intermixture  with 
vagrants  and  criminals,  who  make  this  wild  country  a  refuge 
from  justice.  So  much  were  the  men  of  these  districts  in  early 
times  the  objects  of  suspicion  and  dislike  to  their  more  polished 
neighbors,  that  there  was,  and  perhaps  still  exists,  a  by-law  of 
the  corporation  of  Newcastle,  prohibiting  any  freeman  of  that 
city  to  take  for  apprentice  a  native  of  certain  of  these  dales. 
It  is  pithily  said,  "Give  a  dog  an  ill  name  and  hang  him  ;  "  and 
it  may  be  added,  if  you  give  a  man,  or  race  of  men,  an  ill  name, 
they  are  very  likely  to  do  something  that  deserves  hanging.  Of 
this  Brown  had  heard  something,  and  suspected  more  from  the 
discourse  between  the  landlady,  Dinmont,  and  the  gypsy  ;  but 
he  was  naturally  of  a  fearless  disposition,  had  nothing  about 
him  that  could  tempt  the  spoiler,  and  trusted  to  get  through 
the  Waste  with  daylight.  In  this  last  particular,  however,  he 
was  likely  to  be  disappointed.  The  way  proved  longer  than  he 
had  anticipated,  and  the  horizon  began  to  grow  gloomy,  just  as 
he  entered  upon  an  extensive  morass. 

Choosing  his  steps  with  care  and  deliberation,  the  young 
officer  proceeded  along  a  path  that  sometimes  sunk  between 
two  broken  black  banks  of  moss  earth,  sometimes  crossed  narrow 
but  deep  ravines  filled  with  a  consistence  between  mud  and 
water,  and  sometimes  along  heaps  of  gravel  and  stones,  which 
had  been  swept  together  when  some  torrent  or  water-spout 
from  the  neighboring  hills  overflowed  the  marshy  ground 
below.  He  began  to  ponder  how  a  horseman  could  make  his 
way  through  such  broken  ground  ;  the  traces  of  hoofs,  however, 
were  still  visible  ;  he  even  thought  he  heard  their  sound  at 
some  distance,  and,  convinced,  that  Mr.  Dinmont's  progress 
through  the  morass  must  be  still  slower  than  his  own,  he  re- 
solved to  push  on,  in  hopes  to  overtake  him,  and  have  the  benefit 
of  his  knowledge  of  the  country.  At  this  moment  his  little 
terrier  sprung  forward,  barking  most  furioulsy. 

Brown  quickened  his  pace,  and,  attaining  the  summit  of  a 
small  rising  ground,  saw  tlie  subject  of  the  dog's  alarm.  In  a 
hollow,  about  a  gunshot  below  him,  a  man,  whom  he  easily 
recognized  to  be  Dinmont,  was  engaged  with  two  others  in  3 


GC/V  MANNEKING. 


desperate  struggle.  He  was  dismounted,  and  defending  himself 
as  he  best  could  with  the  butt  of  his  heavy  whip.  Our  traveler 
hastened  on  to  his  assistance  ;  but,  ere  he  could  get  up,  a  stroke 
had  leveled  the  farmer  with  the  earth,  and  one  of  the  robbers, 
improving  his  victory,  struck  him  some  merciless  blows  on  the 
head.  The  other  villain  hastening  to  meet  Brown,  called  to 
his  companion  to  come  along,  "for that  one's  content^'' — mean- 
ing, probably,  past  resistance  or  complaint.  One  ruffian  was 
armed  with  a  cutlass,  the  other  with  a  bludgeon  ;  but  as  the  road 
was  pretty  narrow,  "  bar  fire-arms,"  thought  Brown,  "  and  I 
may  manage  them  well  enough."  They  met  accordingly,  with 
the  most  murderous  threats  on  the  parts  of  the  ruffians.  They 
soon  found,  however,  that  their  new  opponent  was  equally 
stout  and  resolute  ;  and,  after  exchanging  two  or  three  blows, 
one  of  them  told  him  to  "  follow  his  nose  over  the  heath,  in 
the  devil's  name,  for  they  had  nothing  to  say  to  him." 

Brown  rejected  this  composition,  as  leaving  to  their  mercy 
the  unfortunate  man  whom  they  were  about  to  pillage,  if  not 
to  murder  outright ;  and  the  skirmish  had  just  recommenced, 
when  Dinmont  unexpectedly  recovered  his  senses,  his  feet,  and 
his  weapon,  and  hasted  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  he  had 
been  no  easy  antagonist,  even  when  surprised  and  alone,  the 
villains  did  not  choose  to  wait  his  joining  forces  with  a  man 
who  had  singly  proved  a  match  for  them  both,  but  fled  across 
the  bog  as  fast  as  their  feet  could  carry  them,  pursued  by  Wasp, 
who  had  acted  gloriously  during  the  skirmish,  annoying  the  heels 
of  the  enemy,  and  repeatedly  effecting  a  moment's  diversion  in 
his  master's  favor. 

"  Deil,  but  your  dog's  weel  entered  wi'  the  vermin,  now, 
sir  !  "  were  the  first  words  uttered  by  the  jolly  farmer,  as  he 
came  up,  his  head  streaming  with  blood,  and  recognized  his 
deliverer  and  his  little  attendant. 

"  I  hope,  sir,  you  are  not  hurt  dangerously  ?  " 

"  O,  deil  a  bit — my  head  can  stand  a  gay  clour — nae  thanks 
to  them,  though,  and  mony  to  you.  But  now,  hinney,  ye  maun 
help  me  to  catch  the  beast,  and  ye  maun  get  on  behind  me,  for 
we  maun  off  like  whittrets  before  the  whole  clanjamfray  be 
down  upon  us — the  rest  o'  them  will  no  be  far  off."  The  gal- 
loway was,  by  good  fortune,  easily  caught,  and  Brown  made 
some  apology  for  overloading  the  animal. 

"  Deil  a  fear,  man,"  answered  the  proprietor  ;  "  Dumple 
could  carry  six  folk  if  his  back  was  lang  enough.  But  God's 
sake,  haste  ye,  get  on,  for  I  see  some  folk  coming  through  the 
3lack  yonder,  that  it  may  be  just  as  weel  no  to  wait  for." 

JBrown  was  of  opinion  that  this  apparition  of  five  or  six  men 


132 


GUY  MANNERING. 


with  whom  the  other  villains  seemed  to  join  company,  coming 
across  the  moss  toward  them,  should  abridge  ceremony;  he 
therefore  mounted  Dumple  en  croupe^  and  the  little  spirited  nag 
cantered  away  with  two  men  of  great  size  and  strength,  as  if 
they  had  been  children  of  six  years  old.  The  rider,  to  whom 
the  paths  of  these  wilds  seemed  intimately  known,  pushed  on 
at  a  rapid  pace,  managing,  with  much  dexterity,  to  choose  the 
safest  route,  in  which  he  was  aided  by  the  sagacity  of  the 
galloway,  who  never  failed  to  take  the  difficult  passes  exactly 
at  the  particular  spot,  and  in  the  special  manner,  by  which  they 
could  be  most  safely  crossed.  Yet,  even  with  these  advantages, 
the  road  was  so  broken,  and  they  were  so  often  thrown  out  of 
the  direct  course  by  various  impediments,  that  they  did  not 
gain  much  upon  their  pursuers.  "  Never  mind,"  said  the  un- 
daunted Scotchman  to  his  companion,  "  if  ye  were  ance  by 
Withershin's  Latch,  the  road's  no  near  sae  saft^  and  we'll  show 
them  fair  play  for't." 

They  soon  came  to  the  place  he  named,  a  narrow  channel, 
through  which  soaked,  rather  than  flowed,  a  small  stagnant 
stream,  mantled  over  with  bright  green  mosses.  Dinmont  di- 
rected his  steed  toward  a  pass  where  the  water  appeared  to 
flow  with  more  freedom  over  a  harder  bottom ;  but  Dumple 
backed  from  the  proposed  crossing-place,  put  his  head  down  as 
if  to  reconnoitre  the  swamp  more  nearly,  stretching  forward  his 
fore-feet,  and  stood  as  fast  as  if  he  had  been  cut  out  of  stone. 

"  Had  we  not  better,"  said  Brown,  "  dismount  and  leave 
him  to  his  fate  ? — or  can  you  not  urge  him  through  the  swamp  ?  " 

"  Na,  na,"  said  his  pilot,  "  we  maun  cross  Dumple  at  no 
rate — he  has  mair  sense  than  mony  a  Christian."  So  saying, 
he  relaxed  the  reins,  and  shook  them  loosely.  ^*  Come  now, 
lad,  take  your  ain  way  o't — let's  see  where  ye'U  take  us 
through." 

Dumple,  left  to  the  freedom  of  his  own  way;  trotted  briskly 
to  another  part  of  the  latch^  less  promising,  as  Brown  thought, 
in  appearance,  but  which  the  animal's  sagacity  or  experience 
recommended  as  the  safer  of  the  two,  and  where,  plunging  in, 
he  attained  the  other  side  with  little  difficulty. 

"  I'm  glad  we're  out  o'  that  moss,"  said  Dinmont,  "  where 
there's  mair  stables  for  horses  than  change-houses  for  men — 
we  have  the  MaidetKvay  to  help  us  now,  at  ony  rate."  Accord- 
ingly, they  speedily  gained  a  sort  of  rugged  causeway^  so  called, 
being  the  remains  of  an  old  Roman  road,  which  traverses  these 
wild  regions  in  a  due  northerly  direction.  Here  they  got  on  at 
the  rate  of  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  Dumple  seeking  no  other 
respite  than  what  arose  from  changing  his  pace  from  canter  to 


GUV  MANNERING. 


trot.  "  I  could  gar  him  show  mair  action,"  said  his  master, 
"  but  we  are  twa  lang-legged  chields  after  a',  and  it  would  be  a 
pity  to  distress  Dumple — there  wasna  the  like  o'  him  at  Stanes- 
hiebank  fair  the  day." 

Brown  readily  assented  to  the  propriety  of  sparing  the  horse, 
and  added,  that,  as  they  were  now  far  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
rogues,  he  thouglu  Mr.  Dinmont  had  better  tie  a  handkerchief 
round  his  head,  for  fear  of  the  cold  frosty  air  aggravating  the 
wound. 

What  would  I  do  that  for  "  answered  the  hardy  farmer  ; 
the  best  way's  to  let  the  blood  barken  upon  the  cut — that 
saves  plasters,  hinney." 

Brown,  who  in  his  military  profession  had  seen  a  great  many 
hard  blows  pass,  could  not  help  remarking,  he  had  never 
known  such  severe  strokes  received  with  so  much  apparent  in- 
difference." 

"  Hout,  tout,  man — I  would  never  be  making  a  hum-dudgeon 
about  a  scart  on  the  pow — but  we'll  be  in  Scotland  in  live 
minutes  now,  and  ye  maun  gang  up  to  Charlies-hope  wi'  me, 
that's  a  clear  case." 

Brown  readily  accepted  the  offered  hospitality.  Night  was 
now  falling,  when  they  came  in  sight  of  a  pretty  river  winding 
its  way  through  a  pastoral  country.  The  hills  were  greener  and 
more  abrupt  than  those  which  Brown  had  lately  passed,  sinking 
their  grassy  sides  at  once  upon  the  river.  They  had  no  pre- 
tensions to  magnificence  of  height,  or  to  romantic  shapes,  nor 
did  their  smooth  swelling  slopes  exhibit  either  rocks  or  woods. 
Yet  the  view  was  wild,  solitary,  and  pleasingly  rural.  No  en- 
closures, no  roads,  almost  no  tillage — it  seemed  a  land  which  a 
patriarch  would  have  chosen  to  feed  his  flocks  and  herds.  The 
remains  of  here  and  there  a  dismantled  and  ruined  tower 
showed  that  it  had  once  harbored  beings  of  a  very  different  de 
scription  from  its  present  inhabitants ;  namely,  those  freeboot. 
ers  to  whose  exploits  the  wars  between  England  and  Scotland 
bear  witness. 

Descending  by  a  path  toward  a  well-known  ford,  Dumple 
crossed  the  small  river,  and  then  quickening  his  pace,  trotted 
about  a  mile  briskly  up  its  banks,  and  approached  two  or  three 
low  thatched  houses,  placed  with  their  angles  to  each  other, 
with  a  great  contempt  of  regularity.  This  was  the  farm-stead- 
ing of  Charlies-hope,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  country,  "  the 
Town."  A  most  furious  barking  was  set  up  at  their  approach 
by  the  whole  three  generations  of  Mustard  and  Pepper,  and  a 
number  of  allies,  names  unknown.  The  farmer  made  his  well- 
known  voice  lustily  heard  to  restore  order  ;  the  door  opened, 


134 


GUY  MANNERING. 


and  a  half-dressed  ewe-milker,  who  had  done  that  good  office, 
shut  it  in  their  faces,  in  order  that  she  might  run,  be7i  the  house 
to  cry  Mistress,  mistress,  it's  the  master,  and  another  man  wi' 
him."  Dumple  turned  loose,  walked  to  his  own  stable-door, 
and  there  pawed  and  whinnied  for  admission,  in  strains  which 
were  answered  by  his  acquaintances  from  the  interior.  Amid 
this  bustle.  Brown  was  fain  to  secure  Wasp  from  the  other  dogs, 
who,  with  ardor  corresponding  more  to  their  own  names  than 
to  the  hospitable  temper  of  their  owner,  were  much  disposed  to 
use  the  intruder  roughly. 

In  about  a  minute  a  stout  laborer  was  patting  Dumple,  and 
introducing  him  into  the  stable,  while  Mrs.  Dinmont,  a  well- 
favored  buxom  dame,  welcomed  her  husband  with  unfeigned 
rapture.  "  Eh,  sirs !  gudeman,  ye  hae  been  a  weary  while 
away." 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

Liddell  till  now,  except  in  Doric  lays, 
Tuned  to  her  murmurs  by  her  love-sick  swains, 
Unknown  in  song — though  not  a  purer  stream 
Rolls  towards  the  western  main. 

Art  of  Preserving  Health. 

The  present  store-farmers  of  the  south  of  Scotland  are  a 
much  more  refined  race  than  their  fathers,  and  the  manners  I 
am  now  to  describe  have  either  altogether  disappeared,  or  are 
greatly  modified.  Without  losing  the  rural  simplicity  of  manners, 
they  now  cultivate  arts  unknown  to  the  former  generation,  not 
only  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  their  possessions,  but  in 
all  the  comforts  of  life.  Their  houses  are  more  commodious, 
their  habits  of  life  regulated  so  as  better  to  keep  pace  with  those 
of  the  civilized  world ;  and  the  best  of  luxuries,  the  luxury  of 
knowledge,  has  gained  much  ground  among  their  hills  during 
the  last  thirty  years.  Deep  drinking,  formerly  their  greatest 
failing,  is  now  fast  losing  ground  ;  and  while  the  frankness  of 
their  extensive  hospitality  continues  the  same,  it  is,  generally 
speaking,  refined  in  its  character,  and  restrained  in  its  excesses. 

"  Deil's  in  the  wife,"  said  Dandie  Dinmont,  shaking  off  his 
spouse's  embrace,  but  gently  and  with  a  look  of  great  affection  ; 
"  deil's  in  ye,  Ailie — d'ye  no  see  the  strange  gentleman  t  " 

Ailie  turned  to  make  her  apology — "  Troth  I  was  sae  weel 


*  Note  C.    Dandie  Dinmont. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


^35 


pleased  to  see  the  gudeman,  that  But,  gude  gracious  ! 

what's  the  matter  wi'  ye  baith !  " — for  they  were  now  in  her 
little  parlor,  and  the  candle  showed  the  streaks  of  blood  which 
Dinmont's  wounded  head  had  plentifully  imparted  to  the 
clothes  of  his  companion  as  well  as  to  his  own.  "  Ye've  been 
fighting  again,  Dandy,  wi'  some  o'  the  Bewcastle  horse-coupers  ! 
Wow,  man,  a  married  man,  wi'  a  bonny  family  like  yours, 
should  ken  better  what  a  father's  life's  worth  in  the  warld." — 
The  tears  stood  in  the  good  woman's  eyes  as  she  spoke. 

"  Whist !  whist,  gudewife ! "  said  her  husband,  with  a 
smack  that  had  much  more  affection  than  ceremony  in  it ; — 
"  never  mind — never  mind — there's  a  gentleman  that  will  tell 
you,  that  just  when  I  .had  ga'en  up  to  Lourie  Lowther's,  and 
had  bidden  the  drinking  of  twa  cheerers,  and  gotten  just  in 
again  upon  the  moss,  and  was  whigging  cannily  awa  hame,  twa 
land-loupers  jumpit  out  of  a  peat-hag  on  me  or  I  was  thinking, 
and  got  me  down,  and  kneveled  me  sair  aneuch,  or  I  could  gar 
my  whip  walk  about  their  lugs  ; — and  troth,  gudewife,  if  this 
honest  gentleman  hadna  come  up,  I  would  have  gotten  mair 
licks  than  I  like,  and  lost  mair  siller  than  I  could  weel  spare  ; 
so  you  maun  be  thankful  to  him  for  it,  under  God."  With  that 
he  drew  from  his  side-pocket  a  large  greasy  leather  pocket- 
book,  and  bade  the  gudewife  lock  it  up  in  her  kist. 

God  bless  the  gentleman,  and  e'en  God  bless  him  wi'  a'  my 
heart !  But  what  can  we  do  for  him,  but  to  gie  him  the  meat 
and  quarters  we  wadna  refuse  to  the  poorest  body  on  earth — 
unless  "  (her  eye  directed  to  the  pocket-book,  but  with  a  feeling 
of  natural  propriety  which  made  the  inference  the  most  delicate. 

possible)  "  unless  there  was  ony  other  way  "  Brown  saw, 

and  estimated  at  its  due  rate,  the  mixture  of  simplicity  and 
grateful  generosity  which  took  the  downright  way  of  expressing 
itself,  yet  qualified  with  so  much  delicacy.  He  was  aware  his 
own  appearance,  plain  at  best,  and  now  torn  and  spattered  with 
blood,  made  him  an  object  of  pity  at  least,  and  perhaps  of 
charity.    He  hastened  to  say  his  name  was  Brown,  a  Captain 

in  the  regiment  of  cavalry,  traveling  for  pleasure,  and  on 

foot,  both  from  motives  of  independence  and  economy  ;  and  he 
begged  his  kind  landlady  would  look  at  her  husband's  wounds, 
the  state  of  which  he  had  refused  to  permit  him  to  examine. 
Mrs.  Dinmont  was  used  to  her  husband's  broken  heads  more 
than  to  the  presence  of  a  captain  of  dragoons.  She  therefore 
glanced  at  a  table-cloth,  not  quite  clean,  and  conned  over  her 
proposed  supper  a  minute  or  two,  before,  patting  her  husband 
on  the  shoulder,  she  bade  him  sit  down  for  "  a  hard-headed 


136  MANNERING, 

loon,  that  was  aye  bringing  himsel  and  other  folk  into  collie* 
shangies/* 

When  Dandie  Dinmont,  after  executing  two  or  three  cap- 
rioles, and  cutting  the  Highland-fling,  by  way  of  ridicule  of  his 
wife's  anxiety,  at  last  deigned  to  sit  down,  and  commit  his 
round,  black,  shaggy  bullet  of  a  head  to  her  inspection.  Brown 
thought  he  had  seen  the  regimental  surgeon  look  grave  upon  a 
more  trifling  case.  The  gudewife,  however,  showed  some 
knowledge  of  chirurgery — she  cut  away  with  her  scissors  the 
gory  locks,  whose  stiffened  and  coagulated  clusters  interfered 
with  her  operations,  and  clapped  on  the  wound  some  lint  be- 
smeared with  a  vulnerary  salve,  esteemed  sovereign  by  the 
whole  dale  (which  afforded  upon  Fair  nights  considerable  ex- 
perience of  such  cases) — she  then  fixed  her  plaster  with  a  band- 
age, and,  spite  of  her  patient's  resistance,  pulled  over  all  a 
night-cap,  to  keep  everything  in  its  right  place.  Some  contu- 
sions on  the  brow  and  shoulders  she  fomented  with  brandy, 
which  the  patient  did  not  permit  till  the  medicine  had  paid  a 
heavy  toll  to  his  mouth.  Mrs.  Dinmont  then  simply,  but  kindly, 
offered  her  assistance  to  Brown. 

He  assured  her  he  had  no  occasion  for  anything  but  the 
accommodation  of  a  basin  and  towel. 

"  And  that's  what  I  should  have  thought  of  sooner,"  she 
said  ;  "  and  I  did  think  o't,  but  I  durst  na  open  the  door,  for 
there's  a'  the  bairns,  poor  things,  sae  keen  to  see  their  father." 

This  explained  a  great  drumming  and  whining  at  the  door 
of  the  little  parlor,  which  had  somewhat  surprised  Brown, 
though  his  kind  landlady  had  only  noticed  it  by  fastening  the 
bolt  as  soon  as  she  heard  it  begin.  But  on  her  opening  the 
door  to  seek  the  basin  and  towel  (for  she  never  thought  of 
showing  the  guest  to  a  separate  room),  a  whole  tide  of  white- 
headed  urchins  streamed  in,  some  from  the  stable,  where  they 
had  been  seeing  Dumple,  and  giving  him  a  welcome  home  with 
part  of  their  four-hours  scones ;  others  from  the  kitchen,  where 
they  had  been  listening  to  old  Elspeth's  tales  and  ballads ;  and 
the  youngest,  half-naked,  out  of  bed, — all  roaring  to  see  daddy, 
and  to  inquire  what  he  had  brought  home  for  them  from  the 
various  fairs  he  had  visited  in  his  peregrinations.  Our  knight 
of  the  broken  head  first  kissed  and  hugged  them  all  round, 
then  distributed  whistles,  penny-trumpets,  and  gingerbread ; 
and  lastly  when  the  tumult  of  their  joy  and  welcome  got  beyond 
bearing,  exclaimed  to  his  guest — "This  is  a' the  gudewife's 
fault.  Captain — she  will  gie  the  bairns  a'  their  ain  way." 

Me  !  Lord  help  me  1  "  said  Ailie,  who  at  that  instant  en- 


GUV  MANNRRim. 


137 


tered  with  the  basin  and  ewer,  "  how  can  I  help  it  ? — I  have 
naething  else  to  gae  them,  poor  things  ! " 

Dinmont  then  exerted  himself,  and,  between  coaxing, 
threats,  and  shoving,  cleared  the  room  of  all  the  intruders,  ex- 
cepting a  boy  and  girl,  the  two  eldest  of  the  family,  who  could, 
as  he  observed,  behave  themselves  "  distinctly."  For  the  same 
reason,  but  with  less  ceremony,  all  the  dogs  were  kicked  out, 
excepting  the  venerable  patriarchs,  old  Pepper  and  Mustard, 
whom  frequent  castigation  and  the  advance  of  years  had  in- 
spired with  such  a  share  of  passive  hospitality,  that,  after 
mutual  explanation  and  remonstrance  in  the  shape  of  some 
growling,  they  admitted  Wasp,  who  had  hitherto  judged  it  safe 
to  keep  beneath  his  master's  chair,  to  a  share  of  a  dried  wed- 
der's  skin,  which,  with  the  wool  uppermost  and  unshorn,  served 
all  the  purposes  of  a  Bristol  hearth-rug. 

The  active  bustle  of  the  mistress  (so  she  was  called  in  the 
kitchen,  and  the  gudewife  in  the  parlor)  had  already  signed 
the  fate  of  a  couple  of  fowls,  which,  for  want  of  time  to  dress 
them  otherwise,  soon  appeared,  reeking  from  the  gridiron — or 
brander,  as  Mrs.  Dinmont  denominated  it.  A  huge  piece  of 
cold  beef-ham,  eggs,  butter,  cakes,  and  barley-rheal  bannocks 
in  plenty,  made  up  the  entertainment,  which  was  to  be  diluted 
with  home-brewed  ale  of  excellent  quality,  and  a  case-bottle  of 
brandy^  Few  soldiers  would  find  fault  with  such  cheer  after  a 
day^s  hard  exercise,  and  a  skirmish  to  boot ;  accordingly, 
Brown  did  great  honor  to  the  eatables.  While  the  gudewife 
partly  aided,  partly  instructed,  a  great  stout  servant  girl,  with 
cheeks  as  red  as  her  topknot,  to  remove  the  supper  matters, 
and  supply  sugar  and  hot  water,  (which,  in  the  damsePs 
anxiety  to  gaze  upon  an  actual  live  captain,  she  was  in  some 
danger  of  forgetting,)  Brown  took  an  opportunity  to  ask  his 
host  whether  he  did  not  repent  of  having  neglected  the  gypsy^s 
hint. 

*^  Wha  kens  t  answered  he  ;  they're  queer  deevils  ;  may- 
be I  might  just  have  'scaped  ae  gang  to  meet  the  othen 
And  yet  Fll  no  say  that  neither  ;  for  if  that  randy  wife  was 
coming  to  Charlies-hope,  she  should  have  a  pint  bottle  o' 
brandy  and  a  pound  o'  tobacco  to  wear  her  through  the  winter* 
They're  queer  deevils  ;  as  my  auld  father  used  to  say — they're 
warst  where  they're  warst  guided.  After  a',  there's  baith  gude 
and  ill  about  the  gypsies." 

This,  and  some  other  desultory  conversation,  served  as  a 
shoeing-horn  "  to  draw  on  another  cup  of  ale,  and  another 
cheerer^  as  Dinmont  termed  it  in  his  country  phrase,  of  brandy 
and  water.    Brown  then  resolutely  declined  all  further  convivi- 


GUY  MAl^NERmQ, 


ality  for  that  evening,  pleading  his  own  weariness  and  the 
effects  of  the  skirmish, — being  well  aware  that  it  would  have 
availed  nothing  to  have  remonstrated  with  his  host  on  the 
danger  that  excess  might  have  occasioned  to  his  own  raw 
wound  and  bloody  coxcomb.  A  very  small  bed-room,  but  a 
very  clean  bed,  received  the  traveler,  and  the  sheets  made 
good  the  courteous  vaunt  of  the  hostess,  that  they  would  be 
as  pleasant  as  he  could  find  ony  gate,  for  they  were  washed  wi* 
the  fairy-well  water,  and  bleached  on  the  bonny  white  gowans, 
and  bittled  by  Nelly  and  hersell ;  and  what  could  woman,  if 
she  was  a  queen,  do  mair  for  them  ? " 

They  indeed  rivaled  snow  in  whiteness,  and  had,  besides,  a 
pleasant  fragrance  from  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been 
bleached.  Little  Wasp,  after  licking  his  master's  hand  to  ask 
leave,  couched  himself  on  the  coverlet  at  his  feet ;  and  the 
traveler's  senses  were  soon  lost  in  grateful  oblivion. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

Give,  ye  Britons,  then, 
Your  sportive  fury,  pitiless,  to  pour 
Loose  on  the  nightly  robber  of  the  fold. 
Him,  from  his  craggy  winding  haunts  unearthed, 
Let  all  the  thunder  of  the  chase  pursue. 

Thomson's  Seasons. 

Brown  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  walked  out  to  look  at 
the  establishment  of  his  new  friend.  All  was  rough  and  neglect- 
ed in  the  neighborhood  of  the  house  ; — a  paltry  garden,  no 
pains  taken  to  make  the  vicinity  dry  or  comfortable,  and  a  total 
absence  of  all  those  little  neatnesses  which  give  the  eye  so  much 
pleasure  in  looking  at  an  English  farm-house.  There  were,  not- 
withstanding, evident  signs  that  this  arose  only  from  want  of 
taste,  or  ignorance,  not  from  poverty,  or  the  negligence  which 
attends  it.  On  the  contrary,  a  noble  cow-house,  well  filled  with 
good  milk-cows,  a  feeding  house,  with  ten  bullocks  of  the  most 
approved  breed,  a  stable,  with  two  good  teams  of  horses,  the  ap- 
pearance of  domestics,  active,  industrious,  and  apparently  con- 
tented with  their  lot ;  in  a  word,  an  air  of  liberal  though  sluttish 
plenty,  indicated  the  wealthy  farmer.  The  situation  of  the 
house  above  the  river  formed  a  gentle  declivity,  which  relieved 
the  inhabitants  of  the  nuisances  that  might  otherwise  have 
Stagnated  around  it.    At  a  little  distance  was  the  whole  band 


GUY  MANNERING. 


139 


of  children,  playing  and  building  houses  with  peats  around  a 
huge  doddered  oak-tree,  which  was  called  Charlie's-Bush,  from 
some  tradition  respecting  an  old  freebooter  who  had  once  in- 
habited the  spot.  Between  the  farm-house  and  the  hill-pasture 
was  a  deep  morass,  termed  in  that  country  a  slack :  it  had  once 
been  the  defence  of  a  fortalice,  of  which  no  vestiges  now  re- 
mained, but  which  was  said  to  have  been  inhabited  by  the  same 
doughty  hero  we  have  now  alluded  to.  Brown  endeavored  to 
make  some  acquaintance  with  the  children  ;  but  the  rogues 
fled  from  him  like  quicksilver,''  though  the  two  eldest  stood 
peeping  when  they  had  got  to  some  distance.  The  traveler  then 
turned  his  course  toward  the  hill,  crossing  the  foresaid  swamp 
by  a  range  of  stepping  stones,  neither  the  broadest  nor  stead- 
iest that  could  be  imagined.  He  had  not  climbed  far  up  the 
hill  when  he  met  a  man  descending. 

He  soon  recognized  his  worthy  host,  though  a  maud,  as  it  is 
called,  or  a  gray  shepherd's  plaid,  supplied  his  traveling  jockey- 
coat,  and  a  cap,  faced  with  wild  cat's  fur,  more  commodiously 
covered  his  bandaged  head  than  a  hat  would  have  done.  As 
he  appeared  through  the  morning  mist.  Brown,  accustomed 
to  judge  of  men  by  their  thews  and  sinews,  could  not  help 
admiring  his  height,  the  breadth  of  his  shoulders,  and  the 
steady  firmness  of  his  step.  Dinmont  internally  paid  the  same 
compliment  to  Brown,  whose  athletic  form  he  now  perused 
somewhat  more  at  leisure  than  he  had  done  formerly.  After 
the  usual  greetings  of  the  morning,  the  guest  inquired  whether 
his  host  found  any  inconvenient  consequences  from  the  last 
night's  affray. 

I  had  maist  forgotten't,"  said  the  hardy  Borderer ;  *'but  I 
think  this  morning,  now  that  I  am  fresh  and  sober,  if  you  and 
T  were  at  the  Withershin's  Latch,  wi'  ilka  ane  a  gude  oak  souple 
in  his  hand,  we  wadna  turn  back,  no  for  half  a  dizzen  o'  yon 
scaff-raff." 

"  But  are  you  prudent,  my  good  sir,"  said  Brown,  not  to 
take  an  hour  or  two's  repose  after  receiving  such  severe  con- 
tusions " 

"  Confusions  !  "  replied  the  farmer  laughing  in  derision  ; — • 
"  Lord,  Captain,  naething  confuses  my  head. — I  ance  jumped 
up  and  laid  the  dogs  on  the  fox  after  I  had  tumbled  from  the 
tap  o'  Christenbury  Craig,  and  that  might  have  confused  me  to 
purpose.  Na — naething  confuses  me,  unless,  it  be  a  screed  o' 
drink  at  an  orra  time.  Besides  I  behooved  to  be  round  the 
hirsel  this  morning,  and  see  how  the  herds  were  coming  on — 
they're  apt  to  be  negligent  wi'  their  foot-balls  and  fairs,  and 
trysts,  when  ane's  away.    And  there  I  met  wi'  Tarn  0'  Todshaw. 


I40 


GC/V  MANNERING. 


and  a  wheen  the  rest  o'  the  billies  on  the  water  side  ;  they're 
a'  for  a  fox  hunt  this  morning — ye'U  gang  ?  I'll  gie  ye  Dumple, 
and  take  the  brood  mar  j  mysell." 

"  But  I  fear  I  must  leave  you  this  morning,  Mr„  Dinmont," 
replied  Brown. 

"  The  fient  a  bit  o'  that,"  exclaimed  the  Borderer, — **I'llno 
part  wi'  ye  at  ony  rate  for  a  fortnight  mair. — Na,  na  ;  we  dinna 
meet  sic  friends  as  you  on  a  Bewcastle  moss  every  night/' 

Brown  had  not  designed  his  journey  should  be  a  speedy  one  \ 
he  therefore  readily  compounded  with  his  hearty  invitation,  by 
agreeing  to  pass  a  week  at  Charlies-hope. 

On  their  return  to  the  house,  where  the  good-wife  presided 
over  an  ample  breakfast,  she  heard  news  of  the  proposed  fox- 
hunt, not  indeed  with  approbation,  but  without  alarm  or  sur- 
prise. *^Dand!  ye're  the  auld  man  yet;  naething  will  make 
ye  take  warning  till  yeVe  brought  hame  some  day  wi'  your  feet 
foremost." 

"  Tut,  lass  ! "  answered  Dandie,  "  ye  ken  yoursell  I  am 
never  a  prin  the  waur  o'  my  rambles." 

So  saying,  he  exhorted  Brown  to  be  hasty  in  despatching 
his  breakfast,  as,  "  the  frost  having  given  way,  the  scent  would 
lie  this  morning  primely." 

Out  they  sallied,  accordingly,  for  Otterscopescaurs,  the 
farmer  leading  the  way.  They  soon  quitted  the  little  valley, 
and  involved  themselves  among  hills  as  steep  as  they  could  be 
without  being  precipitous.  The  sides  often  presented  gullies, 
down  which,  in  the  winter  season,  or  after  heavy  rain,  the 
torrents  descended  with  great  fury.  Some  dappled  mists  still 
floated  along  the  peaks  of  the  hills,  the  remains  of  the  morning 
clouds,  for  the  frost  had  broken  up  with  a  smart  shower. 
Through  these  fleecy  screens  were  seen  a  hundred  little  tem- 
porary streamlets  or  rills,  descending  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains like  silver  threads.  By  small  sheep-tracks  along  these 
steeps,  over  which  Dinmont  trotted  with  the  most  fearless  con- 
fidence, they  at  length  drew  near  the  scene  of  sport,  and 
began  to  see  other  men  both  on  horse  and  foot,  making 
toward  the  place  of  rendezvous.  Brown  was  puzzling  himself 
to  conceive  how  a  fox-chase  could  take  place  among  the  hills 
where  it  was  barely  possible  for  a  pony,  accustomed  to  the 
ground,  to  trot  along,  but  where,  quitting  the  track  for  half  a 
yard's  breadth,  the  rider  might  be  either  bogged,  or  precipitated 
down  the  bank.  This  wonder  was  not  diminished  when  he 
came  to  the  place  of  action. 

They  had  gradually  ascended  very  high,  and  now  found 
themselves  on  a  mountain  ridge  overhanging  a  glen  of  great 


GUY  MANNERING, 


141 


depth,  but  extremely  narrow.  Here  the  sportsmen  had  col- 
lected, with  an  apparatus  which  would  have  shocked  a  member 
of  the  Pytchley  Hunt ;  for,  the  object  being  the  removal  of  a 
noxious  and  destructive  animal,  as  well  as  the  pleasures  of  the 
chase,  poor  Reynard  was  allowed  much  less  fair  play  than  when 
pursued  in  form  through  an  open  country.  The  strength  of  his 
habitation,  however,  and  the  nature  of  the  ground  by  which  it 
was  surrounded  on  all  sides,  supplied  what  was  wanting  in  the 
courtesy  of  his  pursuers.  The  sides  of  the  glen  were  broken 
banks  of  earth,  and  rocks  of  rotten  stone,  which  sunk  sheer 
down  to  the  little  winding  stream  below,  affording  here  and 
there  a  tuft  of  scathed  brush-wood,  or  a  patch  of  furze. 
Along  the  edges  of  this  ravine,  which,  as  we  have  said,  was 
very  narrow,  but  of  profound  depth,  the  hunters  on  horse  and 
foot  ranged  themselves ;  almost  every  farmer  had  with  him  at 
least  a  brace  of  large  and  fierce  greyhounds,  of  the  race  of 
those  deer-dogs  which  were  formerly  used  in  that  country,  but 
greatly  lessened  in  size  from  being  crossed  with  the  common 
breed.  The  huntsman,  a  sort  of  provincial  officer  of  the  dis- 
trict, who  receives  a  certain  supply  of  meal,  and  a  reward  for 
every  fox  he  destroys,  was  already  at  the  bottom  of  the  dell, 
whose  echoes  thundered  to  the  chiding  of  two  or  three  brace 
of  fox-hounds.  Terriers,  including  the  whole  generation  of 
Pepper  and  Mustard,  were  also  in  attendance,  having  been  sent 
forward  under  the  care  of  a  shepherd.  Mongrel,  whelp,  and 
cur  of  low  degree,  filled  up  the  burden  of  the  chorus.  The 
spectators  on  the  brink  of  the  ravine,  or  glen,  held  their  grey- 
hounds in  leash,  in  readiness  to  slip  them  at  the  fox,  as  soon  as 
the  activity  of  the  party  below  should  force  him  to  abandon 
his  cover. 

The  scene,  though  uncouth  to  the  eye  of  a  professed  sports- 
man, had  something  in  it  wildly  captivating.  The  shifting 
figures  on  the  mountain  ridge,  having  the  sky  for  their  back- 
ground, appeared  to  move  in  the  air.  The  dogs,  impatient  of 
their  restraint,  and  maddened  with  the  baying  beneath,  sprung 
here  and  there,  and  strained  at  the  slips  which  prevented  them 
from  joining  their  companions.  Looking  down,  the  view  was 
equally  striking.  The  thin  mists  were  not  totally  dispersed  in 
the  glen,  so  that  it  was  often  through  their  gauzy  medium  that 
the  eye  strove  to  discover  the  motions  of  the  hunters  below. 
Sometimes  a  breath  of  wind  made  the  scene  visible,  the  blue  rill 
glittering  as  it  twined  itself  through  its  rude  and  solitary  dell. 
They  then  could  see  the  shepherds  springing  with  fearless 
activity  from  one  dangerous  point  to  another,  and  cheering  the 
dogs  on  the  scent — the  whole  so  diminished  by  depth  and  dis- 


142 


GUY  MANNERING, 


tance,  that  they  looked  like  pigmies.  Again  the  mists  close  over 
them,  and  the  only  signs  of  their  continued  exertions  are  the 
halloos  of  the  men,  and  the  clamors  of  the  hounds,  ascending 
as  it  were  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Whei  the  fox,  thus 
persecuted  from  one  stronghold  to  another,  was  at  length  obliged 
to  abandon  his  valley,  and  to  break  away  for  a  more  distant 
retreat,  those  who  watched  his  motions  from  the  top  slipped 
their  greyhounds,  which  excelling  the  fox  in  swiftness,  and 
equaling  him  in  ferocity  and  spirit,  soon  brought  the  plunderer 
to  his  life's  end. 

In  this  way,  without  any  attention  to  the  ordinary  rules  and 
decorums  of  sport,  but  apparently  as  much  to  the  gratification 
both  of  bipeds  and  quadrupeds  as  if  all  due  ritual  had  been 
followed,  four  foxes  were  killed  on  this  active  morning;  and 
even  Brown  himself,  though  he  had  seen  the  princely  sports  of 
India,  and  ridden  a-tiger-hunting  upon  an  elephant  with  the 
Nabob  of  Arcot,  professed  to  have  received  an  excellent  morn- 
ing's amusement.  When  the  sport  was  given  up  for  the  day, 
most  of  the  sportsmen,  according  to  the  established  hospitality 
of  the  country,  w^ent  to  dine  at  Charlies-hope. 

During  their  return  homeward.  Brown  rode  for  a  short  time 
beside  the  huntsman,  and  asked  him  some  questions  concerning 
the  mode  in  which  he  exercised  his  profession.  The  man 
showed  an  unwillingness  to  meet  his  eye,  and  a  disposition  to 
be  rid  of  his  company  and  conversation,  for  which  Brown  could 
not  easily  account.  He  was  a  thin,  dark,  active  fellow,  well 
framed  for  the  hardy  profession  which  he  exercised.  But  his 
face  had  not  the  frankness  of  the  jolly  hunter;  he  was  down- 
looked,  embarrassed,  and  avoided  the  eyes  of  those  who 
looked  hard  at  him.  After  some  unimportant  observations  on 
the  success  of  the  day,  Brown  gave  him  a  trifling  gratuity,  and 
rode  on  with  his  landlord.  They  found  the  gudewife  prepared 
for  their  reception  ;  the  fold  and  the  poultry-yard  furnished  the 
entertainment,  and  the  kind  and  hearty  welcome  made  amends 
for  all  deficiencies  in  elegance  and  fashion. 


Gt/Y  MANNERINC. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

The  Elliots  and  Armstrongs  did  convene  ; 
They  were  a  gallant  company ! 

Ballad  of  Johnnie  Armstrong. 

Without  noticing  the  occupations  of  an  intervening  day  or 
two,  which,  as  they  consisted  of  the  ordinary  sylvan  amusements 
of  shooting  and  coursing,  have  nothing  sufficiently  interesting 
to  detain  the  reader,  we  pass  to  one  in  some  degree  peculiar  to 
Scotland,  which  may  be  called  a  sort  of  salmon-hunting.  This 
chase,  in  which  the  fish  is  pursued  and  struck  with  barbed 
spears,  or  a  sort  of  long-shafted  trident,  called  a  waster^  is 
much  practiced  at  the  mouth  of  the  Esk,  and  in  the  other  salmon 
rivers  of  Scotland.  The  sport  is  followed  by  day  and  night, 
but  most  commonly  in  the  latter,  when  the  fish  are  discovered 
by  means  of  torches,  or  fire-grates,  filled  with  blazing  fragments 
of  tar-barrels,  which  shed  a  strong  though  partial  light  upon  the 
water.  On  the  present  occasion,  the  principal  party  were  em- 
barked in  a  crazy  boat  upon  a  part  of  the  river  which  was  en- 
larged and  deepened  by  the  restraint  of  a  mill-wear,  while  others, 
like  the  ancient  Bacchanals  in  their  gambols,  ran  along  the 
banks,  brandishing  their  torches  and  spears,  and  pursuing  the 
salmon,  some  of  which  endeavored  to  escape  up  the  stream, 
while  others,  shrouding  themselves  under  roots  of  trees,  frag- 
ments of  stones,  and  large  rocks,  attempted  to  conceal  them- 
selves from  the  researches  of  the  fishermen.  These  the  party  in 
the  boat  detected  by  the  slightest  indication  ;  the  twinkling  of 
a  fin,  the  rising  of  an  air  bell,  was  sufficient  to  point  out  to  these 
adroit  sportsmen  in  what  direction  to  use  their  weapon. 

The  scene  was  inexpressibly  animating  to  those  accustomed 
to  it ;  but  as  Brown  was  not  practiced  to  use  the  spear,  he  soon 
tired  of  making  efforts  which  were  attended  with  no  other 
consequence  than  jarring  his  arms  against  the  rocks  at  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  upon  which,  instead  of  the  devoted  salmon, 
he  often  bestowed  his  blow.  Nor  did  he  relish,  though  he 
concealed  feelings  which  would  not  have  been  understood,  being 
quite  so  near  the  agonies  of  the  expiring  salmon,  as  they  lay 
flapping  about  in  the  boat,  which  they  moistened  with  their 
blood.    He  therefore  requested  to  be  put  ashore,  and,  from  the 

*  Or  leister.  The  long  spear  is  used  for  striking  :  but  there  is  a  shorter, 
which  is  cast  from  the  hand,  and  with  which  an  experienced  sportsman  hits 
the  fish  with  singular  dexterity. 


Gt/Y  MANNERING. 


top  of  a  heugh^  or  broken  bank,  enjoyed  the  scene  much  more 
to  his  satisfaction.  Often  he  thought  of  his  friend  Dudley,  the 
artist,  when  he  observed  the  effect  produced  by  the  strong  red 
glare  on  the  romantic  banks  under  which  the  boat  glided.  Now 
the  light  diminished  to  a  distant  star  that  seemed  to  twinkle 
on  the  waters  like  those  which,  according  to  the  legends  of  the 
country,  the  water-kelpy  sends  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  the 
watery  grave  of  his  victims.  Then  it  advanced  nearer,  brighten- 
ing and  enlarging  as  it  again  approached,  till  the  broad  flicker- 
ing flame  rendered  bank,  and  rock,  and  tree,  visible  as  it  passed, 
tinging  them  with  its  own  red  glare  of  dusky  light,  and  resigning 
them  gradually  to  darkness,  or  to  pale  moonlight,  as  it  receded. 
By  this  light  also  were  seen  the  figures  in  the  boat,  now  holding 
high  their  weapons,  now  stooping  to  strike,  now  standing  up- 
right, bronzed  by  the  same  red  glare,  into  a  color  which  might 
have  befitted  the  regions  of  Pandemonium. 

Having  amused  himself  for  some  time  with  these  effects  of 
light  and  shadow,  Brown  strolled  homeward  toward  the  farm- 
house, gazing  in  his  way  at  the  persons  engaged  in  the  sport, 
two  or  three  of  whom  are  generally  kept  together,  one  holding 
the  torch,  the  others  with  their  spears,  ready  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  light  it  affords  to  strike  their  prey.  As  he  observed  one 
man  struggling  with  a  very  weighty  salmon  which  he  had 
speared,  but  was  vmable  completely  to  raise  from  the  water, 
Brown  advanced  close  to  the  bank  to  see  the  issue  of  his  exer- 
tions. The  man  who  held  the  torch  in  this  instance  was  the 
huntsman,  whose  sulky  demeanor  Brown  had  already  noticed 
with  surprise. 

"  Come  here,  sir !  come  here,  sir  !  look  at  this  ane  !  He 
turns  up  a  side  like  a  sow."  Such  was  the  cry  from  the  assist* 
ants  when  some  of  them  observed  Brown  advancing. 

"  Ground  the  waster  weel,  man  !  ground  the  waster  weel ! — 
baud  him  down — ye  haena  the  pith  o'  a  cat  !  — were  the  cries 
of  advice,  encouragement,  and  expostulation,  from  those  who 
were  on  the  bank,  to  the  sportsman  engaged  with  the  salmon, 
who  stood  up  to  his  middle  in  water,  jingling  among  broken 
ice,  struggling  against  the  force  of  the  fish  and  the  strength  of 
the  current,  and  dubious  in  what  manner  he  should  attempt  to 
secure  his  booty.  As  Brown  came  to  I  he  edge  of  the  bank,  he 
called  out — Plold  up  your  torch,  friend  huntsman  !  for  he 
had  already  distinguished  his  dusky  features  by  the  strong  light 
cast  upon  them  by  the  blaze.  But  the  fellow  no  sooner  heard 
his  voice,  and  saw,  or  rather  concluded,  it  was  Brown  who  af)- 
proached  him,  than,  instead  of  advancing  his  light,  he  let  it 
drop,  as  if  accidentally,  into  the  water. 


G^y  MANNERING. 


US 


"  The  deii's  in  Gabriel !  "  said  the  spearman,  as  the  fragments 
of  glowing  wood  floated  half-blazing,  half-sparkling,  but  soon 
extinguished,  down  the  stream — the  deii's  in  the  man  ! — I'll 
never  master  him  without  the  light — and  a  braver  kipper,  could 
I  but  land  him,  never  resisted  abune  a  pair  o'  cleeks."  ^  Some 
dashed  into  the  water  to  lend  their  assistance,  and  the  fish, 
which  was  afterward  found  to  weigh  nearly  thirty  pounds,  was 
landed  in  safety. 

The  beha\  ior  of  the  hunstman  struck  Brown,  although  he 
had  no  recollection  of  his  face,  nor  could  conceive  why  he 
should,  as  it  appeared  he  evidently  did,  shun  his  observation. 
Could  it  be  one  of  the  footpads  he  had  encountered  a  few  days 
before  ?  The  supposition  was  not  altogether  improbable,  al- 
though unwarranted  by  any  observation  he  was  able  to  make 
upon  the  man's  figure  and  face.  To  be  sure,  the  villains  wore 
their  hats  much  slouched,  and  had  loose  coats,  and  their  size  was 
not  in  any  way  so  peculiarly  discriminated  as  to  enable  him 
to  resort  to  that  criterion.  He  resolved  to  speak  to  his  host 
Dinmont  on  the  subject,  but  for  obvious  reasons  concluded  it 
were  best  to  defer  the  explanation  until  a  cool  hour  in  the 
morning. 

The  sportsmen  returned  loaded  with  fish,  upward  of  one 
hundred  salmon  having  been  killed  within  the  range  of  their 
sport.  The  best  were  selected  for  the  use  of  the  principal 
farmers,  the  others  divided  among  their  shepherds,  cottars, 
dependents,  and  others  of  inferior  rank  who  attended.  These 
fish,  dried  in  the  turf  smoke  of  their  cabins,  or  shealings,  formed 
a  savory  addition  to  the  mess  of  potatoes,  mixed  with  onions, 
which  was  the  principal  part  of  their  winter  food.  In  the 
meanwhile,  a  liberal  distribution  of  ale  and  whisky  was  made 
among  them,  besides  what  was  called  a  kettle  of  fish, — two  or 
three  salmon,  namely,  plunged  into  a  cauldron,  and  boiled  for 
their  supper.  Brown  accompanied  his  jolly  landlord  and  the 
rest  of  his  friends  into  the  large  and  smoky  kitchen,  where  this 
savory  mess  reeked  on  an  oaken  table,  massive  enough  to  have 
dined  Johnnie  Armstrong  and  his  merry-men.  All  was  hearty 
cheer  and  huzza,  and  jest  and  clamorous  laughter  and  bragging 
alternately,  and  raillery  between  whiles.  Our  traveler  looked 
earnestly  around  for  the  dark  countenance  of  the  fox-hunter  : 
but  it  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

At  length  he  hazarded  a  question  concerning  him.  That 
was  an  awkward  accident,  my  lads,  of  one  of  you,  who  dropped 
his  torch  in  the  water  when  his  companion  was  struggling  with 
the  large  fish.'^ 

*  Note  D.    Lum  Cleeks. 


146 


"  Awkward  !  returned  a  shepherd,  looking  up  (the  same 
stout  young  fellow  who  had  speared  the  salmon),  he  deserved 
his  paiks  for't — to  put  out  the  light  when  the  fish  was  on  ane's 
mtters  !  ^ — I'm  weel  convinced  Gabriel  drapped  the  roughies  t 
in  the  water  on  purpose — he  doesna  like  to  see  onybody  do  a 
thing  better  than  himsell/' 

"  Ay,"  said  another,  "  he's  sair  shamed  o'  himsell,  else  he 
would  have  been  up  here  the  night — Gabriel  likes  a  little  o'  the 
gude  thing  as  weel  as  ony  o'  us/' 

"  Is  he  of  this  country  ?  "  said  Brown. 
Na,  na,  he's  been  but  shortly  in  office  ;  but  he's  a  fell 
hunter — he's  frae  down  the  country,  somegate  on  the  Dumfries 
side." 

"  And  what's  his  name,  pray  ?  " 
Gabriel." 

"  But  Gabriel  what  ?  " 
Oh,  Lord  ken's  that  ;  we  dinna  mind  folks'  after-names 
muckle  here,  they  run  sae  muckle  into  clans." 

Ye  see,  sir,"  said  an  old  shepherd,  rising  and  speaking  very 
slow,  the  folks  hereabout  are  a'  Armstrongs  and  Elliots,  %  and 
sic  like — twa  or  three  given  names — and  so,  for  distinction's 
sake,  the  lairds  and  farmers  have  the  names  of  their  places  that 
they  live  at — for  example,  Tam  o'  Todshaw,  Will  o'  the  Flat, 
Hobbie  o'  Surbietrees,  and  our  good  master  here,  o'  the  Charlies- 
hope. — Aweel,  sir,  and  then  the  inferior  sort  o'  people,  ye'll 
observe,  are  kend  by  sorts  o'  by-names  some  o'  them,  as  Glaiket 
Christie,  and  the  Deuke's  Davie,  or  may*be,  like  this  lad  Gabriel, 
by  his  employment  ;  as  for  example.  Tod  Gabbie,  or  Hunter 
Gabbie.  He's  no  been  lang  here,  sir,  and  I  dinna  think  ony- 
body kens  him  by  ony  other  name.  But  it's  no  right  to  rin  him 
doon  ahint  his  back,  for  he's  a  fell  fox-hunter,  though  he's 
maybe  no  just  sae  clever  as  some  o'  the  folk  hereawa  wi'  the 
waster." 

After  some  further  desultory  conversation,  the  superior 
sportsmen  retired  to  conclude  the  evening  after  their  own 
manner,  leaving  the  others  to  enjoy  themselves,  unawed  by  their 
presence.  That  evening,  like  all  those  which  Brown  had 
passed  at  Charlieshope,  was  spent  in  much  innocent  mirth  and 
conviviality.    The  latter  might  have  approached  to  the  verge 

*  The  barbs  of  the  spear. 

\  When  dry  splinters,  or  branches,  are  used  as  fuel  to  sup])ly  the  Ugh^ 
for  burning  the  water,  as  it  is  called,  they  are  termed,  as  in  the  text, 
Roughies.  When  rags,  dipi)cd  in  tar,  are  employed,  they  are  called  Hards, 
prol)al)]y  from  the  French. 

I  Note  E.    Clan  Surnames. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


of  riot,  but  for  the  good  women  ;  for  several  of  the  neighboring 
mistresses  (a  phrase  of  a  signification  how  different  from  what 
it  bears  in  more  fashionable  life  !)  had  assembled  at  Charlies- 
hope  to  witness  the  event  of  this  memorable  evening.  Finding 
the  punch-bowl  was  so  often  replenished,  that  there  was  some 
danger  of  their  gracious  presence  being  forgotten,  they  rushed 
m  valorously  upon  the  recreant  revelers,  headed  by  our  good 
mistress  Ailie,  so  that  Venus  speedily  routed  Bacchus.  The 
fiddler  and  piper  next  made  their  appearance,  and  the  best 
part  of  the  night  was  gallantly  consumed  in  dancing  to  their 
music. 

An  otter-hunt  the  next  day,  and  a  badger-baiting  the  day 
after,  consumed  the  time  merrily. — I  hope  our  traveler  will  not 
sink  in  the  reader's  estimation,  sportsman  though  he  may  be, 
when  I  inform  him,  that  on  this  last  occasion,  after  young 
Pepper  had  lost  a  fore-foot,  and  Mustard  the  second  had  been 
nearly  throttled,  he  begged  as  a  particular  and  personal  favor 
of  Mr.  Dinmont,  that  the  poor  badger,  who  had  made  so  gallant 
a  defence,  should  be  permitted  to  retire  to  his  earth  without 
further  molestation. 

The  farmer,  who  would  probably  have  treated  this  request 
with  supreme  contempt  had  it  come  from  any  other  person,  was 
contented,,  in  Brown's  case,  to  express  the  utter  extremity  of  his 
wonder.  ^'  Weel,"  he  said,  that's  queer  aneugh  ! — But  since 
ye  take  his  part,  deil  a  tyke  shall  meddle  wi'  him  mair  in  my 
day — we'll  e'en  mark  him,  and  ca'  him  the  Captain's  brock — 
and  I'm  sure  I'm  glad  I  can  do  onything  to  oblige  you — but, 
Lord  save  us,  to  care  about  a  brock  ! " 

After  a  week  spent  in  rural  sport,  and  distinguished  by  the 
most  frank  attention  on  the  part  of  his  honest  landlord.  Brown 
bade  adieu  to  the  banks  of  the  Liddel,  and  the  hospitality  of 
Charlies-hope.  The  children,  with  all  of  whom  he  had  now  be- 
come an  intimate  and  a  favorite,  roared  manfully  in  full  chorus 
at  his  departure,  and  he  was  obliged  to  promise  twenty  times, 
that  he  would  soon  return  and  play  over  all  their  favorite  tunes 
upon  the  flageolet  till  they  had  got  them  by  heart.  Come  back 
again.  Captain,"  said  one  little  sturdy  fellow,  "  and  Jenny  will 
be  your  wife."  Jenny  was  about  eleven  years  old  :  she  ran  and 
hid  herself  behind  her  mammy. 

"  Captain,  come  back,"  said  a  little  fat  roll-about  girl  of  six, 
holding  her  mouth  up  to  be  kissed,  and  I'll  be  your  wife  my 
ainsell." 

"  They  must  be  of  harder  mould  than  I,"  thought  Brown, 
"  who  could  part  from  so  many  kind  hearts  with  indifference.'* 
The  good  dame  too,  with  matron  modesty,  and  an  affectionate 


148 


GUY  MANNERING. 


simplicity  that  marked  the  olden  time,  offered  her  eheek  to  the 
departing  guest — "  It's  little  the  like  of  us  can  do,"  she  said, 

little  indeed — but  yet — if  there  were  but  onythlng  "  

Now,  my  dear  Mrs.  Dinmont,  you  embolden  me  to  make  a 
request — would  you  but  have  the  kindness  to  weave  me,  or  work 
me,  just  such  a  gray  plaid  as  the  goodman  wears  ? He  had 
learned  the  language  and  feelings  of  the  country  even  during 
the  short  time  of  his  residence,  and  was  aware  of  the  pleasure 
the  request  would  confer. 

"  A  tait  o*  woo'  would  be  scarce  amang  us/'  said  the  gudewife, 
brightening,  "  if  ye  shouldna  hae  that,  and  as  gude  a  tweel  as 
ever  cam  aff  a  pirn.  I'll  speak  to  Johnnie  Goodsire,  the  weaver 
at  the  Castletown,  the  morn.  Fare  ye  weel,  sir ! — and  may  ye 
be  just  as  happy  yoursell  as  ye  like  to  see  a'  body  else — and  that 
would  be  a  sair  wish  to  some  folk." 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  our  traveler  left  ^  is  trusty 
attendant  Wasp  to  be  a  guest  at  Charlies-hope  for  a  se  >son.  He 
foresaw  that  he  might  prove  a  troublesome  attendant  in  the 
event  of  his  being  in  any  situation  where  secrecy  and  concealment 
might  be  necessary.  He  was  therefore  consigned  to  the  care  of 
the  eldest  boy,  who  promised,  in  the  words  of*the  old  song,  that 
he  should  have 

A  bit  of  his  supper,  a  bit  of  his  bed, 

and  that  he  should  be  engaged  in  none  of  those  perilous  pastimes 
in  which  the  race  of  Mustard  and  Pepper  had  suffered  frequent 
mutilation.  Brown  now  prepared  for  his  journey,  having  taken 
a  temporary  farewell  of  his  trusty  little  companion. 

There  is  an  odd  prejudice  in  these  hills  in  favor  of  riding. 
Every  farmer  rides  well,  and  rides  the  whole  day.  Probably 
the  extent  of  their  large  pasture  farms,  and  the  necessity  of 
surveying  them  rapidly,  first  introduced  this  custom  ;  or  a  very 
zealous  antiquary  might  derive  it  from  the  times  of  the  Lay  of 
the  Last  Minstrel,  when  twenty  thousand  horsemen  assembled 
at  the  light  of  the  beacon  fires."*^  But  the  truth  is  undeniable  ; 
they  like  to  be  on  horseback,  and  can  be  with  difficulty  con- 
vinced that  any  one  chooses  walking  from  other  motives  than 
those  of  convenience  or  necessity.  Accordingly,  Dinmont  in- 
sisted upon  mounting  his  guest,  and  accompanying  him  on  horse  - 
back as  far  as  the  nearest  town  in  Dimifries-shire,  where  he  had 

*  Tt  would  be  affectation  to  alter  this  reference.  But  the  reader  will 
understand,  that  it  was  inserted  to  keep  up  the  author's  incognito,  as  he 
was  nf)t  likely  to  be  suspected  of  quoting  his  own  works.  This  explanation 
;s  also  ap])lical)le  to  one  or  two  similar  passages,  in  this  and  the  othcY 
novels,  introduced  for  the  same  reason. 


GUV  MANNEKING, 


149 


directed  his  baggage  to  be  sent,  and  from  which  he  proposed  to 
pursue  his  intended  journey  toward  Woodbourne.  the  residence 
of  Julia  Mannering. 

Upon  the  way  he  questioned  his  companion  concerning  the 
character  of  the  fox-hunter  ;  but  gained  little  information,  as  he 
had  been  called  to  that  office  while  Dinmont  was  making  the 
round  of  the  Highland  fairs  He  was  a  shake-rag  like  fellow,'* 
he  said,  and,  he  dared  to  say,  had  gypsy  blood  in  his  veins; 
but  at  ony  rate,  he  was  nane  o'  the  smacks  that  had  been  on 
their  quarters  in  the  moss — he  would  ken  them  weel  if  he  saw 
them  again.  There  are  some  no  bad  folk  amang  the  gypsies  too, 
to  be  sic  a  gang,"  added  Dandie  ;  if  ever  I  see  that  auld 
randle-tree  of  a  wife  again,  I'll  gie  her  something  to  buy 
tobacco — I  have  a  great  notion  she  meant  me  very  fair  after  a'.'* 

When  they  were  about  finally  to  part,  the  good  farmer  held 
Brown  long  by  the  hand,  and  at  length  said,  "  Captain,  the  woo's 
sae  weel  up  the  year,  that's  it's  paid  a'  the  rent,  and  we  have 
naething  to  do  wi'  the  rest  o'  the  siller  when  Ailie  has  had  her 
new  gown,  and  the  bairns  their  bits  o'  duds — now  I  was  think- 
ing of  some  safe  hand  to  put  it  into,  for  it's  ower  muckle  to 
ware  on  brandy  and  sugar — now  I  have  heard  that  you  army 
gentlemen  can  sometimes  buy  yoursells  up  a  step  ;  and  \i  a 
hundred  or  twa  would  help  ye  on  such  an  occasion,  the  bit 
scrape  o'  your  pen  would  be  as  good  to  me  as  the  siller,  and  ye 
might  just  take  ye  re  ain  time  o'  settling  it — it  wad  be  a  great 
convenience  to  me."  Brown,  who  felt  the  full  delicacy  that 
wished  to  disguise  the  conferring  an  obligation  under  the  show 
of  asking  a  favor,  thanked  his  grateful  friend  most  heartily, 
and  assured  him  he  would  have  recourse  to  his  purse,  without 
scruple,  should  circumstances  ever  render  it  convenient  for 
him.  And  thus  they  parted  with  many  expressions  of  mutual 
regard. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

If  thou  hast  any  love  of  mercy  in  thee, 
Turn  me  upon  my  face,  that  I  may  die. 

Joanna  Baillie. 

Our  traveler  hired  a  post-chaise  at  the  place  where  he 
separated  from  'Dinmont,  with  the  purpose  of  proceeding  to 
Kippletringan,  there  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  family 
at  Woodbourne,  before  he  should  venture  to  make  his  presence 


GUY  MANNERING, 


in  the  country  known  to  Miss  Mannering.  The  stage  was  a 
long  one  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  and  the  road  lay  across 
the  country.  To  add  to  the  inconveniences  of  the  journey,  the 
snow  began  to  fall  pretty  quick.  The  postilion,  however, 
proceeded  on  his  journey  for'  a  good  many  miles,  without 
expressing  doubt  or  hesitation.  It  was  not  until  the  right  was 
completely  set  in,  that  he  intimated  his  apprehensions  whether 
he  was  in  the  right  road.  The  increasing  snow  rendered  this 
intimation  rather  alarming,  for  as  it  drove  full  in  the  lad's  face, 
and  lay  whitening  all  around  him,  it  served  in  two  different 
ways  to  confuse  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  to  diminish 
the  chance  of  his  recovering  the  right  track.  Brown  then 
himself  got  out  and  look  round,  not,  it  may  well  be  imagined, 
from  any  better  hope  than  that  of  seeing  some  house  at  which 
he  might  make  inquiry.  But  none  appeared — he  could  there- 
fore only  tell  the  lad  to  drive  steadily  on.  The  road  on  which 
they  were  ran  through  plantations  of  considerable  extent  and 
depth,  and  the  traveler  therefore  conjectured  that  there  must 
be  a  gentleman's  house  at  no  great  distance.  At  length,  after 
struggling  wearily  on  for  about  a  mile,  the  post-boy  stopped, 
and  protested  his  horses  would  not  budge  a  foot  further  ;  "  but 
he  saw,"  he  said,  "  a  light  among  the  trees,  which  must  proceed 
from  a  house  ;  the  only  way  was  to  inquire  the  road  there." 
Accordingly,  he  dismounted,  heavily  encumbered  with  a  long 
great-coat  and  a  pair  of  boots  which  might  have  rivaled  in 
thickness  the  seven-fold  shield  of  Ajax.  As  in  this  guise  he  was 
plodding  forth  upon  his  voyage  of  discovery.  Brown's  impatience 
prevailed,  and,  jumping  out  of  the  carriage,  he  desired  the  lad 
to  stop  where  he  was,  by  the  horses,  and  he  would  himself  go 
to  the  house — a  command  which  the  driver  most  joyfully 
obeyed.  • 

Our  traveler  groped  along  the  side  of  the  enclosure  from 
which  the  light  glimmered,  in  order  to  find  some  mode  of 
approaching  in  that  direction,  and  after  proceeding  for  some 
space,  at  length  found  a  stile  in  the  hedge,  and  a  pathway 
leading  into  the  plantation,  which  in  that  place  was  of  great 
extent.  This  promised  to  lead  to  the  light  which  was  the  object 
of  his  search,  and  accordingly  Brown  proceeded  in  that  direction, 
but  soon  totally  lost  sight  of  it  among  the  trees.  The  path, 
which  at  first  seemed  broad  and  well  marked  by  the  opening  of 
the  wood  through  which  it  winded,  was  now  less  easily  distin- 
guishable, although  the  whiteness  of  the  snow  afforded  some 
reflected  light  to  assist  his  search.  Directing  liimself  as  much 
as  possible  through  the  more  open  parts  of  the  wood,  he  pro- 
ceeded almost  a  mile  without  either  recovering  a  view  of  the 


G(/y  M ANN-BRING. 


light,  or  seeing  anything  resembling  a  habitationc  Slillj  however, 
he  thought  it  best  to  persevere  in  that  direction.  It  must 
surely  have  been  a  light  in  the  hut  of  a  forester,  for  it  shone 
too  steadily  to  be  the  glimmer  of  an  ignis  fahius.  The  ground 
at  length  became  broken,  and  declined  rapidly  ;  and  although 
Brown  conceived  he  still  moved  along  what  had  once  at  least 
been  a  pathway,  it  .  was  now  very  unequal,  and  the  snow 
concealing  those  breaches  and  inequalities,  the  traveler  had 
one  or  two  falls  in  consequence.  He  began  now  to  think  of 
turning  back,  especially  as  the  falling  snow,  which  his  impa- 
tience had  hitherto  prevented  his  attending  to,  was  coming  on 
thicker  and  fasten 

Willing,  however,  to  make  a  last  effort,  he  still  advanced  a 
little  way,  when,  to  his  great  delight,  he  beheld  the  light  oppo- 
site at  no  great  distance,  and  apparently  upon  a  level  with  him. 
He  quickly  found  that  this  last  appearance  was  deception,  for 
the  ground  continued  so  rapidly  to  sink,  as  made  it  obvious 
there  was  a  deep  dell,  or  ravine  of  some  kind,  between  him  and 
the  object  of  his  search.  Taking  every  precaution  to  preserve 
his  footing,  he  continued  to  descend  until  he  reached  the  bottom 
of  a  very  steep  and  narrow  glen,  through  which  winded  a  small 
rivulet,  whose  course  was  then  almost  choked  with  snow.  He 
now  found  himself  embarrassed  among  the  ruins  of  cottages, 
whose  black  gables,  rendered  more  distinguishable  by  the  con- 
trast with  the  whitened  surface  from  which  they  rose,  were  still 
standing  ;  the  side-walls  had  long  since  given  way  to  time,  and, 
piled  in  shapeless  heaps,  and  covered  with  snow^,  offered  fre- 
quent and  embarrassing  obstacles  to  our  traveler's  progresSc 
Still,  however,  he  persevered — crossed  the  rivulet,  not  without 
some  trouble,  and  at  length,  by  exertions  which  became  both 
painful  and  perilous,  ascended  its  opposite  and  very  rugged 
bank,  until  he  came  on  a  level  with  the  building  from  which 
the  gleam  proceeded. 

It  was  difficult,  especially  by  so  imperfect  a  light,  to  dis- 
cover the  nature  of  this  edifice  ;  but  it  seemed  a  square  building 
of  small  size,  the  upper  part  of  which  was  totally  ruinous.  It  had, 
perhaps,  been  the  abode,  in  former  times,  of  some  lesser  pro- 
prietor, or  a  place  of  strength  and  concealment  in  case  of  need 
for  one  of  greater  importance.  But  only  the  lower  vault  re- 
mained, the  arch  of  which  formed  the  roof  in  the  present,  state 
of  the  building.  Brown  first  approached  the  place  from  whence 
the  light  proceeded,  w^hich  was  a  long  narrow  slit  or  loophole, 
such  as  usually  are  to  be  found  in  old  castles.  Impelled  by  curi- 
osity to  reconnoitre  the  interior  of  this  strange  place  before  he 
entered,  Brown  gazed  in  at  this  aperture.    A  scene  of  greater 


GUY  MANNERTNG. 


desolation  could  iiot  be  well  imagined.  There  was  a  fire  upon 
the  floor,  the  smoke  of  which,  after  circling  through  the  apart- 
ment, escaped  by  a  hole  broken  in  the  arch  above.  The  walls, 
seen  by  this  smoky  light,  had  the  rude  and  waste  appearance  of 
a  ruin  of  three  centuries  old  at  least.  A  cask  or  two,  with 
some  broken  boxes  and  packages,  lay  about  the  place  in  con* 
fusion.  But  the  inmates  chiefly  occupied  Brown's  attention. 
Upon  a  lair  composed  of  straw,  with  a  blanket  stretched  ovei 
it,  lay  a  figure,  so  still,  that,  except  it  was  not  dressed  in  the  or- 
dinary habiliments  of  the  grave.  Brown  would  have  concluded 
it  to  be  a  corpse.  On  a  steadier  view  he  perceived  it  was  only 
on  the  point  of  becoming  so,  for  he  heard  one  or  two  of  those 
low,  deep,  and  hard-drawn  sighs,  that  precede  dissolution  when 
the  frame  is  tenacious  of  life.  A  female  figure,  dressed  in  a 
long  cloak,  sate  on  a  stone  by  this  miserable  couch  ;  her  el- 
bows rested  upon  her  knees,  and  her  face,  averted  from  the 
light  of  an  iron  lamp  beside  her,  was  bent  upon  that  of  the 
dying  person.  She  moistened  his  mouth  from  time  to  time 
with  some  liquid,  and  between  whiles  sung,  in  a  low,  monoto- 
nous cadence,  one  of  those  prayers,  or  rather  spells,  which,  in 
some  parts  of  Scotland,  and  the  north  of  England,  are  used  by 
the  vulgar  and  ignorant  to  speed  the  passage  of  a  parting  spirit, 
like  the  tolling  of  the  bell  in  Catholic  days.  She  accompanied 
this  dismal  sound  with  a  slow  rocking  motion  of  her  body  to 
and  fro,  as  if  to  keep  time  with  her  song.  The  words  ran 
nearly  thus  : — 

Wasted,  weary,  wherefore  stay,       Fear  not  snow-drift  driving  fast, 
Wrestling  thus  with  earth  and  clay  ?  Sleet  or  hail,  or  levin  blast; 
From  the  body  pass  away; —  Soon  the  shroud  shall  lap  thee  fast, 

Hark  !  the  mass  is  singing.  And  the  sleep  be  on  thee  cast 

That  shall  ne^er  know  waking. 

From  thee  doff  thy  mortalweed,  Haste  thee,  haste  thee,  to  be  gone, — • 
Mary  Mother  be  thy  speed,  Earth  flits  fast,  and  time  draws  on, — 

Saints  to  help  thee  at  thy  need; —     Gasp  thy  gasp,  and  groan  thy  groan. 
Hark  !  the  knell  is  ringing.  Day  is  near  the  breaking. 

The  songstress  paused,  and  was  answered  by  one  or  two 
deep  and  hollow  groans,  that  seemed  to  proceed  from  the  very 
agony  of  the  mortal  strife.  It  will  not  be,"  she  muttered  to 
herself ;  he  cannot  pass  away  with  that  on  his  mind — it  teth- 
ers him  here — 

Heaven  cannot  abide  it. 
Earth  refuses  to  hide  it.* 


•  Note  F.    Gypsy  Superstitions. 


Giry  MANN-RRING, 


153 


I  must  open  the  door  ;  "  and  rising,  she  faced  toward  the  door 
of  the  apartment,  observing  heedfully  not  to  turn  back  her 
head,  and  withdrawing  a  bolt  or  two  (for,  notwithstanding  the 
miserable  appearance  of  the  place,  the  door  was  cautiously 
secured),  she  lifted  the  latch  saying. 

Open  lock — end  strife, 
Come  death,  and  pass  life. 

Brown,  who  had  by  this  time  moved  from  his  post,  stood  before 
her  as  she  opened  the  door.  She  stepped  back  a  pace,  and  he 
entered,  instantly  recognizing,  but  with  no  comfortable  sensa- 
tion, the  same  gypsy  woman  whom  he  had  met  in  Bewcastle. 
She  also  knew  him  at  once,  and  her  attitude,  figure,  and  the 
anxiety  of  her  countenance,  assumed  the  appearance  of  the 
well-disposed  ogress  of  a  fairy  tale,  warning  a  stranger  not  to 
enter  the  dangerous  castle  of  her  husband.  The  first  words 
she  spoke  (holding  up  her  hands  in  a  reproving  manner)  were 
"  Said  I  not  to  ye,  Make  not,  meddle  not  t — Beware  of  the 
redding  straik !  ^  you  are  come  to  no  house  o'  fair-strae  death." 
So  saying,  she  raised  the  lamp,  and  turned  its  light  on  the 
dying  man,  whose  rude  and  harsh  features  were  now  convulsed 
with  the  last  agony.  A  roll  of  linen  about  his  head  was  stained 
with  blood,  which  had  soaked  also  through  the  blankets  and 
the  straw.  It  was,  indeed,  under  no  natural  disease,  that  the 
wretch  was  suffering.  Brown  started  back  from  this  horrible 
object,  and  turning  to  the  gypsy,  exclaimed,  "  Wretched  woman, 
who  has  done  this  " 

"They  that  were  permitted,"  answered  Meg  Merrilies, 
while  she  scanned  with  a  close  and  keen  glance  the  features  of 
the  expiring  man. — "  He  has  had  a  sair  struggle — but  it's  pass- 
ing :  I  kenn'd  he  would  pass  when  you  came  in. — That  was 
the  death-ruckle — he's  dead." 

Sounds  were  now  heard  at  a  distance,  as  of  voices.  "  They 
are  coming,"  she  said  to  Brown  ;  "  you  are  a  dead  man,  if  ye 
had  as  mony  lives  as  hairs."  Brown  eagerly  looked  round 
for  some  weapon  of  defence.  There  were  none  near.  He  then 
rushed  to  the  door  with  the  intention  of  plunging  among  the 
trees,  and  making  his  escape  by  flight,  from  what  he  now  es- 
teemed a  den  of  murderers,  but  Merrilies  heid  him  with  a  mas- 
culine grasp.  "  Here,"  she  said,  "  here — be  still,  and  you  are 
safe — stir  not,  whatever  you  see  or  hear,  and  nothing  shall 
befall  you." 

*  The  redding  straik,  namely  a  blow  received  by  a  pea,ce-maker  who  in- 
terferes betwixt  two  combatants,  to  red  or  separate  them,  is  proverbially 
said  to  be  the  most  dangerous  blow  a  man  can  receive. 


GUY  MANNERim. 


Brown,  in  these  desperate  circumstances,  remembered  this 
woman's  intimation  formerly,  and  thought  he  had  no  chance 
of  safety  but  in  obeying  her.  She  caused  him  to  crouch  down 
among  a  parcel  of  straw  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  apartment 
from  the  corpse,  covered  him  carefully,  and  flung  over  him  two 
or  three  old  sacks  which  lay  about  the  place.  Anxious  to 
observe  what  was  to  happen,  Brown  arranged,  as  softly  as  he 
could,  the  means  of  peeping  from  under  the  coverings  by  which 
he  was  hidden,  and  awaited  with  a  throbbing  heart  the  issue  of 
this  strange  and  most  unpleasant  adventure.  The  old  gypsy,  in 
the  mean  time,  set  about  arranging  the  dead  body,  composing 
its  limbs,  and  straightening  the  arms  by  its  side.  "  Best  to  do 
this,"  she  muttered,  "ere  he  stiffen."  She  placed  on  the  dead 
man's  breast  a  trencher,  with  salt  sprinkled  upon  it,  set  one 
candle  at  the  head,  and  another  at  the  feet  of  the  body,  and 
lighted  both.  Then  she  resumed  her  song,  and  awaited  the 
approach  of  those  whose  voices  had  been  heard  without. 

Brown  was  a  soldier,  and  a  brave  one  ;  but  he  was  also  a 
man,  and  at  this  moment  his  fears  mastered  his  courage  so 
completely,  that  the  cold  drops  burst  out  from  every  pore.  The 
idea  of  being  dragged  out  of  his  miserable  concealment  by 
wretches  whose  trade  was  that  of  midnight  murder,  without 
weapons  or  the  slightest  means  of  defence,  except  entreaties 
which  would  be  only  their  sport,  and  cries  for  help  which  could 
never  reach  other  ear  than  their  own — his  safety  entrusted  to 
the  precarious  compassion  of  a  being  associated  with  these 
felons,  and  whose  trade  of  rapine  and  imposture  must  have 
hardened  her  against  every  human  feeling — the  bitterness  of 
his  emotions  almost  choked  him.  He  endeavored  to  read  in 
her  withered  and  dark  countenance,  as  the  lamp  threw  its  light 
upon  her  features,  something  that  promised  those  feelings  of 
compassion,  which  females,  even  in  their  most  degraded  state, 
can  seldom  altogether  smother.  There  was  no  such  touch  of 
humanity  about  this  woman.  The  interest,  whatever  it  was, 
that  determined  her  in  his  favor,  arose  not  from  the  impulse 
of  compassion,  but  from  some  internal,  and  probably  capricious, 
associations  of  feelings,  to  which  he  had  no  clew.  It  rested, 
perhaps,  on  a  fancied  likeness,  such  as  Lady  Macbeth  found  to 
her  father  in  the  sleeping  monarch.  Such  were  the  reflections 
that  passed  in  rapid  succession  through  Brown's  mind  as  he 
gazed  from  his  hiding-place  upon  this  extraordinary  personage. 
Meantime  the  gang  did  not  yet  approach,  and  he  was  almost 
prompted  to  resume  his  original  intention  of  attempting  an 
escape  from  the  hut,  and  cursed  internally  his  own  irresolution, 


GUY  MANNERING. 


which  had  consented  to  his  being  cooped  up  where  he  had 
neither  room  for  resistance  nor  flight. 

Meg  Merrilies  seemed  equally  on  the  watch.  She  bent  her 
ear  to  every  sound  that  whistled  round  the  old  walls.  Then 
she  turned  again  to  the  dead  body,  and  found  something  new 
to  arrange  or  alter  in  its  position.  "  He's  a  bonny  corpse/' 
she  muttered  to  herself,  "  and  weel  worth  the  streaking." — And 
in  this  dismal  occupation  she  appeared  to  feel  a  sort  of  pro- 
fessional pleasure,  entering  slowly  into  all  the  minutiae,  as  if 
with  the  skill  and  feelings  of  a  connoisseur.  A  long  dark-colored 
sea-cloak,  which  she  dragged  out  of  a  corner,  was  disposed  for  a 
pall.  The  face  she  left  bare,  after  closing  the  mouth  and  eyes, 
and  arranged  the  capes  of  the  cloak  so  as  to  hide  the  bloody 
bandages,  and  give  the  body,  as  she  muttered,  a  mair  decent 
appearance." 

At  once  three  or  four  men,  equally  ruffians  in  appearance 
and  dress,  rushed  into  the  hut.  Meg,  ye  limb  of  Satan,  how 
dare  you  leave  the  door  open  ? "  was  the  first  salutatioh  of  the 
party. 

And  wha  ever  heard  of  a  door  being  barred  when  a  man 
was  in  the  dead-thrawi^ — how  d'ye  think  the  spirit  was  to  get 
awa  through  bolts  and  bars  like  thae  1 " 

Is  he  dead,  then  ?"  said  one  who  went  to  the  side  of  the 
couch  to  look  at  the  body. 

"  Ay,  ay — dead  enough,"  said  another — "  but  here's  what 
shall  give  him  a  rousing  lykewake."  So  saying,  he  fetched  a 
keg  of  spirits  from  a  corner,  while  Meg  hastened  to  display 
pipes  and  tobacco.  From  the  activity  with  which  she  under- 
took the  task.  Brown  conceived  good  hope  of  her  fidelity 
toward  her  guest.  It  was  obvious  that  she  wished  to  engage 
the  ruffians  in  their  debauch,  to  prevent  the  discovery  which 
might  take  place,  if,  by  accident,  any  of  them  should  approach 
too  nearly  the  place  of  Brown's  concealment. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

Nor  board  nor  garner  own  we  now, 

Nor  roof  nor  latched  door, 
Nor  kind  mate,  bound,  by  holy  vow 

To  bless  a  good  man's  store. 
Noon  lulls  us  in  a  gloomy  den, 

And  night  is  grown  our  day  ; 
Uprouse  ye,  then,  my  merry  men  ! 

And  use  it  as  ye  may. 

Joanna  Baillie. 

Brown  could  now  reckon  his  foes ; — they  were  five  in  num- 
ber ;  two  of  them  were  very  powerful  men,  who  appeared  to  be 
either  real  seamen,  or  strollers  who  assumed  that  character ; 
the  other  three,  an  old  man  and  two  lads,  were  slighter  made, 
and  from  their  black  hair  and  dark  complexion,  seemed  to 
belong  to  Meg's  tribe.  They  passed  from  one  to  another  the 
cup  out  of  which  they  drank  their  spirits.  Here's  to  his  good 
voyage  !  "  said  one  of  the  seamen,  drinking  ;  a  squally  night 
he's  got,  however,  to  drift  through  the  sky  in." 

We  omit  here  various  execrations  with  which  these  honest 
gentlemen  garnished  their  discourse,  retaining  only  such  of 
their  expletives  as  are  least  offensive. 

" 'A  does  not  mind  wind  and  weather — 'A  has  had  many 
a  north-easter  in  his  day." 

"  He  had  his  last  yesterday,"  said  another  grufHy ;  and 
now  old  Meg  may  pray  for  his  last  fair  wind,  as  she's  often 
done  before." 

"  I'll  pray  for  nane  o'  him,"  said  Meg,  "  nor  for  you  neither, 
you  randy  dog.  The  times  are  sair  altered  since  I  was  a  kitchen- 
mort."^  Men  were  men  then,  and  fought  other  in  the  open  field, 
and  there  was  nae  milling  in  the  darkmans.f  And  the  gentry 
had  kind  hearts,  and  would  have  given  baith  lap  and  pannel  % 
to  ony  puir  gypsy  ;  and  there  was  not  one,  from  Johnnie  Faa, 
the  upright  man,§  to  little  Christie  that  was  in  the  panniers, 
would  cloyed  a  dud  ||  from  them.  But  ye  are  a'  altered  from 
the  gude  auld  rules,  and  no  wonder  that  you  scour  the  cramp- 
ring  and  trine  to  the  cheat  IT  sae  often.  Yes,  ye  are  a'  altered 
—you'll  eat  the  goodman's  meat,  drink  his  drink,  sleep  on  the 

*  A  girl.  t  Murder  by  night.  X  Liquor  and  food. 

§  The  leader  (and  greatest  rogue)  of  the  gang.  ||  Stolen  a  rag, 

%  Get  imprisoned  and  hanged. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


Strammel'^  in  his  barn,  and  break  his  house  and  cut  his  throat 
for  his  [)ains  !  There's  blood  on  your  hands,  too,  ye  dogs — 
mair  than  ever  came  there  by  fair  fighting.  See  how  ye'll  die 
then — lang  it  was  ere  he  died — he  strove,  and  strove  sair,  and 
could  neither  die  nor  live  ; — but  you — half  the  couatry  will  see 
how  ye'll  grace  the  woodie/' 

The  party  set  up  a  hoarse  laugh  at  Meg's  prophecy. 

"  What  made  you  come  back  here,  ye  auld  beldam  ?  "  said  one 
of  the  gypsies  ;  "could  ye  not  have  staid  where  you  were,  and 
spaed  fortunes  to  the  Cumberland  flats  ?t — Bing  out  andtour,J 
ye  auld  devil,  and  see  that  nobody  has  scented ;  that's  a'  you're 
good  for  now." 

"  Is  that  a'  I  am  good  for  now  ?"  said  the  indignant  matron. 
"  I  was  good  for  mair  than  that  in  the  great  fight  between  our 
folk  and  Patrico  Salmon's  ,  If  I  had  not  helped  you  with  these 
very  fambles  (holding  up  her  hands),  Jean  Baillie  would  have 
frammagem'd  you,§  ye  feckless  do-little  !  " 

There  was  here  another  laugh,  at  the  expense  of  the  hero 
v^ho  had  received  this  amazon's  assistance. 

"  Here,  mother,"  said  one  of  the  sailors,  "  here's  a  cup  of 
the  right  for  you,  and  never  mind  that  bully-huff." 

Meg  drank  the  spirits,  and,  withdrawing  herself  from  further 
conversation,  sat  down  before  the  spot  where  Brown  lay  hid, 
in  such  a  posture  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  for  any  one 
to  have  approached  it  without  her  rising.  The  men,  however, 
showed  no  disposition  to  disturb  her. 

They  closed  around  the  fire,  and  held  deep  consultation 
together ;  but  the  low  tone  in  which  they  spoke,  and  the  cant 
language  which  they  used,  prevented  Brown  from  understanding 
much  of  their  conversation.  He  gathered  in  general,  that  they 
expressed  great  indignation  against  some  individual.  "  He 
shall  have  his  gruel,"  said  one,  and  then  whispered  something 
very  low  into  the  ear  of  his  comrade. 

"  I'll  have  nothing  to  do  with  that,"  said  the  other. 

"  Are  you  turned  hen-hearted.  Jack  ?  " 
No,  by  G — d,  no  more  than  yourself, — but  I  won't  ; — it 
was  something  like  that  stopped  all  the  trade  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  ago — you  have  heard  of  the  Loup  ? " 

I  have  heard  him  (indicating  the  corpse  by  a  jerk  of  his 
head)  tell  about  that  job.  G — d,  how  he  used  to  laugh  when 
he  showed  us  how  he  fetched  him  off  the  perch  !  " 

"Well,  but  it  did  up  the  trade  for  one  while,"  said  Jack. 

"  How  should  that  be  ?  "  asked  the  surly  villain. 


*  Straw.       t  Flats,  gulls.       J  Go  out  and  watch,       §  Throttled  yoq. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"Why,"  replied  Jack,  "the  people  got  rusty  about  it,  and 
would  not  deal,  and  they  had  bought  so  many  brooms  * 
that  "  

"  Well,  for  all  that,''  said  the  other,  "  I  think  we  should  be 
down  upon  the  fellow  one  of  these  darkmans,  and  let  him  get 
it  well." 

"  But  old  Meg's  asleep  now,"  said  another ;  "  she  grows  a 
driveler,  and  is  afraid  of  her  shadow.  She'll  sing  out,t  some 
of  these  odd-come-shortlies,  if  you  don't  look  sharp." 

"  Never  fear  "  said  the  old  gypsy  man  ;  "  Meg's  true  bred 
she's  the  last  in  the  gang  that  will  start — but  she  has  some 
queer  ways,  and  often  cuts  queer  words." 

With  more  of  this  gibberish,  they  continued  the  conversation, 
rendering  it  thus,  even  to  each  other,  a  dark  obscure  dialect, 
eiked  out  by  significant  nods  and  signs,  but  never  expressing 
distinctly,  or  in  plain  language,  the  subject  on  which  it  turned. 
At  length  one  of  them,  observing  Meg  was  still  fast  asleep,  or 
appeared  to  be  so,  desired  one  of  the  lads  "  to  hand  in  the  black 
Peter,  that  they  might  flick  it  open."  The  boy  stepped  to  the 
door  and  brought  in  a  portmanteau,  which  Brown  instantly 
recognized  for  his  own.  His  thoughts  immediately  turned  to 
the  unfortunate  lad  he  had  left  with  the  carriage.  Had  the 
ruffians  murdered  him  ?  was  the  horrible  doubt  that  crossed  his 
mind.  The  agony  of  his  attention  grew  yet  keener,  and  while 
the  villains  pulled  out  and  admired  the  different  articles  of  his 
clothes  and  linen,  he  eagerly  listened  for  some  indication  that 
might  intimate  the  fate  of  the  postilion.  But  the  ruffians  were 
too  much  delighted  with  their  prize,  and  too  much  busied  in 
examining  its  contents,  to  enter  into  any  detail  concerning  the 
manner  in  which  they  had  acquired  it.  The  portmanteau  con- 
tained various  articles  of  apparel,  a  pair  of  pistols,  a  leathern 
case  with  a  few  papers,  and  some  money,  etc.  etc.  At  any 
other  time  it  would  have  provoked  Brown  excessively  to  see  the 
unceremonious  manner  in  which  the  thieves  shared  his  prop- 
erty,  and  made  themselves  merry  at  the  expense  of  the  owner. 
But  the  moment  was  too  perilous  to  admit  any  thoughts  but 
what  had  immediate  reference  to  self-preservation. 

After  a  sufficient  scrutiny  into  the  portmanteau,  and  an 
equitable  division  of  its  contents,  the  ruffians  applied  them- 
selves more  closely  to  the  serious  occupation  of  drinking,  in 
which  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  Brown  was  for 
some  time  in  great  hopes  that  they  would  drink  so  deep  as  to 

*  Got  so  many  warrants  out. 

t  To  sinp;  out,  or  whistle  in  the  cage,  is  when  a  rogue,  being  appre 
bended,  peaches  against  his  comrade*. 


GUV  MANNERING, 


render  themselves  insensible,  when  his  escape  would  have 
been  an  easy  matter.  But  their  dangerous  trade  required  pre- 
cautions inconsistent  with  such  unlimited  indulgence,  and  they 
stopped  short  on  this  side  of  absolute  intoxication.  Three  of 
them  at  length  composed  themselves  to  rest,  while  the  fourth 
watched.  He  was  relieved  in  this  duty  by  one  of  the  others,  ^ 
after  a  vigil  of  two  hours.  When  the  second  watch  had  elapsed, 
the  sentinel  awakened  the  whole,  who,  to  Brown's  inexpressible 
relief,  began  to  make  some  preparations  as  if  for  departure, 
bundling  up  the  various  articles  which  each  had  appropriated. 
Still,  however,  there  remained  something  to  be  done.  Two  of 
them,  after  some  rummaging,  which  not  a  little  alarmed  Brown, 
produced  a  mattock  and  shovel  ;  another  took  a  pick-axe  from 
behind  the  straw  on  which  the  dead  body  was  extended.  With 
these  implements  two  of  them  left  the  hut,  and  the  remaining 
three,  two  of  whom  were  the  seamen,  very  strong  men,  still  re- 
mained in  garrison. 

After  the  space  of  about  half-an-hour,  one  of  those  who  had 
departed  again  returned,  and  whispered  the  others.  They 
wrapped  up  the  dead  body  in  the  sea-cloak  which  had  served 
as  a  pall,  and  went  out,  bearing  it  along  with  them.  The  aged 
sibyl  then  rose  from  her  real  or  feigned  slumbers.  She  first 
went  to  the  door,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  depart- 
ure of  her  late  inmates,  then  returned,  and  commanded  Brown, 
in  a  low  and  stifled  voice,  to  follow  her  instantly.  He  obeyed; 
but  on  leaving  the  hut  he  would  willingly  have  repossessed 
himself  of  his  money,  or  papers  at  least ;  but  this  she  prohibited 
in  the  most  peremptory  manner.  It  immediately  occurred  to 
him  that  the  suspicion  of  having  removed  anything,  of  which  he 
might  repossess  himself,  would  fall  upon  this  woman,  by  whom, 
in  all  probability,  his  life  had  been  saved.  He  therefore  im- 
mediately desisted  from  his  attempt,  contenting  himself  with 
seizing  a  cutlass,  which  one  of  the  ruffians  had  flung  aside 
among  the  straw.  On  his  feet,  and  possessed  of  this  weapon, 
he  already  found  himself  half  delivered  from  the  dangers  which 
beset  him.  Still,  however,  he  felt  stiffened  and  cramped,  both 
with  the  cold,  and  by  the  constrained  and  unaltered  position 
which  he  had  occupied  all  night.  But  as  he  followed  the  gypsy 
from  the  door  of  the  hut,  the  fresh  air  of  the  morning,  and  the 
action  of  walking,  restored  circulation  and  activity  to  his  be- 
numbed limbs. 

The  pale  light  of  a  winter's  morning  was  rendered  more  clear 
by  the  snow,  which  was  lying  all  around,  crisped  by  the  in- 
fluence of  a  severe  frost.  Brown  cast  a  hasty  glance  at  the 
landscape  around  him,  that  he  might  be  able  again  to  know  the 


GUY  MANNEkim. 


spot.  The  little  tower,  of  which  only  a  single  vault  remained, 
forming  the  dismal  apartment  in  which  he  had  spent  this  re- 
markable night,  was  perched  on  the  very  point  of  a  projecting 
rock  overhanging  the  rivulet.  It  was  accessible  only  on  one 
side,  and  that  from  the  ravine  or  glen  below.  On  the  other 
,  three  sides  the  bank  was  precipitous,  so  that  Brown  had  on  the 
preceding  evening  escaped  more  dangers  than  one ;  for  if  he 
had  attempted  to  go  round  the  building,  which  was  once  his 
purpose,  he  must  have  been  dashed  to  pieces.  The  dell  was 
so  narrow,  that  the  trees  met  in  some  places  from  the  opposite 
sides.  They  were  now  loaded  with  snow  instead  of  leaves,  and 
thus  formed  a  sort  of  frozen  canopy  over  the  rivulet  beneath, 
which  was  marked  by  its  darker  color,  as  it  soaked  its  way  ob- 
scurely through  wreaths  of  snow.  In  one  place,  where  the  glen 
was  a  little  wider,  leaving  a  small  piece  of  flat  ground  between 
the  rivulet  and  the  bank,  w^ere  situated  the  ruins  of  the  hamlet 
in  which  Brown  had  been  involved  on  the  preceding  evening. 
The  ruined  gables,  the  insides  of  which  were  japanned  with 
turf-smoke,  looked  yet  blacker,  contrasted  with  the  patches  of 
snow  which  had  been  driven  against  them  by  the  wind,  and 
with  the  drifts  which  lay  around  them. 

Upon  this  wintry  and  dismal  scene.  Brown  could  only  at 
present  cast  a  very  hasty  glance  ;  for  his  guide,  after  pausing 
an  instant,  as  if  to  permit  him  to  indulge  his  cvn'iosity,  strode 
hastily  before  him  down  the  path  which  led  into  the  glen.  He 
observed,  with  some  feelings  of  suspicion,  that  she  chose  a  track 
already  marked  by  several  feet,  which  he  could  only  suppose 
were  those  of  the  depredators  who  had  spent  the  night  in  the 
vault.  A  moment's  recollection,  however,  put  his  suspicions  to 
rest.  It  was  not  to  be  thought  that  the  woman,  who  might 
have  delivered  him  up  to  her  gang  when  in  a  state  totally  de- 
fenceless, would  have  suspended  her  supposed  treachery  until 
he  was  armed,  and  in  the  open  air,  and  had  so  many  better 
chances  of  defence  or  escape.  He  therefore  followed  his  guide 
in  confidence  and  silence.  They  crossed  the  small  brook  at 
the  same  place  where  it  previously  had  been  passed  by  those 
who  had  gone  before.  The  foot-marks  then  proceeded  through 
the  ruined  village,  and  from  thence  down  the  glen,  which  again 
narrowed  to  a  ravine,  after  the  small  opening  in  which  they 
were  situated.  But  the  gypsy  no  longer  followed  the  same 
track  ; — she  turned  aside,  and  led  the  way,  by  a  very  rugged 
and  uneven  path,  up  the  bank  which  overhung  the  village. 
Although  the  snow  in  many  places  hid  the  pathway,  and  ren- 
dered the  footing  uncertain  and  unsafe,  Meg  proceeded  with  a 
firm  and  determined  step,  which  indicated  an  intimate  knowl- 


GtlY  MANNERING. 


edge  of  the  ground  she  traversed.  At  length  they  gained  the 
top  of  the  bank,  though  by  a  passage  so  steep  and  intricate 
that  Brown,  though  convinced  it  was  the  same  by  which  he  had 
descended  on  tlie  night  before,  was  not  a  little  surprised  how 
he  had  accomplished  the  task  without  breaking  his  neck. 
Above,  the  country  opened  wide  and  unenclosed  for  about  a 
mile  or  two  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  were  thick  plan- 
tations of  considerable  extent. 

Meg,  however,  still  led  the  way  along  the  bank  of  the  ra- 
vine out  of  which  they  had  ascended,  until  she  heard  beneath 
the  murmur  of  voices.  She  then  pointed  to  a  deep  plantation 
of  trees  at  some  distance. — The  road  to  Kippletringan,"  she 
said,  ^'is  on  the  other  side  of  these  enclosures. — Make  the 
speed  ye  can  ;  there's  mair  rests  on  your  life  than  other  folk's. 
— But  you  have  lost  all — stay."  She  fumbled  in  an  immense 
pocket,  from  which  she  produced  a  greasy  purse. — Many's  the 
awmoiis  your  house  has  gi'en  Meg  and  hers — and  she  has  lived 
to  pay  it  back  in  a  small  degree  ;  " — and  she  placed  the  purse  in 
his  hand. 

"  The  woman  is  insane,"  thought  Brown  ;  but  it  was  no 
time  to  debate  the  point,  for  the  sounds  he  heard  in  the  ravine 
below  probably  proceeded  from  the  banditti.  How  shall  I 
repay  this  money,"  he  said,  "  or  how  acknowledge  the  kindness 
you  have  done  me  ?  " 

"  I  hae  twa  boons  to  crave,"  answered  the  sibyl,  speaking 
low  and  hastily :  one,  that  you  will  never  speak  of  what  you 
have  seen  this  night ;  tlie  other,  that  you  will  not  leave  this 
country  till  you  see  me  again — and  that  you  leave  word  at  the 
Gordon-Arms  where  you  are  to  be  heard  of ;  and  when  I  next 
call  for  you — be  it  in  church  or  market,  at  wedding  or  at  burial, 
Sunday  or  Saturday,  meal-time  or  fast-ng—that  ye  leave  every- 
thing  else  and  come  with  me." 

"  Why,  that  will  do  you  little  good,  morner." 

*'  But  'twill  do  yoursell  muckle,  and  that's  what  I'm  think- 
ing o'.  I  am  not  mad,  although  I  have  had  eneugh  to  make 
me  sae — I  am  not  mad,  nor  doating,  nor  drunken — I  know  what 
I  am  asking,  and  I  know  it  has  been  the  will  of  God  to  pre« 
serve  you  in  strange  dangers,  and  that  I  shall  be  the  instrument 
to  set  you  in  your  father's  seat  again. — Sae  give  me  your  prom- 
ise, and  mind  that  you  owe  your  life  to  me  this  blessed  night." 

"There's  wildness  in  her  manner,  certainly,"  thought 
Brown, — and  yet  it  is  more  like  the  wildness  of  energy  than 

of  madness.  Well,  mother,  since  you  do  ask  so  useless  and 

trifling  a  favor,  you  have  my  promise.    It  will  at  least  give  me 


l62 


GUY  MANNERlNO, 


an  opportunity  to  repay  your  money  with  additions.  You  are 
an  uncommon  kind  of  creditor ;  no  doubt,  but  ^'  

"  Away,  away,  then  !  said  she  waving  her  hand.  "  Think 
not  about  the  goud — it's  a'  your  ain  ;  but  remember  your  prom- 
ise, and  do  not  dare  to  follow  me  or  look  after  me.''  So  saying, 
she  plunged  again  into  the  dell,  and  descended  it  with  great 
agility,  the  icicles  and  snow  wreaths  showering  down  after  her 
as  she  disappeared. 

Notwithstanding  her  prohibition.  Brown  endeavored  to  gain 
some  point  of  the  bank  from  which  he  might,  unseen,  gaze  down 
into  the  glen  ;  and  with  some  difficulty  (for  it  must  be  conceived 
that  the  utmost  caution  was  necessary)  he  succeeded.  The  spot 
which  he  attained  for  this  purpose  was  the  point  of  a  projecting 
rock,  which  rose  precipitously  from  among  the  trees.  By  kneel- 
ing down  among  the  snow,  and  stretching  his  head  cautiously 
forward,  he  could  observe  what  was  going  on  in  the  bottom  of 
the  dell.  He  saw,  as  he  expected,  his  companions  of  the  last 
night,  now  joined  by  two  or  three  others.  They  had  cleared 
away  the  snow  from  the  foot  of  the  rock,  and  dug  a  deep  pit, 
which  was  designed  to  serve  the  purpose  of  a  grave.  Around 
this  they  now  stood,  and  lowered  into  it  something  wrapped  in 
a  naval  cloak,  which  Brown  instantly  concluded  to  be  the  dead 
body  of  the  man  he  had  seen  expire.  They  then  stood  silent 
for  half  a  minute,  as  if  under  some  touch  of  feeling  for  the  loss 
of  their  companion.  But  if  they  experienced  such,  they  did  not 
long  remain  under  its  influence,  for  all  hands  went  presently  to 
work  to  fill  up  the  grave ;  and  Brown,  perceiving  that  the  task 
would  be  soon  ended,  thought  it  best  to  take  the  gypsy-woman's 
hint,  and  walk  as  fast  as  possible  until  he  should  gain  the  shelter 
of  the  plantation. 

Having  arrived  under  cover  of  the  trees,  his  first  thought  was 
of  the  gypsy's  purse.  He  had  accepted  it  without  hesitation, 
though  with  something  like  a  feeling  of  degradation,  arising 
from  the  character  of  the  person  by  whom  he  was  thus  accom- 
modated. But  it  relieved  him  from  a  serious  though  temporary, 
embarrassment.  His  money,  excepting  a  very  few  shillings,  was 
in  his  portmanteau,  and  that  was  in  possession  of  Meg's  friends. 
Some  time  was  necessary  to  write  to  his  agent,  or  even  to  apply 
to  his  good  host,  at  Charlies-hope,  who  would  gladly  have 
supplied  him.  In  the  meantime,  he  resolved  to  avail  himself 
of  Meg's  subsidy,  confident  that  he  should  have  a  speedy 
opportunity  of  replacing  it  with  a  handsome  gratuity.  "It  can 
be  but  a  trifling  sum,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  and  I  dare  say  the 
good  lady  may  have  a  share  of  my  bank-notes  to  make 
amends." 


With  these  reflections  he  opened  the  leathern-purse,  expecting 
to  find  at  most  three  or  four  guineas.  But  how  much  was  he 
surprised  to  discover  that  it  contained.,  besides  a  considerable 
quantity  of  gold  pieces,  of  different  coinages  and  various 
countries,  the  joint  amount  of  which  could  not  be  short  of 
a  hundred  pounds,  several  valuable  rings  and  ornaments  set 
with  jewels,  and,  as  appeared  from  the  slight  inspection  he  had 
time  to  give  them,  of  very  considerable  value. 

Brown  was  equally  astonished  and  embarrassed  by  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  he  found  himself,  possessed,  as  he  now 
appeared  to  be,  of  property  to  a  much  greater  amount  than  his 
own,  but  which  had  been  obtained  in  all  probability  by  the  same 
nefarious  means  through  which  he  had  himself  been  plundered. 
His  first  thought  was  to  inquire  after  the  nearest  justice  of 
peace,  and  to  place  in  his  hands  the  treasure  of  which  he  had 
thus  unexpectedly  become  the  depositary,  telling,  at  the  same 
time,  his  own  remarkable  story.  But  a  moment's  consideration 
brought  several  objections  to  this  mode  of  procedure.  In  the 
first  place,  by  observing  this  course,  he  should  break  his  promise 
of  silence,  and  might  probably  by  that  means  involve  the  safety, 
perhaps  the  life,  of  this  woman,  who  had  risked  her  own  to 
preserve  his,  and  who  had  voluntarily  endowed  him  with  this 
treasure, — a  generosity  which  might  thus  become  the  means  of 
her  ruin.  This  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Besides,  he  was  a 
stranger,  and,  for  a  time  at  least,  unprovided  with  means  of 
establishing  his  own  character  and  credit  to  the  satisfaction  of  a 
stupid  or  obstinate  country  magistrate.  I  will  think  over  the 
matter  more  maturely,"  he  said  :  perhaps  there  may  be  a 
regiment  quartered  at  the  country-town,  in  which  case  my 
knowledge  of  the  service,  and  acquaintance  with  many  officers 
of  the  army,  cannot  fail  to  establish  my  situation  and  character 
by  evidence  which  a  civil  judge  could  not  sufficiently  estimate. 
And  then  I  shall  have  the  commanding-officer's  assistance  in 
managing  matters  so  as  to  screen  this  unhappy  mad  woman, 
whose  mistake  or  prejudice  has  been  so  fortunate  for  me.  A 
civil  magistrate  might  think  himself  obliged  to  send  out  warrants 
for  her  at  once,  and  the  consequence,  in  case  of  her  being  taking, 
is  pretty  evident.  No,  she  has  been  upon  honor  with  me  if 
she  were  the  devil,  and  I  will  be  equally  upon  honor  with  her 
— she  shall  have  the  privilege  of  a  court-martial,  where  the  point 
of  honor  can  qualify  strict  law.  Besides,  I  may  see  her  at  this 
place,  Kipple — Couple — what  did  she  call  it  !  and  then  I  can 
make  restitution  to  her,  and  e'en  let  the  law  claim  its  own  when 
it  can  secure  her.    In  the  meanwhile,  however,  I  cut  rather  an 


164 


GUY  MANNERING, 


awkwLrd  figure  for  one  who  has  the  honor  to  bear  his  Majesty^s 
commission,  being  little  better  than  the  receiver  of  stolen 
goods.'' 

With  these  reflections,  Brown  took  from  the  gypsy's  treasure 
three  or  four  guineas,  for  the  purpose  of  his  immediate  expenses, 
and  tying  up  the  rest  in  the  purse  which  contained  them, 
resolved  not  again  to  open  it,  until  he  could  either  restore  it  to 
her  by  whom  it  was  given,  or  put  it  into  the  hands  of  some 
public  functionary.  He  next  thought  of  the  cutlass,  and  his 
first  impulse  was  to  leave  it  in  the  plantation.  But  when  he 
considered  the  risk  of  meeting  with  these  ruffians,  he  could  not 
resolve  on  parting  with  his  arms.  His  walking-dress,  though 
plain,  had  so  much  of  a  military  character  as  suited  not  amiss 
with  his  having  such  a  weapon.  Besides,  though  the  custom  of 
wearing  swords  by  persons  out  of  uniform  had  been  gradually 
becoming  antiquated,  it  was  not  yet  so  totally  forgotten  as  to 
occasion  any  particular  remark  toward  those  who  chose  to 
adhere  to  it.  Retaining,  therefore,  his  weapon  of  defence,  and 
placing  the  purse  of  the  gypsy  in  a  private  pocket,  our  traveler 
strode  gallantly  on  through  the  wood  in  search  of  the  promised 
high  road. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINTH. 

All  school-day's  friendship,  childhood  innocence  I 
We,  Hermia,  like  two  artificial  gods, 
Have  with  our  needles  created  both  one  flower, 
Both  on  one  sampler,  sitting  on  one  cushion. 
Both  warbling  of  one  song,  both  in  one  key. 
As  if  our  hands,  our  sides,  voices,  and  minds, 
Had  been  incorporate. 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream. 


JULIA  MANNERING  TO  MATILDA  MARCHMONT. 

How  can  you  unbraid  me,  my  dearest  Matilda,  with  abate- 
ment in  friendship,  or  fluctuation  in  affection  ?  Is  it  possible  for 
me  to  forget  that  you  are  the  chosen  of  my  heart,  in  whose  failh- 
ful  bosom  1  have  deposited  every  feeling  which  your  poor  Julia 
dares  to  acknowledge  to  herself  ?  And  you  do  me  equa4  in- 
justice in  upbraiding  me  with  exchanging  your  friendship  for 


GUY  MANNERim. 


that  of  Lucy  Bertram.  I  assure  you  she  has  not  the  materials 
I  must  seek  for  in  a  bosom  confidante.  She  is  a  charming  girl, 
to  be  sure,  and  I  like  her  very  much,  and  I  confess  our  forenoon 
and  evening  engagements  have  left  me  less  time  for  the  exercise 
of  my  pen  than  our  proposed  regularity  of  correspondence  de- 
mands. But  she  is  totally  devoid  of  elegant  accomplishments, 
excepting  the  knowledge  of  French  and  Italian,  which  she 
acquired  from  the  most  grotesque  monster  you  ever  beheld, 
whom  my  father  has  engaged  as  a  kind  of  librarian,  and  whom 
he  patronizes,  I  believe  to  show  his  defiance  of  the  w^orld's 
opinion.  Colonel  Mannering  seems  to  have  formed  a  determi- 
nation, that  nothing  shall  be  considered  as  ridiculous,  so  long 
as  it  appertains  to  or  is  connected  with  him.  I  remember  in 
India  he  had  picked  up  somewhere  a  little  mongrel  cur,  with 
bandy  legs,  a  long  back,  and  huge  flapping  ears.  Of  this 
uncouth  creature  he  chose  to  make  a  favorite,  in  despite  of  all 
taste  and  opinion  ;  and  I  remember  one  instance  which  he 
alleged,  of  what  he  called  Brown's  petulance,  was,  that  he  had 
criticised  severely  the  crooked  legs  and  drooping  ears  of  Bingo. 
On  my  word,  Matilda,  I  believe  he  nurses  his  high  opinion  of 
this  most  awkward  of  all  pedants  upon  a  similar  principle.  He 
seats  the  creature  at  table,  where  he  pronounces  a  grace  that 
sounds  like  the  scream  of  the  man  in  the  square  that  used  to 
cry  mackerel, — flings  his  meat  down  his  throat  by  shovelfuls, 
like  a  dustman  loading  his  cart,  and  apparently  without  the 
most  distant  perception  of  what  he  is  sw^allowing, — then  bleats 
forth  another  unnatural  set  of  tones,  by  way  of  returning  thanks, 
stalks  out  of  the  room,  and  immerses  himself  among  a  parcel 
of  huge  worm-eaten  folios  that  are  as  uncouth  as  himself  !  I 
could  endure  the  creature  well  enough,  had  I  anybody  to  laugh 
at  him  along  with  me  ;  but  Lucy  Bertram,  if  I  but  verge  on 
the  border  of  a  jest  affecting  this  same  Mr.  Sampson  (such  is 
the  horrid  man's  horrid  name),  looks  so  piteous,  that  it  deprives 
me  of  all  spirit  to  proceed,  and  my  father  knits  his  brow,  flashes 
fire  from  his  eyes,  bites  his  lip,  and  says  something  that  is  ex- 
tremely  rude,  and  uncomfortable  to  my  feelings. 

"  It  was  not  of  this  creature,  however,  that  I  meant  to  speak 
to  you — only  that,  being  a  good  scholar  in  the  modern,  as  well 
as  the  ancient  languages,  he  has  contrived  to  make  Lucy 
Bertram  mistress  of  the  former,  and  she  has  only,  I  believe,  to 
thank  her  own  good  sense  or  obstinacy,  that  the  Greek,  Latin 
(and  Hebrew,  for  aught  I  know)  were  not  added  to  her 
acquisitions.  And  thus  she  really  has  a  great  fund  of  informa- 
tion, and  I  assure  you  I  am  daily  surprised  at  the  power  which 


she  seems  to  possess  of  amusing  herself  by  recalling  and  arrang- 
ing the  subjects  of  her  former  readins;.  We  read  together  every 
morning,  and  I  begin  to  like- Italian  much  better  than  when  we 
were  teased  by  that  conceited  animal  Cicipici ; — this  is  the  way 
to  spell  his  name,  and  not  Chichipichi — you  see  I  grow  a 
connoisseur. 

"  But  perhaps  I  like  Miss  Bertram  more  for  the  accomplish- 
ments she  wants,  than  for  the  knowledge  she  possesses.  She 
knows  nothing  of  music  whatever,  and  no  more  of  dancing  than 
is  here  common  to  the  meanest  peasants, — who,  by  the  way, 
dance  with  great  zeal  and  spirit.  So  that  I  am  instructor  in 
my  turn,  and  she  takes  with  great  gratitude  lessons  from  me 
upon  the  harpsichord,  and  I  have  even  taught  her  some  of  La 
Pique's  steps,  and  you  know  he  thought  me  a  promising 
scholar. 

"  In  the  evening,  papa  often  reads,  and  I  assure  you  he  is 
the  best  reader  of  poetry  you  ever  heard — not  like  that  actor, 
who  made  a  kind  of  jumble  between  reading  and  acting,  staring, 
and  bending  his  brow,  and  twisting  his  face,  and  gesticulating 
as  if  he  were  on  the  stage,  and  dressed  out  in  all  his  costume. 
My  father's  manner  is  quite  different — it  is  the  reading  of  a 
gentleman,  who  produces  effect  by  feeling,  taste,  and  inflection 
of  voice,  not  by  action  or  mummery.  Lucy  Bertram  rides  re- 
markably well,  and  I  can  now  accompany  her  on  horseback, 
having  become  emboldened  by  example.  We  walk  also  a  good 
deal  in  spite  of  the  cold.  So,  upon  the  whole,  I  have  not  quite 
so  much  time  for  writing  as  I  used  to  have. 

"  Besides,  my  love,  I  must  really  use  the  apology  of  all 
stupid  correspondents,  that  I  have  nothing  to  say.  My  hopes, 
my  fears,  my  anxieties  about  Brown,  are  of  a  less  interesting 
cast,  since  I  know  that  he  is  at  liberty,  and  in  health.  Besides, 
I  must  own,  I  think  that  by  this  time  the  gentleman  might  have 
given  me  some  intimation  what  he  was  doing.  Our  intercourse 
may  be  an  imprudent  one,  but  it  is  not  very  complimentary  to 
me,  that  Mr.  Vanbeest  Brown  should  be  the  first  to  discovei 
that  such  is  the  case,  and  to  break  off  in  consequence.  I  can 
promise  him  that  we  might  not  differ  much  in  opinion  should 
that  happen  to  be  his,  for  I  have  sometimes  thought  I  have  be- 
haved extremely  foolishly  in  that  matter.  Yet  I  have  so  good 
an  opinion  of  poor  Brown,  that  I  cannot  but  think  there  is 
something  extraordinary  in  his  silence. 

"  To  return  to  Lucy  Bertram. — No,  my  dearest  Matilda, 
she  can  never,  never  rival  you  in  my  regard,  so  that  all  your 
affectionate  jealousy  on  that  account  is  without  foundation* 


GUY  MANNEKING. 


167 


She  is,  to  be  sure,  a  very  pretty,  a  very  sensible,  a  very  affeo 
tionate  girl,  and  I  think  there  are  few  persons  to  whose  consol- 
atory friendship  I  could  have  recourse  more  freely  in  what  are 
called  the  real  evils  of  life.  But  then  these  so  seldom  come  in 
one's  way,  and  one  wants  a  friend  who  will  sympathize  with 
distresses  of  sentiment,  as  well  as  with  actual  misfortune. 
Heaven  knows,  and  you  know,  my  dearest  Matilda,  that  these 
of  the  heart  require  the  balm  of  sympathy  and  affection,  as  much 
as  the  evils  of  a  more  obvious  and  determinate  character.  Now 
Lucy  Bertram  has  nothing  of  this  kindly  sympathy — nothing  at 
all,  my  dearest  Matilda.  Were  I  sick  of  a  fever,  she  would  sit 
up  night  after  night  to  nurse  me  with  the  most  unrepining  pa- 
tience ;  but  with  the  fever  of  the  heart,  which  my  Matilda  has 
soothed  so  often,  she  has  no  more  sympathy  than  her  old  tutor. 
And  yet  what  provokes  me  is,  that  the  demure  monkey  actually 
has  a  lover  of  her  own,  and  that  their  mutual  affection  (for 
mutual  I  take  it  to  be)  has  a  great  deal  of  complicated  and 
romantic  interest.  She  was  once,  you  must  know,  a  great 
heiress,  but  was  ruined  by  the  prodigality  of  her  father,  and  the 
villany  of  a  horrid  man  in  whom  he  confided.  And  one  of  the 
handsomest  young  gentlemen  in  the  country  is  attached  to  her; 
but  as  he  is  heir  to  a  great  estate,  she  discourages  his  addresses 
on  account  of  the  disproportion  of  their  fortune. 

"But  with  all  this  moderation,  and  self-denial,  and  modesty, 
and  so  forth,  Lucy  is  a  sly  girl — I  am  sure  she  loves  young 
Hazlewood,  and  I  am  sure  he  has  some  guess  of  that,  and 
would  probably  bring  her  to  acknowledge  it  too,  if  my  father  or 
she  would  allow  him  an  opportunity.  But  you  must  know  the 
Colonel  is  always  himself  in  the  way  to  pay  Miss  Bertram  those 
attentions  which  afford  the  best  indirect  opportunities  for  a 
young  gentleman  in  Hazlewood's  situation.  I  would  have  my 
good  papa  take  care  that  he  does  not  himself  pay  the  usual 
penalty  of  meddling  folks.  I  assure  you,  if  I  were  Hazlewood, 
I  should  look  on  his  compliments,  his  bowings,  his  cloakings, 
his  shawlings,  and  his  handlings,  with  some  little  suspicion — 
and  truly  I  think  Hazlewood  does  so  too  at  some  odd  times. 
Then  imagine  what  a  silly  figure  your  poor  Julia  makes  on 
such  occasions  !  Here  is  my  father  making  the  agreeable  to  my 
friend;  there  is  young  Hazlewood  watching  every  word  of  her 
lips,  and  every  motion  of  her  eye  ;  and  I  have  not  the  poor 
satisfaction  of  interesting  a  human  being — not  even  the  exotic 
monster  of  a  parson,  for  even  he  sits  with  his  mouth  open,  and 
his  huge  round  goggling  eyes  fixed  like  those  of  a  statue,  ad- 
miring Mess  Baartram ! 

"  All  this  makes  me  sometimes  a  little  nervous,  and  some- 


i68 


GUY  MANNERING. 


times  a  little  mischievous.  I  was  so  provoked  at  my  father  and 
the  lovers  the  other  day  for  turning  me  completely  out  of  theii 
thoughts  and  society,  that  I  began  an  attack  upon  Hazlewood, 
from  which  it  was  impossible  for  him,  in  common  civility,  to 
escape.  He  insensibly  became  warm  in  his  defence. — I  assure 
you,  Matilda,  he  is  a  very  clever,  as  well  as  a  very  handsome 
young  man,  and  I  don't  think  I  ever  remember  having  seen 
him  to  the  same  advantage — when,  behold,  in  the  midst  of  our 
lively  conversation,  a  very  soft  sigh  from  Miss  Lucy  reached 
my  not  ungratified  ears.  I  was  greatly  too  generous  to  prose- 
cute my  victory  any  further,  even  if  I  had  not  been  afraid  of 
papa.  Luckily  for  me,  he  had  at  thac  moment  got  into  a  long 
description  of  the  peculiar  notions  and  manners  of  a  certain 
tribe  of  Indians,  who  live  far  up  the  country,  and  was  illustrat- 
ing them  by  making  drawings  on  Miss  Bertram's  work-patterns 
three  of  which  he  utterly  damaged,  by  introducing  among  the 
intricacies  of  the  pattern  his  specimens  of  Oriental  costume. 
But  I  believe  she  thought  as  little  of  her  own  gown  at  the  mo- 
ment as  of  the  India  turbands  and  cummerbands.  However,  it 
was  quite  as  well  for  me  that  he  did  not  see  all  the  merit  of 
my  little  manoeuvre,  for  he  is  as  sharp-sighted  as  a  hawk,  and  a 
sworn  enemy  to  the  slightest  shade  of  coquetry. 

Well,  Matilda, — Hazlewood  heard  this  same  half-audible 
sigh,  and  instantly  repented  his  temporary  attentions  to  such 
an  unworthy  object  as  your  Julia,  and,  with  a  very  comical 
expression  of  consciousness,  drew  near  to  Lucy's  work-table. 
He  made  some  trifling  observation,  and  her  reply  was  one  in 
which  nothing  but  an  ear  as  acute  as  that  of  a  lover,  or  a  curi- 
ous observer  like  myself,  could  have  distinguished  anything 
more  cold  and  dry  than  usual.  But  it  conveyed  reproof  to  the 
self-accusing  hero,  and  he  stood  abashed  accordingly.  You 
will  admit  that  I  was  called  upon  in  generosity  to  act  as  medi- 
ator. So  I  mingled  in  the  conversation,  in  the  quiet  tone  of 
an  unobserving  and  uninterested  third  party,  led  them  into 
their  former  habits  of  easy  chat,  and,  after  having  served  awhile 
as  the  channel  of  communication  through  which  they  chose  to 
address  each  other,  set  them  down  to  a  pensive  game  at  chess, 
and  very  dutifully  went  to  tease  papa,  who  was  still  busied 
with  his  drawings.  The  chess-players,  you  must  observe,  were 
placed  near  the  chimney,  beside  a  little  work-table,  which 
held  the  board  and  men — the  Colonel  at  some  distance  with 
lights  upon  a  library  table, — for  it  is  a  large  old-fashioned 
room,  with  several  recesses,  and  hung  with  grim  tapestry, 
representing  what  it  might  have  puzzled  the  artist  himself  to 
explain. 


G[/V  MANNERING, 


169 


"  *  Is  chess  a  very  interesting  game,  papa  ? ' 
"  *  I  am  told  so/   without  honoring  me  with  much  of  his 
notice. 

*  I  should  think  so,  from  the  attention  Mr.  Hazlewood  and 
Lucy  are  bestowing  on  it.' 

"  He  raised  his  head  hastily,  and  held  his  pencil  suspended 
for  an  instant.  Apparently  he  saw  nothing  that  excited  his 
suspicions,  for  he  was  resuming  the  folds  of  a  Mahratta's  turban 
in  tranquility,  when  I  interrupted  him  with — '  How  old  is  Miss 
Bertram,  sir  ? ' 

"  '  How  should  I  know,  Miss  t  about  your  own  age,  I 
suppose.' 

"  '  Older,  I  should  think,  sir.  You  are  always  telling  me 
how  much  more  decorously  she  goes  through  all  the  honors  of 
the  tea-table. — Lord,  papa,  what  if  you  should  give  her  a  right 
to  preside  once  and  forever !  ' 

Julia,  my  dear,'  returned  papa,  '  you  are  either  a  fool  out- 
right, or  you  are  more  disposed  to  make  mischief  than  I  have 
yet  believed  you.' 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  sir  !  put  your  best  construction  upon  it — I 
would  not  be  thought  a  fool  for  all  the  world.' 

"  *  Then  why  do  you  talk  like  one  ? '  said  my  father. 

"  *  Lord,  sir,  I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  so  foolish  in  what  I 
said  just  now.  Everybody  knows  you  are  a  very  handsome 
man'  (a  smile  was  just  visible),  ^  that  is,  for  your  time  of  life  ' 
(the  dawn  was  over  cast),  '  which  is  far  from  being  advanced, 
and  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  why  you  should  not  please  yourself 
if  you  have  a  mind.  I  am  sensible  I  am  but  a  thoughtless  girl, 
and  if  a  graver  companion  could  render  you  more  happy '  

"  There  was  a  mixture  of  displeasure  and  grave  affection  in 
the  manner  in  which  my  father  took  my  hand,  that  was  a  severe 
reproof  to  me  for  trifling  with  his  feelings.  *  Julia,'  he  said, 
*  1  bear  with  much  of  your  petulance,  because  I  think  I  have 
in  some  degree  deserved  it,  by  neglecting  to  superintend  your 
education  sufficiently  closely.  Yet  I  would  not  have  you  give 
it  the  rein  upon  a  subject  so  delicate.  If  you  do  not  respect 
the  feelings  of  your  surviving  parent  toward  the  memory  of 
her  whom  you  have  lost,  attend  at  least  to  the  sacred  claims  of 
misfortune  ;  and  observe,  that  the  slightest  hint  of  such  a  jest 
reaching  Miss  Bertram's  ears,  would  at  once  induce  her  to 
renounce  her  present  asylum,  and  go  forth,  without  a  protector, 
into  a  world  she  has  already  felt  so  unfriendly.' 

"  What  could  I  say  to  this,  Matilda  — I  only  cried  heartily, 
begged  pardon,  and  promised  to  be  a  good  girl  in  future.  And 
so  here  am  I  neutralized  again ;  for  I  cannot,  in  honor,  or 


170 


GC/V  MANNERING. 


common  good  nature,  tease  poor  Lucy  by  interfering  with 
Hazlewood,  although  she  has  so  little  confidence  in  me  ;  and 
neither  can  I,  after  this  grave  appeal,  venture  again  upon  such 
delicate  ground  with  papa.  So  I  burn  little  rolls  of  paper,  and 
sketch  Turks'  heads  upon  visiting  cards  with  the  blackened  end, 
— I  assure  you,  I  succeeded  in  making  a  superb  Hyder-Ally  last 
night — and  I  jingle  on  my  unfortunate  harpsichord,  and  begin 
at  the  end  of  a  grave  book  and  read  it  backward. — After  all,  I 
begin  to  be  very  much  vexed  about  Brown's  silence.  Had  he 
been  obliged  to  leave  the  country,  I  am  sure  he  would  at  least 
have  written  to  me. — Is  it  possible  that  my  father  can  have 
intercepted  his  letters  ?  But  no — that  is  contrary  to  all  his 
principles — I  don't  think  he  would  open  a  letter  addressed  to 
me  to-night,  to  prevent  my  jumping  out  of  window  to-morrow. 
— What  an  expression  I  have  suffered  to  escape  my  pen  !  I 
should  be  ashamed  of  it,  even  to  you,  Matilda,  and  used  in  jest. 
But  I  need  not  take  much  merit  for  acting  as  I  ought  to  do. 
This  same  Mr.  Vanbeest  Brown  is  by  no  means  so  very  ardent 
a  lover  as  to  hurry  the  object  of  his  attachment  into  such 
inconsiderate  steps.  He  gives  one  full  time  to  reflect,  that 
must  be  admitted.  However,  I  will  not  blame  him  unheard, 
nor  permit  myself,  to  doubt  the  manly  firmness  of  a  character 
which  I  have  so  often  extolled  to  you.  Were  he  capable  of 
doubt,  of  fear,  of  the  shadow  of  change,  I  should  have  little  to 
regret. 

And  why,  you  will  say,  when  I  expect  such  steady  and 
unalterable  constancy  from  a  lover,  why  should  I  be  anxious 
about  what  Hazlewood  does,  or  to  whom  he  offers  his  atten- 
tions ? — I  ask  myself  the  question  a  hundred  times  a-day,  and 
it  only  receives  the  very  silly  answer, — that  one  does  not  like 
to  be  neglected,  though  one  would  not  encourage  a  serious  in- 
fidelity. 

I  write  all  these  trifles,  because  you  say  that  they  amuse 
you,  and  yet  I  wonder  how  they  should.  I  remember,  in  our 
stolen  voyages  to  the  world  of  fiction,  you  always  admired  the 
grand  and  the  romantic — tales  of  knights,  dwarfs,  giants,  and 
distressed  damsels,  soothsayers,  visions,  beckoning  ghosts,  and 
bloody  hands, — whereas  I  was  partial  to  the  involved  intrigues 
of  private  life,  or  at  furthest,  to  so  much  only  of  the  super- 
natural as  Ts  conferred  by  the  agency  of  an  P^astern  genie  or  a 
beneficent  fairy.  You  would  have  loved  to  shape  your  course 
of  life  over  the  broad  ocean,  with  its  dead  calms  and  howling 
tempests,  its  tornadoes,  and  its  billows  mountain-high, — • 
whereas  I  should  like  to  trim  my  little  pinnace  to  a  brisk 
breeze  in  some  inland  lake  or  tranquil  bay,  where  there  was 


GUV  MANNERIMG. 


just  difficulty  of  navigation  sufficient  to  give  interest  and  to 
require  skill,  without  any  sensible  degree  of  danger.  So  that, 
upon  the  whole,  Matilda,  I  think  you  should  have  had  my 
father,  with  his  pride  of  arms  and  of  ancestry,  his  chivalrous 
point  of  honor,  his  high  talents,  and  his  abstruse  and  mystic 
studies  ; — you  should  have  had  Lucy  Bertram,  too,  for  your 
friend,  whose  fathers,  with  names  which  alike  defy  memory  and 
orthography,  ruled  over  this  romantic  country,  and  whose  birth 
took  place,  as  I  have  been  indistinctly  informed,  under  circum- 
stances of  deep  and  peculiar  interest ; — you  should  have  had, 
too,  our  Scottish  residence,  surrounded  by  mountains,  and  our 
lonely  walks  to  haunted  ruins.  And  I  should  have  had,  in 
exchange,  the  la^wns  and  shrubs,  and  green-houses,  and  con- 
servatories, of  Pine-park,  Vv^ith  your  good,  quiet,  indulgent  aunt, 
her  chapel  in  the  morning,  her  nap  after  dinner,  her  hand  at 
whist  in  the  evening,  not  forgetting  her  fat  coach-horses  and 
fatter  coachman.  Take  notice,  however,  that  Brown  is  not 
included  in  this  proposed  barter  of  mine  ; — his  good-humor, 
lively  conversation,  and  open  gallantry,  suit  my  plan  of  life,  as 
well  as  his  athletic  form,  handsome  features,  and  high  spirit, 
would  accord  with  a  character  of  chivalry.  So,  as  we  cannot 
change  altogether  out  and  out,  I  think  we  must  e'en  abide  as 
we  are." 


CHAPTER  THIRTIETH. 

Renounce  your  defiance  ;  if  you  parley  so  roughly, 

I'll  barricado  my  gates  against  you. — Do  you  see  yon  bay  window? 

Storm — I  care  not,  serving  the  good  Duke  of  Norfolk. 

Merry  Devil  of  Edmonton. 


JULIA  MANNERING  TO  MATILDA  MARCHMONT. 

"  I  RISE  from  a  sick-bed,  my  dearest  Matilda,  to  communi- 
cate the  strange  and  frightful  scenes  which  have  just  passed, 
Alas,  how  little  we  ought  to  jest  with  futurity !  I  closed  my  let- 
ter to  you  in  high  spirits,  with  some  flippant  remarks  on  your 
taste  for  the  romantic  and  extraordinary  in  fictitious  narrative. 
How  little  I  expected  to  have  had  such  events  to  record  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  !  And  to  witness  scenes  of  terror,  or  to 
contemplate  them  in  description,  is  as  different,  my  dearest 
Matilda,  as  to  bend  over  the  brink  of  a  precipice  holding  by  the 
frail  tenure  of  a  half-rooted  shrub,  or  to  admire  the  same  preci- 


Gt/y  MANNERING. 


pice  as  represented  in  the  landscape  of  Salvator.  But  I  will 
not  anticipate  my  narrative. 

"  The  first  part  of  my  story  is  frightful  enough,  though  it 
had  nothing  to  interest  my  feelings.  You  must  know  that  this 
country  is  particularly  favorable  to  the  commerce  of  a  set  of 
desperate  men  from  the  Isle  of  Man,  which  is  nearly  opposite. 
These  smugglers  are  numerous,  resolute,  and  formidable,  and 
have  at  different  times  become  the  dread  of  the  neighborhood 
when  any  one  has  interfered  with  their  contraband  trade.  The 
local  magistrates,  from  timidity  or  worse  motives,  have  become 
shy  of  acting  against  them,  and  impunity  has  rendered  them 
equally  daring  and  desperate.  With  all  this,  my  father,  a 
stranger  in  the  land,  and  invested  with  no  official  authority, 
had,  one  would  think,  nothing  to  do.  But  it  must  be  owned, 
that,  as  he  himself  expresses  it,  he  was  born  when  Mars  was 
lord  of  his  ascendant,  and  that  strife  and  bloodshed  find  him  out 
in  circumstances  and  situations  the  most  retired  and  pacific. 

About  eleven  o'clock  on  last  Tuesday  morning,  while 
Hazlewood  and  my  father  were  proposing  to  walk  to  a  little 
lake  about  three  miles'  distance,  for  the  purpose  of  shooting 
wild  ducks,  and  while  Lucy  and  I  were  busied  with  arranging 
our  plan  of  work  and  study  for  the  day,  we  were  alarmed  by  the 
sound  of  horses'  feet,  advancing  very  fast  up  the  avenue.  The 
ground  was  hardened  by  a  severe  frost,  which  made  the  clatter 
of  the  hoofs  sound  yet  louder  and  sharper.  In  a  moment  two 
or  three  men  armed,  mounted,  and  each  leading  a  spare  horse 
loaded  with  packages,  appeared  on  the  lawn,  and  without  keep- 
ing upon  the  road,  which  makes  a  small  sweep,  pushed  right 
across  for  the  door  of  the  house.  Their  appearance  was  in  the 
utmost  degree  hurried  and  disordered,  and  they  frequently 
looked  back  like  men  who  apprehended  a  close  and  deadly  pur- 
suit. My  father  and  Hazlewood  hurried  to  the  front  door  to 
demand  who  they  were,  and  what  was  their  business.  They 
were  revenue  officers,  they  stated,  who  had  seized  these  horses, 
loaded  with  contraband  articles,  at  a  place  about  three  miles 
off.  But  the  smugglers  had  been  reinforced,  and  were  now  pur- 
suing them  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  recovering  the  goods, 
and  putting  to  death  the  officers  who  had  presumed  to  do  their 
duty.  The  men  said,  that  their  horses  being  loaded,  and  the 
pursuers  gaining  ground  upon  them,  they  had  fled  to  Wood- 
bourne,  conceiving,  that  as  my  father  had  served  the  king,  he 
would  not  refuse  to  protect  the  servants  of  Government,  when 
threatened  to  be  murdered  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty. 

My  father,  to  whom,  in  his  enthusiastic  feelings  of  military 
loyalty,  even  a  dog  would  be  of  importance  if  he  came  in  the 


GUY  MANNERING. 


king's  name,  gave  prompt  orders  for  securing  the  goods  in  the 
hall,  arming  the  servants,  and  defending  the  house  in  case  it 
should  be  necessary.  Hazlewood  seconded  him  with  great 
spirit,  and  even  the  strange  animal  they  call  Sampson  stalked 
out  of  his  den,  and  seized  upon  a  fowling-piece,  which  my  father 
had  laid  aside  to  take  what  they  call  a  rifle-gun,  with  which 
they  shoot  tigers,  etc.,  in  the  East.  The  piece  went  off  in  the 
awkward  hands  of  the  poor  parson,  and  very  nearly  shot  one  of 
the  excisemen.  At  this  unexpected  and  involuntary  explosion 
of  his  weapon,  the  Dominie  (such  is  his  nickname)  exclaimed, 
'  Prodigious  !  ^  which  is  his  usual  ejaculation  when  astonished. 
But  no  power  could  force  the  man  to  part  with  his  discharged 
piece,  so  they  were  content  to  let  him  retain  it,  with  the  pre- 
caution of  trusting  him  with  no  ammunition.  This  (excepting 
the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  report)  escaped  my  notice  at  the 
time,  you  may  easily  believe ;  but  in  talking  over  the  scene 
afterward,  Hazlewood  made  us  very  merry  with  the  Dominie's 
ignorant  but  zealous  valor. 

"  When  my  father  had  got  everything  into  proper  order  for 
defence,  and  the  people  stationed  at  the  windows  with  their 
fire-arms,  he  wanted  to  order  us  out  of  danger — into  the  cellar, 
I  believe — but  we  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  stir.  Though 
terrified  to  death,  I  have  so  much  of  his  own  spirit,  that  I 
would  look  upon  the  peril  which  threatens  us,  rather  than  hear 
it  rage  around  me  without  knowing  its  nature  or  its  progress. 
Lucy  looking  as  pale  as  a  marble  statue,  and  keeping  her  eyes 
fixed  on  Hazlewood,  seemed  not  even  to  hear  the  prayers  with 
which  he  conjured  her  to  leave  the  front  of  the  house.  But,  in 
truth,  unless  the  hall  door  should  be  forced,  we  were  in  little 
danger — the  windows  being  almost  blocked  up  with  cushions 
and  pillows,  and,  what  the  Dominie  most  lamented,  with  folio 
volumes,  brought  hastily  from  the  library,  leaving  only  spaces 
through  which  the  defenders  might  fire  upon  the  assailants. 

"  My  father  had  now  made  his  dispositions,  and  we  sat  in 
breathless  expectation  in  the  darkened  apartment,  the  men 
remaining  all  silent  upon  their  posts,  in  anxious  contemplation 
probably  of  the  approaching  danger.  My  father,  who  was  quite 
at  home  in  such  a  scene,  walked  from  one  to  another,  and 
reiterated  his  orders,  that  no  one  should  presume  to  fire  until 
he  gave  the  word.  Hazlewood,  who  seemed  to  catch  courage 
from  his  eye,  acted  as  his  aide-de-camp,  and  displayed  the 
utmost  alertness  in  bearing  his  directions  from  one  place  to 
another,  and  seeing  them  properly  carried  into  execution.  Our 
force,  with  the  strangers  included,  might  amount  to  about 
twelve  men. 


174 


GUY  MAJVJVERTArC, 


**At  length  the  silence  of  this  awful  period  of  expectation 
was  broken  by  a  sound,  which,  at  a  distance,  was  like  the  rush- 
ing of  a  stream  of  water,  but,  as  it  approached,  we  distinguished 
the  thick-beating  clang  of  a  number  of  horses  advancing  very- 
fast.  I  had  arranged  a  loophole  for  myself,  from  which  I  could 
see  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  noise  increased  and  came 
nearer,  and  at  length  thirty  horsemen  and  more  rushed  at  once 
upon  the  lawn.  You  never  saw  such  horrid  wretches  !  Not- 
withstanding  the  severity  of  the  season,  they  were  most  of  them 
stripped  to  their  shirts  and  trowsers,  with  silk  handkerchiefs 
knotted  about  their  heads,  and  all  well  armed  with  carbines, 
pistols,  and  cutlasses.  I,  who  am  a  soldier's  daughter,  and 
accustomed  to  see  war  from  my  infancy,  was  never  so  terrified 
in  my  life  as  by  the  savage  appearance  of  these  ruffians,  their 
horses  reeking  with  the  speed  at  which  they  had  ridden,  and 
their  furious  exclamations  of  rage  and  disappointment  when 
they  saw  themselves  baulked  of  their  prey.  They  paused,  how- 
ever, when  they  saw  the  preparations  made  to  receive  them,  and 
appeared  to  hold  a  moment's  consultation  among  themselves. 
At  length,  one  of  the  party,  his  face  blackened  with  gunpowder 
by  way  of  disguise,  came  forward  with  a  white  handkerchief  on 
the  end  of  his  carbine,  and  asked  to  speak  with  Colonel  Man- 
nering.  My  father,  to  my  infinite  terror,  threw  open  a  window 
near  which  he  was  posted,  and  demanded  what  he  wanted. 

*  We  want  our  goods,  which  we  have  been  robbed  of  by  these 
sharks,'  said  the  fellow;  '  and  our  lieutenant  bids  me  say,  that 
if  they  are  delivered,  we'll  go  off  for  this  bout  without  clearing 
scores  with  the  rascals  who  took  them  ;  but  if  not,  we'll  burn 
the  house,  and  have  the  heart's  blood  of  every  one  in  it ; ' — a 
threat  which  he  repeated  more  than  once,  graced  by  a  fresh 
/ariety  of  imprecations,  and  the  most  horrid  denunciations  that 
cruelty  could  suggest. 

*  And  which  is  your  lieutenant  ? '  said  my  father  in  reply. 
*^'That  gentleman  on  the  gray  horse,'  said  the  miscreant, 

*  with  the  red  handkerchief  bound  about  his  brow.' 

"*Then  be  pleased  to  tell  that  gentleman,  that  if  he,  and 
the  scoundrels  who  are  with  him,  do  not  ride  off  the  lawn  this 
instant,  I  will  fire  upon  them  without  ceremony.'  So  saying, 
my  father  shut  the  window,  and  broke  short  the  conference. 

"The  fellow  no  sooner  regained  his  troop,  than,  with  a  loud 
hurra,  or  rather  a  savage  yell,  they  fired  a  volley  against  our 
garrison.  The  glass  of  the  windows  was  shattered  in  every 
direction,  but  the  precautions  already  noticed  saved  the  party 
within  from  suffering.  Three  such  volleys  were  fired  without 
a  shot  being  returned  from  within.    My  father  then  observed 


''«VCRSiTy  Of  ILUNOIS 


GUY  MANNERING. 


them  getting  hatchets  and  crows,  probably  to  assail  the  hall 
door,  and  called  aloud,  '  Let  none  fire  but  Hazlewood  and  me — 
Hazlewood,  mark  the  ambassador  ! '  He  himself  aimed  at  the 
man  on  the  gray  horse,  who  fell  on  receiving  his  shot.  Hazle- 
wood was  equally  successful.  He  shot  the  spokesman,  who  had 
dismounted,  and  was  advancing  with  an  axe  in  his  hand.  Their 
fall  discouraged  the  rest,  who  began  to  turn  round  their  horses  : 
and  a  few  shots  fired  at  them  soon  sent  them  ofT,  bearing  along 
with*them  their  slain  or  wounded  companions.  We  could  not 
observe  that  they  suffered  any  further  loss.  Shortly  after  their 
retreat,  a  party  of  soldiers  made  their  appearance,  to  my  infinite 
relief.  These  men  w^ere  quartered  at  a  village  some  miles 
distant,  and  had  marched  on  the  first  rumor  of  the  skirmish. 
A  part  of  them  escorted  the  terrified  revenue  officers  and  their 
seizure  to  a  neighboring  seaport  as  a  place  of  safety,  and  at 
my  earnest  request  two  or  three  files  remained  with  us  for  that 
and  the  following  day,  for  the  security  of  the  house  from  the 
vengeance  of  these  banditti. 

"  Such,  dearest  Matilda,  was  my  first  alarm.  I  must  not 
forget  to  add,  that  the  rufiians  left,  at  a  cottage  on  the  road- 
side, the  man  whose  face  was  blackened  with  powder,  apparently 
because  he  was  unable  to  bear  transportation.  He  died  in  about 
half  an  hour  after.  On  examining  the  corpse,  it  proved  to  be 
that  of  a  profligate  boor  in  the  neighborhood,  a  person  notori- 
ous as  a  poacher  and  smuggler.  We  received  many  messages 
of  congratulation  from  the  neighboring  families,  and  it  was 
generally  allow^ed  that  a  few  such  instances  of  spirited  resist- 
ance would  greatly  check  the  presumption  of  these  lawless  men. 
My  father  distributed  rewards  among  his  servants,  and  praised 
Hazlewood's  courage  and  coolness  to  the  skies.  Lucy  and  I 
came  in  for  a  share  of  his  applause,  because  we  had  stood  fire 
with  firmness,  and  had  not  disturbed  him  with  screams  or  ex- 
postulations. As  for  the  Dominie,  my  father  took  an  opportu- 
nity of  begging  to  exchange  snuff-boxes  with  him.  The  honest 
gentleman  was  much  flattered  with  the  proposal,  and  extolled 
the  beauty  of  his  new  snuff-box  excessively.  ^  It  looked,'  he 
said  *  as  well  as  if  it  were  real  gold  from  Ophir.'  Indeed  it 
would  be  odd  if  it  should  not,  being  formed  in  fact  of  that  very 
metal ;  but,  to  do  this  honest  creature  justice,  I  believe  the 
knowledge  of  its  real  value  would  not  enhance  his  sense  of  my 
father's  kindness,  supposing  it,  as  he  does,  to  be  pinchbeck 
gilded.  He  has  had  a  hard  task  replacing  the  folios  which 
were  used  in  the  barricade,  smoothing  out  the  creases  and 
dogs-ears,  and  repairing  the  other  disasters  they  have  sustained 
during  their  service  in  the  fortification.    He  brought  us  some 


176 


GUY  MANNERING. 


pieces  of  lead  and  bullets,  which  these  ponderous  tomes  had  in- 
tercepted during  the  action,  and  which  he  had  extracted  with 
great  care  ;  and,  were  I  in  spirits.  I  could  give  you  a  comic 
account  of  his  astonishment  at  the  apathy  with  which  we  heard 
of  the  wounds  and  mutilation  suffered  by  Thomas  Aquinas,  or 
the  venerable  Chrysostom.  But  I  am  not  in  spirits,  and  I  have 
yet  another  and  a  more  interesting  incident  to  communicatee 
I  feel,  however,  so  much  fatigued  with  my  present  exert  ion, 
that  I  cannot  resume  the  pen  till  to-morrow.  I  will  detain  this 
letter  notwithstanding,  that  you  may  not  feel  any  anxiety  upon 
account  of  your  own  Julia  Mannering/' 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIRST. 

Here's  a  good  world  ! 

 Knew  you  of  this  fair  work  ? 

King  John. 


JULIA  MANNERING  TO  MATILDA  MARCHMONT. 

"  I  MUST  take  up  the  thread  of  my  story,  my  dearest  Matilda, 
where  I  broke  off  yesterday. 

"  For  two  or  three  days  we  talked  of  nothing  but  our  siege 
and  its  probable  consequences,  and  dinned  into  my  lather's 
unwilling  ears  a  proposal  to  go  to  Edinburgh,  or  at  least  to 
Dumfries,  where  there  is  remarkably  good  society,  until  the 
resentment  of  these  outlaws  should  blow  over.  He  answered, 
with  great  composure,  that  he  had  no  mind  to  have  his  land- 
lord's house  and  his  own  property  at  Woodbourne  destroyed  \ 
that,  with  our  good  leave,  he  had  usually  been  esteemed  com- 
petent to  taking  measures  for  the  safety  or  protection  of  his 
family  ;  that  if  he  remained  quiet  at  home,  he  conceived  the 
welcome  the  villains  had  received  was  not  of  a  nature  to  invite 
a  second  visit,  but  should  he  show  any  signs  of  alarm,  it  would 
be  the  sure  way  to  incur  the  very  risk  which  we  were  afraid  of. 
Heartened  by  his  arguments,  and  by  the  extreme  indifference 
with  which  he  treated  the  supposed  danger,  we  began  to  grow 
a  little  bolder,  and  to  walk  about  as  usual.  Only  the  gentlemen 
were  sometimes  invited  to  take  their  guns  when  they  attended 
us ;  and  I  observed  that  my  father  for  several  nights  paid  par- 
ticular attention  to  having  the  house  properly  secured,  and  re- 
quired his  domestics  to  keep  their  arms  in  readiness  in  case  of 
necessity. 


GUY  MANNRRING. 


^11 


"  But  three  days  ago  chanced  an  occurrence,  of  a  nature 
which  alarmed  me  more  by  far  than  the  attack  of  the  smugglers. 

"  I  told  you  there  was  a  small  lake  at  some  distance  from 
Woodbourne,  where  the  gentlemen  sometimes  go  to  shoot  wild- 
fowl. I  happened  at  breakfast  to  say  I  should  like  to  see  this 
place  in  its  present  frozen  state,  occupied  by  skaters  and 
curlers,  as  they  call  those  who  play  a  particular  sort  of  game 
upon  the  ice.  There  is  snow  on  the  ground,  but  frozen  so  hard 
that  I  thought  Lucy  and  I  might  venture  to  that  distance,  as 
the  footpath  leading  there  was  well  beaten  by  the  repair  of 
those  who  frequented  it  for  pastime.  Hazlewood  instantly 
offered  to  attend  us,  and  we  stipulated  that  he  should  take  his 
fowling-piece.  He  laughed  a  good  deal  at  the  idea  of  going 
a-shooting  in  the  snow  ;  but,  to  relieve  our  tremors,  desired 
that  a  groom,  who  acts  as  gamekeeper  occasioijally,  should 
follow  us  with  his  gun.  As  for  Colonel  Mannering,  he  does 
not  like  crowds  or  sights  of  any  kind  were  human  figures  make 
up  the  show,  unless  indeed  it  were  a  military  review — so  he 
declined  the  party. 

"  We  set  out  unusually  early,  on  a  fine  frosty,  exhilarating 
morning,  and  we  felt  our  minds  as  well  as  our  nerves,  braced 
by  the  elasticity  of  the  pure  air.  Our  walk  to  the  lake  was 
delightful,  or  at  least  the  difficulties  were  only  such  as  diverted 
us, — a  slippery  descent,  for  instance,  or  a  frozen  ditch  to  cross, 
— which  made  Hazlewood's  assistance  absolutely  necessary.  I 
don't  think  Lucy  liked  her  walk  the  less  for  these  occasional 
embarrassments. 

The  scene  upon  the  lake  was  beautiful.  One  side  of  it  is 
bordered  by  a  steep  crag,  from  which  hung  a  thousand  enor- 
mous icicles,  all  glittering  in  the  sun  ;  on  the  other  side  was  a 
little  wood,  now  exhibiting  that  fantastic  appearance  which  the 
pine  trees  present  when  their  branches  are  loaded  with  snow. 
On  the  frozen  bosom  of  the  lake  itself  were  a  multitude  of  moving 
figures,  some  flitting  along  with  the  velocity  of  swallows,  some 
sweeping  in  the  most  graceful  circles,  and  others  deeply  inter- 
ested in  a  less  active  pastime,  crowding  around  the  spot  where 
the  inhabitants  of  two  rival  parishes  contended  for  the  prize  at 
curling, — an  honor  of  no  small  importance,  if  we  were  to  judge 
from  the  anxiety  expressed  both  by  the  players  and  bystanders. 
We  walked  round  the  little  lake,  supported  by  Hazlewood,  who 
lent  us  each  an  arm.  He  spoke,  poor  fellow,  with  great  kind- 
ness, to  old  and  young,  and  seemed  deservedly  popular  among 
the  assembled  crowd.    At  length  we  thought  of  retiring. 

"  Why  do  I  mention  these  trivial  occurrences  ? — not.  Heaven 
knows,  from  the  interest  I  can  now  attach  to  them — but  because, 


178 


GUY  MANNERTNG, 


like  a  drowning  man  who  catches  at  a  brittle  twig,  I  seize  every 
apology  for  delaying  the  subsequent  and  dreadful  part  of  my 
narrative.  But  it  must  be  communicated — I  must  have  the 
sympathy  of  at  least  one  friend  under  this  heartrending  calamity. 

We  were  returning  home  by  a  footpath  which  led  through 
a  plantation  of  firs.  Lucy  had  quitted  Hazlewood's  arm — it  is 
only  the  plea  of  absolute  necessity  which  reconciles  her  to 
accept  his  assfstance.  I  still  leaned  upon  his  other  arm.  Lucy 
followed  us  close,  and  the  servant  was  two  or  three  paces  behind 
us.  Such  was  our  position,  when  at  once,  and  as  if  he  had 
started  out  of  the  earth,  Brown  stood  before  us  at  a  short  turn 
of  the  road  !  He  was  very  plainly,  I  might  say  coarsely,  dressed, 
and  his  whole  appearance  had  in  it  something  wild  and  agitated. 
1  screamed  between  surprise  and  terror — Hazlewood  mistook 
the  nature  of  my  alarm,  and,  when  Brown  advanced  toward 
me  as  if  to  speak,  commanded  him  haughtily  to  stand  back.,  and 
not  to  alarm  the  lady.  Brown  replied,  with  equal  asperity,  he 
had  no  occasion  to  take  lessons  from  him  how  to  behave  to  that 
or  any  other  lady.  I  rather  believe  that  Hazlewood,  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  he  belonged  to  the  band  of  smugglers,  and 
had  some  bad  purpose  in  view,  heard  and  understood  him  im- 
perfectly. He  snatched  the  gun  from  the  servant,  who  had 
come  up  on  a  line  with  us,  and,  pointing  the  muzzle  at  Brown 
commanded  him  to  stand  off  at  his  peril.  My  screams,  for  my 
terror  prevented  my  finding  articulate  language,  only  hastened 
the  catastrophe.  Brown,  thus  menaced,  sprung  upon  Hazle- 
wood, grappled  with  him,  and  had  nearly  succeeded  in  wrenching 
the  fowling-piece  from  his  grasp,  when  the  gun  went  off  in  the 
struggle,  and  the  contents  were  lodged  in  Hazlewood^s  shoulder, 
who  instantly  fell.  I  saw  no  more,  for  the  whole  scene  reeled 
before  my  eyes,  and  I  fainted  away ;  but,  by  Lucy's  report,  the 
unhappy  perpetrator  of  this  action  gazed  a  moment  on  the  scene 
before  him,  until  her  screams  began  to  alarm  the  people  upon 
the  lake,  several  of  whom  now  came  in  sight.  He  then  bounded 
over  a  hedge  wliich  divided  the  footpath  from  the  plantation, 
and  has  not  since  been  heard  of.  The  servant  made  no  attempt 
to  stop  or  secure  him,  and  the  report  he  made  of  the  matter  to 
those  who  came  up  to  us,  induced  them  rather  to  exercise  their 
humanity  in  recalling  me  to  life,  than  sliow  their  couiage  by 
pursuing  a  desperado,  described  by  the  groom  as  a  man  of  tre* 
mendous  personal  strength,  and  completely  armed. 

Hazlewood  was  conveyed  home, — that  is,  to  Woodbourne 
in  safety ;  I  trust  his  wound  \A\\  prove  in  no  respect  dangerous, 
though  he  suffers  much.  But  to  Brown  the  consequences  must 
be  most  disastrous.    He  is  already  the  object  of  my  father's 


GUY  MAiVNERmc, 


179 


resentment,  and  he  has  now  incurred  danger  from  the  law  of 

the  country  as  well  as  from  the  clamorous  vengeance  of  the 
father  of  Hazlewood,  who  threatens  to  move  heaven  and  earth 
against  the  author  of  his  son's  wound.  How  will  he  be  able  to 
shroud  himself  from  the  vindictive  activity  of  the  pursuit  ?— 
how  to  defend  himself,  if  taken,  against  the  severity  of  laws 
which  I  am  told  may  even  affect  his  life  ?  and  how  can  I  find 
means  to  warn  him  of  his  danger  ?  Then  poor  Lucy's  ill-con- 
cealed grief,  occasioned  by  her  lover's  wound,  is  another  source 
of  distress  to  me,  and  everything  round  me  appears  to  bear 
witness  against  that  indiscretion  which  has  occasioned  this 
calamity. 

For  two  days  I  was  very  ill  indeed.  The  news  that  Hazle- 
wood was  recovering,  and  that  the  person  who  had  shot  him 
was  nowhere  to  be  traced,  only  that  for  certain  he  was  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  gang  of  smugglers,  gave  me  some  comfort. 
The  suspicion  and  pursuit  being  directed  toward  those  people, 
must  naturally  facilitate  Brown's  escape,  and,  I  trust,  has  ere 
this  insured  it.  But  patrols  of  horse  and  foot  traverse  the 
country  in  all  directions,  and  I  am  tortured  by  a  thousand  con- 
fused and  un authenticated  rumors  of  arrests  and  discoveries. 

Meanwhile,  my  greatest  source  of  comfort  is  the  generous 
candor  of  Hazlewood,  who  persists  in  declaring,  that  with  what- 
ever intentions  the  person  by  whom  he  was  wounded  ap- 
proached our  party,  he  is  convinced  the  gun  went  off  in  the 
struggle  by  accident,  and  that  the  injury  he  received  was  unde- 
signed. The  groom,  on  the  other  hand,  maintains  that  the 
piece  was  wrenched  out  of  Hazlewood's  hands,  and  deliberately 
pointed  at  his  body, — and  Lucy  inclines  to  the  same  opinion. 
I  do  not  suspect  them  of  wilful  exaggeration ;  yet  such  is  the 
fallacy  of  human  testimony,  for  the  unhappy  shot  was  most  un- 
questionably discharged  unintentionally.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
the  best  way  to  confide  the  whole  secret  to  Hazlewood — but  he 
is  very  young,  and  I  feel  the  utmost  repugnance  to  communi- 
cate to  him  my  folly.  I  once  thought  of  disclosing  the  mystery 
to  Lucy,  and  began  by  asking  what  she  recollected  of  the  person 
and  features  of  the  man  whom  we  had  so  unfortunately  met;—- 
but  she  ran  out  into  such  a  horrid  description  of  a  hedge-ruffian, 
that  I  was  deprived  of  all  courage  and  disposition  to  own  my 
attachment  to  one  of  such  appearance  as  she  attributed  to  him. 
I  must  say  Miss  Bertram  is  strangely  biassed  by  her  preposses- 
sions, for  there  are  few  handsomer  men  than  poor  Brown.  I 
had  not  seen  him  for  a  long  time  ;  and  even  in  his  strange  and 
sudden  apparition  on  this  unhappy  occasion,  and  under  every 
disadvantage,  his  form  seems  to  me,  on  reflection,  improved  in 


i8o 


GUY  MANNERING. 


grace,  and  his  features  in  expressive  dignity. — Shall  we  ever 
meet  again?'  Who  can  answer  that  question? — Write  to  me 
kindly,  my  dearest  Matilda — But  when  did  you  otherwise  ? — 
Yet,  again,  write  to  me  soon,  and  write  to  me  kindly.  I  am 
not  in  a  situation  to  profit  by  advice  or  reproof,  nor  have  I  my 
usual  spirits  to  parry  them  by  raillery.  I  feel  the  terrors  of  a 
child  who  has,  in  heedless  sport,  put  in  motion  some  powerful 
piece  of  machinery ;  and,  while  he  beholds  wheels  revolving, 
chains  clashing,  cylinders  rolling  around  him,  is  equally  aston- 
ished at  the  tremendous  powers  which  his  weak  agency  has 
called  into  action,  and  terrified  for  the  consequences  wdiich  he 
is  compelled  to  await,  without  the  possibility  of  averting  them, 
"  I  must  not  omit  to  say  that  my  father  is  very  kind  and 
affectionate.  The  alarm  which  I  have  received  forms  a  suffi- 
cient apology  for  my  nervous  complaints.  My  hopes  are,  that 
Brown  has  made  his  escape  into  the  sister  kingdom  of  England, 
or  perhaps  to  Ireland,  or  the  Isle  of  Man.  In  either  case,  he 
may  await  the  issue  of  Hazlewood's  wound  with  safety  and  with 
patience,  for  the  communication  of  these  countries  with  Scot- 
land for  the  purpose  of  justice,  is  not,  (thank  heaven)  of  an  in- 
timate nature.  The  consequences  of  his  being  apprehended 
would  be  terrible  at  this  moment. — I  endeavor  to  strengthen 
my  mind  by  arguing  against  the  possibility  of  such  a  calamity. 
Alas !  how  soon  have  sorrows  and  fears,  real  as  w^ell  as  severe, 
followed  the  uniform  and  tranquil  state  of  existence  at  which  so 
lately  I  was  disposed  to  repine  !  But  I  will  not  oppress  you 
any  longer  with  my  complaints.    Adieu,  my  dearest  Matilda! 

Julia  Mannering." 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SECOND. 

A  man  may  see  how  this  world  goes  with  no  eyes. — 

Look  with  thine  ears  :  See  how  yon  justice  rails  upon  yon  sintiple  thief. 

Hark  in  thine  ear — Change  places  ;  and,  handy-dandy. 

Which  is  the  justice,  which  is  the  thief  ?  ,         King  Lear. 

Among  those  who  took  the  most  lively  interest  in  endeavor- 
ing to  discover  the  person  by  whom  young  Charles  Hazlewood 
had  been  waylaid  and  wounded,  was  Gilbert  Glossin,  Esquire, 

late  writer  in  ,  now  Laird  of  Ellangowan,  and  one  of  the 

worshi}:)ful  commission  of  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  county  of 

■  .  His  moiiv(;s  for  exertion  on  this  occasion  were  manifold  ; 

but  we  presume  that  our  readers,  from  what  they  already  know 


GUY  MAN-NERING. 


of  this  gentleman,  will  acquit  him  of  being  actuated  by  any 
zealous  or  intemperate  love  of  abstract  justice. 

The  truth  was,  that  this  respectable  personage  felt  himself 
less  at  ease  than  he  had  expected,  after  his  machinations  put 
him  in  possession  of  his  benefactor's  estate.  His  reflections 
within  doors,  where  so  much  occurred  to  remind  him  of  former 
times,  w^ere  not  always  the  self-congratulations  of  successful 
stratagem.  And  when  he  looked  abroad,  he  could  not  but  be 
sensible  that  he  was  excluded  from  the  society  of  the  gentry  of 
the  county,  to  whose  rank  he  conceived  he  had  raised  himself. 
He  was  not  admitted  to  their  clubs  ;  and  at  meetings  of  a 
public  nature,  from  which  he  could  not  be  altogether  excluded, 
he  found  himself  thwarted  and  looked  upon  with  coldness  and 
contempt.  Both  principle  and  prejudice  co-operated  in  creating 
this  dislike  ;  for  the  gentleman  of  the  county  despised  him  for 
the  lowness  of  his  birth,  while  they  hated  him  for  the  means 
by  which  he  had  raised  his  fortune.  With  the  common  people 
his  reputation  stood  still  worse.  They  would  neither  yield  him 
the  territorial  appellation  of  Ellangowan,  nor  the  usual  compli- 
ment of  Mr,  Glossin  ; — with  them  he  was  bare  Glossin,  and  so 
incredibly  was  his  vanity  interested  by  this  trifling  circumstance, 
that  he  was  known  to  give  half-a-crown  to  a  beggar  because  he 
had  thrice  called  him  Ellangowan,  in  beseeching  him  for  a  penny. 
He  therefore  felt  acutely  the  general  want  of  respect,  and  partic- 
ularly when  he  contrasted  his  own  character  and  reception  in 
society  with  those  of  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  who,  in  far  inferior 
worldly  circumstances,  was  beloved  and  respected  both  by  rich 
and  poor,  and  was  slowly  but  securely  laying  the  foundation  of 
a  moderate  fortune,  with  the  general  good-will  and  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

Glossin,  while  he  repined  internally  at  what  he  would  fain 
have  called  the  prejudices  and  prepossessions  of  the  country, 
was  too  wise  to  make  any  open  complaint.  He  was  sensible  his 
elevation  was  too  recent  to  be  immediately  forgotten,  and  the 
means  by  which  he  had  attained  it  too  odious  to  be  soon  for- 
given. But  time  (thought  he)  diminishes  wonder  and  palliates 
misconduct.  With  the  dexterity,  therefore,  of  one  who  made 
his  fortune  by  studying  the  weak  points  of  human  nature,  he 
determined  to  lie  by  for  opportunities  to  make  himself  useful 
even  to  those  who  most  disliked  him  ;  trusting  that  his  own  abil- 
ities, the  disposition  of  country  gentlemen  to  get  int.'  ^:Juarrels, 
when  a  lawyer's  advice  becomes  precious,  and  a  thousand  other 
contingencies,  of  which,  with  patience  and  address,  he  doubted 
not  to  be  able  to  avail  himself,  would  soon  place  him  in  a  more 
important  and  respectable  light  to  his  neighbors,  and  perhaps 


aUY  MANNERim. 


raise  him  to  the  eminence  sometimes  attained  by  a  shrewd 
worldly,  bustling  man  of  business,  when,  settled  among  a 
generation  of  country  gentlemen,  he  becomes,  in  Burns's  lan- 
guage, 

The  tongue  of  the  trump  to  them  a'.* 

The  attack  on  Colonel  Mannering^s  house,  followed  by  the 
accident  of  Hazlewood^s  wound,  appeared  to  Glossin  a  proper 
opportunity  to  impress  upon  the  county  at  large  the  service 
which  could  be  rendered  by  an  active  magistrate  (for  he  had 
been  in  the  commission  for  some  time),  well  acquainted  with 
the  law,  and  no  less  so  with  the  haunts  and  habits  of  the  illicit 
traders.  He  had  acquired  the  latter  kind  of  experience  by  a 
former  close  alliance  with  some  of  the  most  desperate  smugglers, 
in  consequence  of  which  he  had  occasionally  acted,  sometimes 
as  partner,  sometnnes  as  legal  adviser,  with  these  persons.  But 
the  connexion  had  been  dropped  many  years  ;  nor,  considering 
how  short  the  race  of  eminent  characters  of  this  description,  and 
the  frequent  circumstances  which  occur  to  make  them  retire  from 
particular  scenes  of  action,  had  he  the  least  reason  to  think  that 
his  present  researches  could  possibly  compromise  any  old  friend 
who  might  possess  means  of  retaliation.  The  having  been  con- 
cerned in  these  practices  abstractedly,  was  a  circumstance 
which,  according  to  his  opinion,  ought  in  no  respect  to  interfere 
with  his  now  using  his  experience  in  behalf  of  the  public, — or 
rather  to  further  his  own  private  views.  To  acquire  the  good 
opinion  and  countenance  of  Colonel  Mannering  would  be  no 
small  object  to  a  gentleman  who  was  much  disposed  to  escape 
from  Coventry ;  and  to  gain  the  favor  of  old  Hazlewood,  who 
was  a  leading  man  in  the  county,  was  of  more  importance  still. 
Lastly,  if  he  should  succeed  in  discovering,  apprehending, 
and  convicting  the  culprits,  he  would  have  the  satisfaction  of 
mortifying,  and  in  come  degree  disparaging  Mac-Morlan,  to 
whom,  as  Sheriff-Substitute  of  the  county,  this  sort  of  investiga- 
tion properly  belonged,  and  who  would  certainly  suffer  in  pub- 
lic opinion,  should  the  voluntary  exertions  of  Glossin  be  more 
successful  than  his  own. 

Actuated  by  motives  so  stimulating,  and  well  acquainted 
with  the  lower  retainers  of  the  law,  Glossin  set  every  spring  in 
motion  to  detect  and  apprehend,  if  possible,  some  of  the  gang 
who  had  attacked  Woodbourne,  and  more  particularly  the  indi- 
vidual who  had  wounded  Charles  Hazlewood.  He  promised 
high  rewards,  he  suggested  various  schemes,  and  used  his  per- 

*  The  tonfrtipof  the  trump  is  the  wire  the  Jew's  harp,  that  which  givea 
sound  to  the  whole  instrument. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


sonal  interest  among  his  old  acquaintances  who  favored  the 
trade,  urging  that  they  had  better  make  sacrifice  of  an  under- 
strapper or  two,  than  incur  the  odium  of  having  favored 
such  atrocious  proceedings.  But  for  some  time  all  these  exer- 
tions were  in  vain.  The  common  people  of  the  country  either 
favored  or  feared  the  smugglers  too  much  to  afford  any  evi- 
dence against  them.  At  length,  this  busy  magistrate  obtained 
information,  that  a  man,  having  the  dress  and  appearance  of 
the  person  who  had  wounded  Hazlewood,  had  lodged  on  the  even- 
ing before  the  rencontre  at  the  Gordon-Arms  in  Kippletringan, 
Thither  Mr.  Glossin  immediately  went,  for  the  purpose  of  inter 
rogating  our  old  acquaintance,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  Mr.  Glossin  did  not,  accord- 
ing to  this  good  woman's  phrase,  stand  high  in  her  books.  She 
therefore  attended  his  summons  to  the  parlor  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly, and,  on  entering  the  room,  paid  her  respects  in  the 
coldest  possible  manner.  The  dialogue  then  proceeded  as 
follows : — 

A  fine  frosty  morning,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish.** 
"Ay,  sir;  the  morning's  weel  eneugh,"  answered  the  land- 
lady dryly. 

Mrs.  Mac-Candish,  I  wish  to  know  if  the  justices  are 
to  dine  here  as  usual  after  the  business  of  the  court  on  Tues- 
day ?  " 

"  I  believe— I  fancy  sae,  sir — as  usual '' — (about  to  leave 
the  room.) 

Stay  a  moment,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish — why,  you  are  in  a 
prodigious  hurry,  my  good  friend  ?    I  have  been  thinking  a  club 
dining  here  once  a  month  would  be  a  very  pleasant  thing." 
"  Certainly,  sir  ;  a  club  of  respectable  gentlemen." 

True,  true,"  said  Glossin,  I  mean  landed  proprietors  and 
gentlemen  of  weight  in  the  county  ;  and  I  should  like  to  set 
such  a  thing  a-going." 

The  short  dry  cough  with  which  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  received 
this  proposal,  by  no  means  indicated  any  dislike  to  the  overture 
abstractedly  considered,  but  inferred  much  doubt  how  far  it 
would  succeed  under  the  auspices  of  the  gentleman  by  whom  it 
was  proposed.  It  was  not  a  cough  negative,  but  a  cough 
dubious,  and  as  such  Glossin  felt  it  ;  but  it  was  not  his  cue  to 
take  offence. 

Have  their  been  brislc  doings  on  the  road,  Mrs.  Mac- 
Candish  t  plenty  of  company,  I  suppose  t  " 

Pretty  weel,  sir, — but  I  believe  I  am  wanted  at  the  bar." 
No,  no, — stop  one  moment,  cannot  you,  to  oblige  an  old 


i84 


GUY  MANNERINC. 


customer  ?  Pray,  do  you  remember  a  remarkably  tall  young 
man,  who  lodged  one  night  in  your  house  last  week  ? 

Troth,  sir,  I  canna  weel  say — I  never  take  heed  whether 
my  company  be  lang  or  short,  if  they  make  a  lang  bill/^ 

"  And  if  they  do  not,  you  can  do  that  for  them,  eh,  Mrs, 
Mac-Candlish  ? — ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! — But  this  young  man  that  I  in* 
quire  after  was  upward  of  six  feet  high,  had  a  dark  frock,  with 
metal  buttons,  light-brown  hair  unpowdered,  blue  eyes,  and  a 
straight  nose,  traveled  on  foot,  and  no  servant  or  baggage, — you 
surely  can  remember  having  seen  such  a  traveler? 

Indeed,  sir,^'  answered  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  bent  onbafifling 
his  inquiries,  "  I  canna  charge  my  memory  about  the  matter — 
there's  mair  to  do  in  a  house  like  this,  I  trow,  than  to  look  after 
passengers'  hair,  or  their  een,  or  noses  either." 

Then,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  I  must  tell  you  in  plain  terms, 
that  this  person  is  suspected  of  having  been  guilty  of  a  crime ; 
and  it  is  in  consequence  of  these  suspicions  that  I  as  a  magis- 
trate, require  this  information  from  you — and  if  you  refuse  to 
answer  my  questions,  I  must  put  you  upon  your  oath." 

"Troth,  sir,  I  am  no  free  to  swear  — we  aye  gaed  to  the 
Antiburgher  meeting — it's  very  true,  in  Bailie  Mac-Candlish's 
time  (honest  man)  we  keepit  the  kirk,  whilk  was  most  seem- 
ingly in  his  station,  as  having  office — but  after  his  being  called 
to  a  better  place  than  Kippletringan,  I  hae  gane  back  to  worthy 
Maister  Mac-Grainer.  And  so  ye  see,  sir,  I  am  no  clear  to* 
swear  without  speaking  to  the  minister — especially  against  ony 
sackless  puir  young  thing  that's  gaun  through  the  country, 
stranger  and  freendless  like." 

"I  shall  relieve  your  scruples,  perhaps,  without  troubling 
Mr.  Mac-Grainer,  when  I  tell  you  that  this  fellow  whom  I 
inquire  after  is  the  man  who  shot  your  young  friend  Charles 
Hazlewood." 

"  Gudeness  !  wha  could  hae  thought  the  like  o'  that  o'  him  ? 
— Na,  if  it  had  been  for  debt  or  e'en  for  a  bit  tuilzie  wi'  the 
ganger,  the  deil  o'  Nelly  Mac-Candlish's  tongue  should  ever 
hae  wranged  him.  But  if  he  really  shot  young  Hazlewood — - 
but  I  canna  think  it,  Mr.  Glossin  ;  this  will  be  some  o'  yer 
skitst  now — I  canna  think  it  o'  sae  douce  a  lad  ; — na,  /la,  this 
is  just  some  o'  your  auld  skits — ye'll  be  for  having  a  horning 
or  a  caption  after  him." 

"  I  see  you  have  no  confidence  m  me,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  ; 
but  look  at  these  declarations,  signed  by  the  persons  who  saw 


»  Some  of  the  strict  dissenters  decline  taking  an  oath  before  a  civi/ 
gistratc.  t  Tricks. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


the  crime  committed,  and  judge  yourself  if  the  description  oi 
the  rufhan  be  not  that  of  your  guest.'* 

He  put  the  papers  into  her  hand,  which  she  perused  very 
carefully,  often  taking  off  her  spectacles  to  cast  her  eyes  up  to 
heaven,  or  perhaps  to  wipe  a  tear  from  them,  for  young  Hazle- 
wood  was  an  especial  favorite  with  the  good  dame.  "  Aweel, 
aweel,''  she  said,  when  she  had  concluded  her  examination, 
"since  it's  e'en  sae,  I  gie  him  up,  the  villain — But  O,  we  are 
erring  mortals  ! — I  never  saw  a  face  I  liked  better,  or  a  lad 
that  was  mair  douce  and  canny — I  thought  he  had  been  some 
gentleman  under  trouble. — But  I  gie  him  up,  the  villain  ! — to 
shoot  Charles  Ilazlewood — and  before  the  young  ladies, — poor 
innocent  things  ! — I  gie  him  up." 

"  So  you  admit,  then,  that  such  a  person  lodged  here  the 
night  before  this  vile  business  ?  " 

"  Troth  did  he,  sir,  and  a'  the  house  were  taen  wi'  him,  he 
was  sic  a  frank,  pleasant  young  man.  It  wasna  for  his  spend- 
ing, Tm  sure,  for  he  just  had  a  mutton-chop,  and  a  mug  of  ale, 
and  maybe  a  glass  or  twa  o'  wine — and  I  asked  him  to  drink 
tea  wi*  mysell,  and  didna  put  that  into  the  bill ;  and  he  took 
nae  supper,  for  he  said  he  was  defeat  wi'  travel  a'  the  night 
afore — I  daresay  now  it  had  been  on  some  hellicat  errand  or 
other." 

"  Did  you  by  any  chance  learn  his  name  ?  " 

"  I  wot  weel  did  I,"  said  the  landlad}-,  now  as  eager  to 
communicate  her  evidence  as  formerly  desirous  to  suppress  it. 
*'  He  teird  me  his  name  was  Brown,  and  he  said  it  was  likely 
that  an  auld  woman  like  a  gypsy  wife  might  be  asking  for  him. 
Ay,  ay  !  tell  me  your  company,  and  I'll  tell  you  wha  ye  are  !  O 
the  villain  ! — Aweel,  sir,  when  he  gaed  away  in  the  morning,  he 
paid  his  bill  very  honestly;  and  gae  something  to  the  chamber- 
maid, nae  doubt,  for  Grizzy  has  naething  frae  me,  by  twa  pair 
new  shoon  ilka  year,  and  maybe  a  bit  compliment  at  Hansel 

Monanday  "  Here  Glossin  found  it  necessary  to  interfere, 

and  bring  the  good  woman  back  to  the  point. 

"Ou  then,  he  just  said,  if  there  comes  such  a  person  to 
inquire  after  Mr.  Brown,  you  will  say  I  am  gone  to  look  at  the 
skaters  on  Loch  Creeran,  as  you  call  it,  and  I  will  be  back 
here  to  dinner — But  he  never  came  back — though  I  expected 
him  sae  faithfully,  that  I  gae  a  look  to  making  the  friar's 
chicken  mysell,  and  to  the  crappit-heads  too,  and  that's  what  I 
dinna  do  for  ordinary,  Mr.  Glossin — But  little  did  I  think  what 
skating  wark  he  was  gaun  about — to  shoot  Mr.  Charles,  the 
innocent  lamb  !  " 

"  Mr.  Glossin,  having  like  a  prudent  e:JcamInator,  suffered 


i86 


GUY  MAiYNERING, 


his  witness  to  give  vent  to  all  her  surprise  and  indignation 
now  began  to  inquire  whether  the  suspected  person  had  left 
any  property  or  papers  about  ihe  inn. 

Troth,  he  put  a  parcel — a  sma'  parcel,  under  my  charge, 
and  he  gave  me  some  siller,  and  desired  me  to  get  him  half-a- 
dozen  ruffled  sarks,  and  Peg  Pasley's  in  hands  wi'  them  e'en 
now — they  may  serve  him  to  gang  up  the  Lawnmarket  in,  the 
scoundrel!''*  Mr.  Glossin  then  demanded  to  see  the  packet, 
but  here  mine  hostess  demurred. 

She  didna  ken — she  wad  not  say  but  justice  should  take 
its  course — but  when  a  thing  was  trusted  to  ane  in  her  way. 
doubtless  they  were  responsible — but  she  suld  cry  in  Deacon 
Bearcliff,  and  if  Mr.  Glossin  liked  to  tak  an  inventar  o'  the 
property,  and  gie  her  a  receipt  before  the  Deacon — or,  what  she 
wad  like  muckle  better,  an'  it  could  be  sealed  up  and  left  in 
Deacon  Bearcliff's  hands,  it  wad  mak  her  mind  easy — she  was 
for  naething  but  justice  on  a'  sides." 

Mrs.  Mac-Candlish's  natural  sagacity  and  acquired  suspicion 
being  inflexible,  Glossin  sent  for  Deacon  Bearcliff,  to  speak 
anent  the  villain  that  had  shot  Mr.  Charles  Hazlewood."  The 
Deacon  accordingly  made  his  appearance,  with  his  v/ig  awry, 
owing  to  the  hurry  with  which,  at  this  summons  of  the  Justice, 
he  had  exchanged  it  for  the  Kilmarnock-cap  in  which  he  usually 
attended  his  customers.  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  then  produced  the 
parcel  deposited  with  her  by  Brown,  in  which  was  found  the 
gypsy's  purse.  On  perceiving  the  value  of  the  miscellaneous 
contents,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  internally  congratulated  herself 
upon  the  precautions  she  had  taken  before  delivering  them  up 
to  Glossin,  while  he,  with  an  appearance  of  disinterested  candor, 
was  the  first  to  propose  they  should  be  properly  inventoried, 
and  deposited  with  Deacon  Bearcliff,  until  they  should  be  sent 
to  the  Crown  office.  *^  He  did  not,"  he  observed,  "  like  to  be 
personally  responsible  for  articles  which  seemed  of  considerable 
value,  and  had  doubtless  been  acquired  by  the  most  nefarious 
practices." 

He  then  examined  the  paper  in  which  the  purse  had  been 
wrapt  up.  It  was  back  of  a  letter  addressed  to  V.  l>rown 
Esquire,  but  the  rest  of  the  address  was  torn  away.  The 
landlady, — nov/  as  eager  to  throw  light  upon  the  criminal's 
escape  as  she  had  formerly  been  desirous  of  withholding  it,  for 

*  The  procession  of  the  criminals  to  the  gallows  of  old  took  that  direc- 
tion, moving,  as  the  schoolboy  rhyme  had  it — 


Up  the  Ivawnmarket, 
Down  the  West  Bow, 


Up  the  lang  ladder, 
And  down  the  little  tow. 


187 


the  miscellaneous  contents  of  the  purse  argued  strongly  to  her 
mind  that  all  was  not  right, —  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  I  say,  now 
gave  Glossin  to  understand,  that  her  postilion  and  hostler  had 
both  seen  the  stranger  upon  the  ice  that  day  when  young 
Hazlewood  was  wounded. 

Our  reader's  old  acquaintance,  Jock  Jabos,  was  first  sum- 
moned, and  admitted  frankly  that  he  had  seen  and  conversed 
upon  the  ice  that  morning  with  a  stranger,  who,  he  understood, 
had  lodged  at  the  Gordon-Arms  the  night  before. 

*^  What  turn  did  your  conversation  take  t  "  said  Glossin. 

"  Turn  ! — ou,  we  turned  nae  gate  at  a',  but  just  keepit 
straight  forward  upon  the  ice  like.'' 

Well,  but  what  did  you  speak  about  ? 

"  He  just  asked  questions  like  ony  ither  stranger,"  answered 
the  postilion,  possessed,  as  it  seemed,  with  the  refractory  and 
uncommunicative  spirit  which  had  left  his  mistress. 

"  But  about  what  t  "  said  Glossin. 

"  Ou,  just  about  the  folk  that  was  playing  at  the  curling,  and 
about  auld  Jock  Stevenson  that  was  at  the  cock,  and  about  the 
leddies,  and  sic  like." 

"  What  ladies  t  and  what  did  he  ask  about  them,  Jock  t  " 
said  the  interrogator. 

"  What  leddies  ?  ou,  it  was  Miss  Jowlia  Mannering  and 
Miss  Lucy  Bertram,  that  ye  ken  fu'  weel  yoursell,  Mr.  Glossin 
— they  were  walking  wi'  the  young  Laird  of  Hazlewood  upon  the 
ice." 

"  And  what  did  you  tell  him  about  them  ?  "  demanded 
Glossin. 

"  Tut,  we  just  said  that  was  Miss  Lucy  Bertram  of  Elian* 
gowan,  that  should  ance  have  had  a  great  estate  in  the  country, 
— and  that  was  Miss  Jowlia  Mannering,  that  was  to  be  married 
to  young  Hazlewood — See  as  she  was  hinging  on  his  arm.  We 
just  spoke  about  our  country  clashes  like — he  was  a  very  frank 
man." 

"  Well,  and  what  did  he  say  in  answer  " 

**  Ou,  he  just  stared  at  the  young  leddies  very  keen  like,  and 
asked  if  it  was  for  certain  that  the  marriage  was  to  be  between 
Miss  Mannering  and  young  Hazlewood — and  I  answered  him 
that  it  was  for  positive  and  absolute  certain,  as  I  had  an  un- 
doubted right  to  say  sae — for  my  third  cousin,  Jean  Clavers 
(she's  a  relation  o'  your  ain,  Mr.  Glossin — ye  wad  ken  Jean 
lang  syne  ?)  she's  sib  to  the  housekeeper  at  Woodbourne,  and 
she's  tell'd  me  mair  than  ance  that  there  wasnaething  could  be 
mair  likely," 


i88 


GUY  MANNERIiVG, 


"  And  what  did  the  stranger  say  when  you  told  him  all 
this  ?  "  said  Glossin. 

"  Say  ?  "  echoed  the  postilion,  "  he  said  naething  at  a' — he 
just  stared  at  them  as  they  walked  round  the  loch  upon  the  ice, 
as  if  he  could  have  eaten  them,  and  he  never  took  his  ee  aff 
them,  or  said  another  word,  or  gave  another  glance  at  the 
Bonspiel  though  there  was  the  finest  fun  amang  the  curlers  ever 
was  seen — and  he  turned  round  and  gaed  aff  the  loch  by  the 
kirk-stile  through  Woodbourne  fir-plantings,  and  we  saw  nae 
mair  o'  him.'' 

'*Only  think/'  said  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  **what  a  hard  heart 
he  maun  hae  had,  to  think  o'  hurting  the  poor  young  gentleman 
in  the  very  presence  of  the  leddy  he  was  to  be  married  to  !  " 

O,  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,"  said  Glossin,  **  there's  been  many 
cases  such  as  that  on  the  record  :  doubtless  he  was  seeking  re- 
venge where  it  would  be  deepest  and  sweetest/' 

God  pity  us  ! "  said  Deacon  Bearcliff ;  we're  puir  frail 
creatures  when  left  to  oursells  ! — ay,  he  forgot  wha  said  "  Ven- 
geance is  mine,  and  I  will  repay  it." 

"  Wee],  aweel,  sirs,"  said  Jabos,  whose  hard-headed  and  un- 
cultivated shrewdness  seemed  sometimes  to  start  the  game  when 
others  beat  the  bush — "  weel,  weel,  ye  may  be  a'  mista'en  yet — • 
I'll  never  believe  that  a  man  would  lay  a  plan  to  shoot  another 
wi'  his  ain  gun.  Lord  help  ye,  I  was  the  keeper's  assistant 
down  at  the  Isle  mysell,  and  I'll  uphaud  it,  the  biggest  man  in 
Scotland  shouldna  take  a  gun  frae  me  or  I  had  weized  the  slugs 
through  him,  though  I'm  but  sic  a  little  feckless  bodv,  fit  for  nae- 
thing but  the  outside  o'  a  saddle  and  the  fore-end  o'  a  poschay — 
na,  na,  nae  living  man  wad  venture  on  that.  I'll  wad  my  best 
buckskins,  and  they  were  new  coft  at  Kirkcudbright  fair,  it's 
been  a  chance  job  after  a'.    But  if  ye  hae  naething  mair  to  say 

to  me,  I  am  thinking  I  maun  gang  and  see  my  beasts  fed  "  • 

and  he  departed  accordingly. 

The  hostler,  who  had  accompanied  him,  gave  evidence  to  the 
same  purpose.  He  and  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  were  then  re-inter- 
rogated, whether  Brown  had  no  arms  with  him  on  that  unhappy 
iporning.  "  None,"  they  said,  but  an  ordinary  bit  cutlass  or 
hanger  by  his  side." 

''Now,"  said  the  deacon,  taking  Glossin  by  the  button,  (for, 
in  consi'dering  this  intricate  subject,  he  had  forgot  Glossin's  new 
accession  of  rank) — "  tliis  is  but  doubtfu'  after  a',  Maister  Gilbert 
— for  it  was  not  sae  dooms  likely  that  he  would  go  down  into 
battle  wi'  sic  sma'  means." 

Cilossin  extricated  himself  from  the  Deacon's  grasp,  and  from 
the  discussion,  though  not  with  rudeness;  for  it  was  his  present 


G[/y  MANNERING. 


,89 


interest  to  buy  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people.  He 
inquired  the  price  of  tea  and  sugar,  and  spoke  of  providing 
himself  for  the  year;  he  gave  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish  directions 
to  have  a  handsome  entertainment  in  readiness  for  a  party  of 
five  friends,  whom  he  intended  to  invite  to  dine  with  him 
at  the  Gordon-Arms  next  Saturday  week  ;  and,  lastly,  he  gave 
a  half-crown  to  Jock  Jabos,  whom  the  hostler  had  deputed  to 
hold  his  steed. 

"  Weel,'*  said  the  Deacon  to  Mrs.  Mac-Candlish,  as  he  ac- 
cepted her  offer  of  a  glass  of  bitters  at  the  bar,  the  deil's  no 
sae  ill  as  he's  ca'd.  It's  pleasant  to  see  a  gentleman  pay  the 
regard  to  the  business  o'  the  county  that  Mr.  Glossin  does." 

Ay,  Meed  is't,  Deacon,"  answered  the  landlady  ;  and  yet  I 
wonder  our  gentry  leave  their  ain  wark  to  the  like  o'  him. — ■ 
But  as  lang  as  siller's  current,  Deacon,  folk  mauna  look  ower 
nicely  at  what  king's  head's  on't." 

I  doubt  Glossin  will  prove  but  shand^  after  a*,  mistress/' 
said  Jabos,  as  he  passed  through  the  little  lobby  beside  the  bar; 
**  but  this  is  a  gude  half-crown  ony  way.*' 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-THIRD. 

A  man  that  apprehends  death  to  be  no  noie  dreadful  but  as  a  drunken  sleep; 
careless,  reckless,  and  fearless  of  what's  past,  present,  or  to  come; 
insensible  of  mortality,  and  desperately  mortal. 

Measure  for  Measure, 

Glossin  had  made  careful  minutes  of  the  information  derived 
from  these  examinations.  They  threw  little  light  upon  the  story, 
so  far  as  he  understood  its  purport;  but  the  better  informed 
reader  has  received,  through  means  of  this  investigation,  an 
account  of  Brown's  proceedings,  between  the  moment  when  we 
left  him  upon  his  walk  to  Kippletringan,  and  the  time  when, 
stung  by  jealousy,  he  so  rashly  and  unhappily  presented  himself 
before  Julia  Mannering,  and  well-nigh  brought  to  a  fatal  termi- 
nation the  quarrel  which  his  appearance  occasioned. 

Glossin  rode  slowly  back  to  Ellangowan,  pondering  on  what 
be  had  heard,  and  more  and  more  convinced  tharthe  active  and 
successful  prosecution  of  this  mysterious  business  was  an  oppor- 
tunity of  ingratiating  himself  with  Hazlewood  and  Mannering, 
to  be  on  no  account  neglected.    Perhaps,  also,  he  felt  his 


*  Cant  expression  for  base  coin* 


GUY  MANNERING. 


professional  acuteness  interested  in  bringing  it  to  a  successful 
close.  It  was,  therefore,  with  great  pleasure  that,  on  his  re- 
turn to  his  house  from  Kippletringan,  he  heard  his  servants  an- 
nounce hastily,  "  that  Mac-Guffog,  the  thief-taker,  and  twa  or 
three  concurrents,  had  a  man  in  hands  in  the  kitchen  waiting 
for  his  honor/' 

He  instantly  jumped  from  horseback,  and  hastened  into 
the  house.  "  Send  my  clerk  here  directly ;  ye'il  find 
him  copying  the  survey  of  the  estate  in  the  little  green 
parlor.  Set  things  to  rights  in  my  study,  and  wheel  the  great 
leathern  chair  up  to  the  writing-table — set  a  stool  for  Mr. 
Scrow. — Scrow,"  (to  the  clerk  as  he  entered  the  presence-cham- 
ber,) "  hand  down  Sir  George  Mackenzie  on  Crimes  ;  open  it 
at  the  section  Vis  Fuhlica  et  Frivata  and  fold  down  a  leaf  at 
the  passage  '  anent  the  bearing  of  unlawful  weapons.'  Now  lend 
me  a  hand  off  with  my  muckle  coat,  and  hang  it  up  in  the  lob- 
by, and  bid  them  bring  up  the  prisoner — I  trow  I'll  sort  him  ; 
— but  stay — first  send  up  Mac-Guifog. — Now,  Mac-Guffog, 
where  did  ye  find  this  chield  ?  " 

Mac-Guffog,  a  stout  bandy-legged  fellow,  with  a  neck  like  a 
bull,  a  face  like  a  fire-brand,  and  a  most  portentous  squint  of 
the  left  eye,  began,  after  various  contortions  by  way  of  cour- 
tesy to  the  Justice,  to  tell  his  story,  eiking  it  out  by  sundry  sly 
nods  and  knowing  winks,  which  appeared  to  bespeak  an  inti- 
mate correspondence  of  ideas  between  the  narrator  and  his 
principal  auditor.  "  Your  honor  sees  I  went  down  to  yon  place 
that  your  honor  spoke  o',  that's  kept  by  her  that  your  honor 
kens  o'  by  the  sea-side. — So  says  she,  what  are  you  wanting 
here  t  ye'll  be  come  wi'  a  broom  in  your  pocket  frae  Ellan- 
gowan  — So  says  I,  deil  a  broom  will  come  frae  there  awa,  for  ye 
ken,  says  I,  his  honor  Ellangowan  himsell  in  former  times"  

"  Well,  well,"  said  Glossin,  "  no  occasion  to  be  particular 
— tell  the  essentials." 

Weel,  so  we  sat  niffering  about  some  brandy  that  I  said 
I  wanted,  till  he  came  in." 

"  Who  ? " 

"He,"  pointing  with  his  thumb  inverted  to  the  kitchen, 
where  the  prisoner  was  in  custody.  So  he  had  his  griego 
•wrapped  close  round  him,  and  I  judged  he  was  not  dry-handed  * 
— so  I  thouglK  it  was  best  to  speak  proper,  and  so  he  believed 
I  was  a  Manks  man,  and  I  kept  ay  between  him  and  her,  for 
fear  she  had  whistled.!  And  then  we  began  to  drink  about, 
and  then  1  betted  he  would  not  drink  out  a  quartern  of  Hol- 

*  Unarmed, 
t  Given  information  to  the  j)arty  concerned. 


GUY  MANNERING, 


lands  without  drawing  breath — and  then  he  tried  it — and  just 
then  Slounging  Jock  and  Dick  Spur'em  came  in,  and  we  clinked 
the  darbies  ^  on  him,  took  him  as  quiet  as  a  lamb — and  now 
he*s  had  his  bit  sleep  out,  and  is  as  fresh  as  a  May  gowan,  to 
answer  what  your  honor  likes  to  speir."  This  narrative, 
deilvered  with  a  wonderful  quantity  of  gesture  and  grimace, 
received  at  the  conclusion  the  thanks  and  praises  which  the 
narrator  expected. 

Had  he  no  arms  ?     asked  the  Justice. 

"  Ay,  ay,  they  are  never  without  barkers  and  slashers," 

"  Any  papers 

"  This  bundle,-'  delivering  a  dirty  pocket-book. 

"  Go  down  stairs,  then,  Mac-Guffog,  and  be  in  waiting." 
The  officer  left  the  room. 

The  clink  of  irons  was  immediately  afterward  heard  upon 
the  stair,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  a  man  was  introduced, 
hand-cuffed  and  fettered.  Pie  was  thick,  brawny,  and  muscu- 
lar, and  although  his  shagged  and  grizzled  hair  marked  an  age 
somewhat  advanced,  and  his  stature  was  rather  low,  he  appeared, 
nevertheless,  a  person  whom  few  would  have  chosen  to  cope 
with  in  personal  conflict.  His  coarse  and  savage  features  were 
still  flushed,  and  his  eye  still  reeled  under  the  influence  of  the 
strong  potation  which  had  proved  the  immediate  cause  of  his 
seizure.  But  the  sleep,  though  short,  which  Mac-Guffog  had 
allowed  him,  and  still  more  a  sense  of  the  peril  of  his  situation, 
had  restored  to  him  the  full  use  of  his  faculties.  The  worthy 
judge,  and  the  no  less  estimable  captive,  looked  at  each  other 
steadily  for  a  long  time  without  speaking.  Glossin  apparently 
recognized  his  prisoner,  but  seemed  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed 
with  his  investigation.  At  length  he  broke  silence,  Soh, 
Captain,  this  is  you  — you  have  been  a  stranger  on  this  coast 
for  some  years." 

"  Stranger  ! "  replied  the  other  ;  strange  enough,  I  think 
— for  hold  me  der  deyvil,  if  I  been  ever  here  before.'' 

"That  won't  pass,  Mr.  Captain.'' 

"  That  must  pass,  Mr.  Justice — sapperment !  " 

"  And  who  will  you  be  pleased  to  call  yourself,  then,  foi  the 
present,"  said  Glossin,  just  until  I  shall  bring  some  other  folks 
to  refresh  your  memory  concerning  who  you  are,  or  at  least  who 
you  have  been  " 

What  bin  I  ? — donne^  and  blitzen  !  I  bin  Jans  Janson, 
from  Cuxhaven — what  sail  Ich  bin  " 

Glossin  took  from  a  case  which  was  in  the  apartment  a  paij 


*  Handcuffs. 


102 


GUY  MANNERING. 


of  small  pocket  pistols,  which  he  loaded  with  ostentatious  care* 
You  may  retire/'  said  he  to  his  clerk,  and  carry  the  people 
with  you,  Scrow — but  wait  in  the  lobby  within  call. 

The  clerk  would  have  offered  some  remonstrances  to  his 
patron  on  the  danger  of  remaining  alone  with  such  a  desperate 
character,  although  ironed  beyond  the  possibility  of  active  ex- 
ertion, but  Glossin  waved  him  off  impatiently.  When  he  had 
left  the  room  the  Justice  took  two  short  turns  through  the 
apartment,  then  drew  his  chair  opposite  the  prisoner,  so  as  to 
confront  him  fully,  placed  the  pistols  before  him  in  readiness, 
and  said  in  a  steady  voice,  You  are  Dirk  Hatteraick  of  Flush- 
ing, are  you  not  ? 

The  prisoner  turned  his  eye  instinctively  to  the  door,  as  if 
he  apprehended  some  one  was  listening.  Glossin  rose,  opened 
the  door,  so  that  from  the  chair  in  which  his  prisoner  sate  he 
might  satisfy  himself  there  was  no  eavesdropper  within  hearing, 
then  shut  it,  resumed  his  seat,  and  repeated  his  question — "You 
are  Dirk  Hatteraick,  formerly  of  the  Youngfrauw  Haagensiaa- 
pen,  are  you  not  ?  " 

"  Tousand  deyvils  ! — and  if  you  know  that,  why  ask  me  ?  " 
said  the  prisoner. 

'*  Because  I  am  surprised  to  see  you  in  the  very  last  place 
where  you  ought  to  be,  if  you  regard  your  safety,'*  observed 
Glossin  coolly. 

"  Der  deyvil ! — no  man  regards  his  own  safety  that  speaks 
so  to  me  ! '' 

"  What  ?  unarmed,  and  in  irons  ! — well  said.  Captain  !  " 
replied  Glossin,  ironiccdly.  *^  But,  Captain,  bullying  won't  do 
— you'll  hardly  get  out  of  this  country  without  accounting  for  a 
little  accident  that  happened  at  Warroch  Point  a  few  years 
ago." 

Hatteraick's  looks  grew  black  as  midnight. 

"  For  my  part,"  continued  Glossin  "  I  have  no  particular 
wish  to  be  hard  upon  an  old  acquaintance — but  I  must  do  my 
duty — I  shall  send  you  off  to  P^dinburgh  in  a  post-chaise  and 
four  this  very  da}^" 

Poz  donner  !  you  would  not  do  that }  "  said  Hatteraick,  in 
a  lower  and  more  humble  tone  ;  "  why,  you  had  the  matter  of 
half  a  cargo  in  bills  on  Vanbeest  and  Vanbru^inMi." 

"  It  is  so  long  since.  Captain  Hatteraick,"  answered  Glossin, 
superciliously,  "that  I  really  forgot  howl  was  recompensed 
for  my  trouble." 

"  Your  trouble  ?  your  silence,  you  mean." 

"  It  was  an  affair  in  the  course  of  business,"  said  Glossin» 
and  I  have  retired  from  business  for  some  time." 


GC/V  MAmYNERING. 


193 


"  Ay,  but  I  have  a  notion  that  I  could  make  you  go  steady  • 
about,  and  try  the  old  course  again,"  answered  Dick  Hatteraick. 
"  Why,  man,  hold  me  der  deyvil,  but  I  meant  to  visit  you,  and 
tell  you  something,  that  concerns  you." 

"  Of  the  boy  ? "  said  Glossin  eagerly. 

"  Yaw,  Mynheer,"  replied  the  Captain,  coolly. 

"  He  does  not  live,  does  he  ? " 

"As  lifelich  as  you  or  I,"  said  Hatteraick. 

"  Good  God  ! — But  in  India  "  exclaimed  Glossin. 

"  No — tousand  deyvils  !  here — on  this  dirty  coast  of  yours," 
rejoined  the  prisoner. 

"  But,  Hatteraick,  this — that  is,  if  it  be  true,  which  I  do  not 
believe, — this  will  ruin  us  both,  for  he  cannot  but  remember 
your  neat  job  ;  and  for  me — it  will  be  productive  of  the  worst 
consequences  !    It  will  ruin  us  both,  I  tell  you." 

"  I  tell  you,"  said  the  seaman,  It  will  ruin  none  but  you — 
for  I  am  done  up  already,  and  if  I  must  strap  for  it,  all  shall 
out." 

"  Zound !  "  said  the  Justice,  impatiently,  "  what  brought 
you  back  to  this  coast  like  a  madman  ? " 

"  Why,  all  the  gelt  was  gone,  and  the  house  was  shaking, 
and  I  thought  the  job  was  clayed  over  and  forgotten,"  answered 
the  worthy  skipper. 

"  Stay — what  can  be  done  ?  "  said  Glossin  anxiously.  "  I 
dare  not  discharge  you — but  might  you  not  be  rescued  in  the 
way — ay  sure  ?  a  word  to  Lieutenant  Brown, — and  I  would 
send  the  people  with  you  by  the  coast-road." 

"No,  no!  that  won't  do — Brown's  dead — shot — laid  in  the 
locker,  man — the  devil  has  the  picking  of  him." 

"  Dead  — shot  i* — at  Woodbourne,  I  suppose  1 "  replied 
Glossin. 

"  Yaw,  Mynheer." 

Glossin  paused — the  sweat  broke  upon  his  brow  with  the 
agony  of  his  feelings,  where  the  hard-featured  miscreant  who 
sat  opposite,  coolly  rolled  his  tobacco  in  his  cheek,  and  squirted 
the  juice  into  the  fire-grate.  "  It  would  be  ruin,"  said  Glossin 
to  himself,  "  absolute  ruin,  if  the  heir  should  re-appear — and 
then  what  might  be  the  consequence  of  conniving  with  these 
men  ? — yet  there  is  so  little  time  to  take  measures. — Hark  you, 
Hatteraick  ;  I  can't  set  you  at  liberty — but  I  can  put  you  where 
you  may  set  yourself  at  liberty — I  always  like  to  assist  an  old 
friend.  I  shall  confine  you  in  the  old  Castle  for  to-night,  and 
give  these  people  double  allowance  of  grog.  Mac-Guffog  will 
fall  in  the  trap  in  which  he  caught  you.  The  stancheons  on 
the  window  of  the  strong  room,  as  they  call  it,  are  wasted  to 


194 


GUY  MANNERING. 


•  pieces,  and  it  is  not  above  twelve  feet  from  the  level  of  the 
ground  without,  and  the  snow^  lies  thick." 

"  But  the  darbies,"  said  Hatteraick,  looking  upon  his 
fetters. 

"  Hark  ye,"  said  Glossin,  going  to  a  tool-chest,  and  taking 
out  a  small  file,  **  there's  a  friend  for  you,  and  you  know  the 
road  to  the  sea  by  the  stairs." 

Hatteraick  shook  his  chains  in  ecstacy,  as  if  he  were  already 
at  liberty,  and  strove  to  extend  his  fettered  hand  toward  his 
protector.  Glossin  laid  his  finger  upon  his  lips  with  a  cautious 
glance  at  the  door,  and  then  proceeded  in  his  instructions. 
"  When  you  escape,  you  had  better  go  to  the  Kaim  of  Dern- 
cleugh." 

"  Donner !  that  howff  is  blown." 

"  The  devil ! — well,  then,  you  may  steal  my  skiff  that  lies 
on  the  beach  there,  and  away.  But  you  must  remain  snug  at 
the  Point  of  Warroch  till  I  come  to  see  you." 

"  The  Point  of  Warroch "  said  Hatteraick,  his  countenance 
again  falling — "w^hat,  in  the  cave,  I  suppose  ? — I  would  rather 
it  were  anywhere  else  ; — es  spuckt  da  ! — they  say  for  certain 
that  he  walks. — But,  donner  and  blitzen  !  I  never  shunned  him 
alive,  and  I  won't  shun  him  dead. — Strafe  mich  helle  !  it  shall 
never  be  said  Dirk  Hatteraick  feared  either  dog  or  devil ! — So 
I  am  to  await  there  till  I  see  you  1  " 

"Ay,  ay,"  answered  Glossin,  "and  now  I  must  call  in  the 
men."    He  did  so  accordingly. 

"  I  can  make  nothing  of  Captain  Janson,  as  he  calls  him- 
self, Mac-Guflog,  and  it's  now  too  late  to  bundle  him  off  to  the 
county  jail.  Is  there  not  a  strong  room  up  yonder  in  the  old 
castle  t " 

"  Ay  is  there,  sir ;  my  uncle  the  constable  ance  kept  a  man 
there  for  three  days  in  auld  Ellangowan's  time.    But  there  was 
♦    an  unco  dust  about  it — it  was  tried  in  the  Inner-house  afore  the 
feifteen." 

"  I  know  all  that,  but  this  person  will  not  stay  there  very 
long — it's  only  a  makeshift  for  a  night — a  mere  lock-up  house 
till  further  examination.  There  is  a  small  room  through  which 
it  opens  ;  you  may  light  a  fire  for  yourselves  there,  and  I'll 
send  you  plenty  of  stuff  to  make  you  comfortable.  But  be 
sure  you  lock  the  door  upon  the  prisoner  ;  and,  hark  ye,  let 
him  have  a  fire  in  the  strong  room  too — the  season  requires  it. 
Perhaps  he'll  make  a  clean  breast  to-morrow." 

With  these  instructions,  and  with  a  large  allowance  of  food 
and  liquor,  the  Justice  dismissed  his  party  to  keep  guard  for 
the  night  in  the  old  castle,  under  the  full  hope  and  belief 


GUY  MANNERING. 


that  they  would  neither  spend  the  night  in  watching  noi 
prayer. 

There  was  Uttle  fear  that  Glossin  himself  should  that  night 
sleep  over-sound.  His  situation  was  perilous  in  the  extreme, 
for  the  schemes  of  a  life  of  villany  seemed  at  once  to  be  crum- 
bling around  and  above  him.  He  laid  himself  to  rest,  and 
tossed  upon  his  pillow  for  a  long  time  in  vain.  At  length  he 
fell  asleep,  but  it  was  only  to  dream  of  his  patron, — now,  as  he 
had  last  seen  him,  wdth  the  paleness  of  death  upon  his  features, 
then  again  transformed  into  all  the  vigor  and  comeliness  of 
youth,  approaching  to  expel  him  from  the  mansion-house  of  his 
fathers.  Then  he  dreamed,  that  after  wandering  long  over  a 
wild  heath,  he  came  at  length  to  an  inn,  from  which  sounded 
the  voice  of  revelry ;  and  that  when  he  entered,  the  first  person 
he  met  was  Frank  Kennedy,  all  smashed  and  gory,  as  he  had 
lain  on  the  beach  at  Warroch  Point,  but  with  a  reeking  punch- 
bowl in  his  hand.  Then  the  scene  changed  to  a  dungeon,  where 
he  heard  Dirk  Hatteraick,  whom  he  imagined  to  be  under  sen- 
tence of  death,  confessing  his  crimes  to  a  clergyman. — After 
the  bloody  deed  was  done,''  said  the  penitent,  "  we  retreated 
into  a  cave  close  beside,  the  secret  of  which  was  known  but  to 
one  man  in  the  country:  we  were  debating  what  to  do  with  the 
child,  and  we  thought  of  giving  it  up  to  the  gypsies,  when  we 
heard  the  cries  of  the  pursuers  hallooing  to  each  other.  One  man 
alone  came  straight  to  our  cave,  and  it  w^as  that  man  who  knew 
the  secret — but  we  made  him  our  friend  at  the  expense  of  half 
ihe  value  of  the  goods  saved.  By  his  advice  we  carried  off  the 
child  to  Holland  in  our  consort,  which  came  the  following  night 

to  take  us  from  the  coast.    That  man  was"  

"  No,  I  deny  it ! — it  was  not  I  ?  "  said  Glossin,  in  half-uttered 
accents  ;  and,  struggling  in  his  agony  to  express  his  denial 
more  distinctly,  he  awoke. 

It  was,  however,  conscience  that  had  prepared  this  mental 
phantasmagoria.  The  truth  was,  that  knowing  much  better 
than  any  other  person  the  haunts  of  rhe  smugglers,  he  had, 
while  the  others  were  searching  in  different  directions,  gone 
straight  to  the  cave,  even  before  he  had  learned  the  murder  of 
Kennedy,  whom  he  expected  to  find  their  prisoner.  He  came 
upon  them  with  some  idea  of  mediation,  but  found  them  in  the 
midst  of  their  guilty  terrors,  while  the  rage,  which  had  hurried 
them  on  to  murder,  began,  with  all  but  Hatteraick,  to  sink  into 
remorse  and  fear.  Glossin  was  then  indigent,  and  greatly  in 
debt,  but  he  was  already  possessed  of  Mr.  Bertram's  ear,  and, 
aware  of  the  facility  of  his  disposition,  he  saw  no  difficulty  in 
enriching  himself  at  his  expense,  provided  the  heir-male  were 


196 


GUY  MANNERINQ, 


removed ;  in  which  case  the  estate  became  the  unlimited 
property  of  the  weak  and  prodigal  father.  Stimulated  by 
present  gain  and  the  prospect  of  contingent  advantage,  he  ac- 
cepted the  bribe  which  the  smugglers  offered  in  their  terror, 
and  connived  at,  or  rather  encouraged,  their  intention  of  carry- 
ing away  the  child  of  his  benefactor,  who,  if  left  behind,  was 
old  enough  to  have  described  the  scene  of  blood  which  he  had 
witnessed.  The  only  palliative  which  the  ingenuity  of  Glossin 
could  offer  to  his  conscience  was,  that  the  temptation  was  great, 
and  came  suddenly  upon  him,  embracing  as  it  were  the  very 
advantages  on  which  his  mind  had  so  long  rested,  and  promising 
to  relieve  him  from  distresses  which  must  have  otherwise 
speedily  overwhelmed  him.  Besides,  he  endeavored  to  think 
that  self-preservation  rendered  his  conduct  necessary.  He  was, 
in  some  degree,  in  the  power  of  the  robbers,  and  pleaded  hard 
with  his  conscience,  that,  had  he  declined  their  offers,  the 
assistance  which  he  could  have  called  for,  though  not  distant, 
might  not  have  arrived  in  time  to  save  him  from  men  who,  on 
less  provocation,  had  just  committed  murder. 

Galled  with  the  anxious  forebodings  of  a  guilty  conscience, 
Glossin  now  arose,  and  looked  out  upon  the  night.  The  scene 
which  we  have  already  described  in  the  third  chapter  of  this 
story,  was  now  covered  with  snow,  and  the  brilliant,  though 
waste,  whiteness  of  the  land,  gave  to  the  sea  by  contrast  a  dark 
and  livid  tinge.  A  landscape  covered  with  snow,  though  ab- 
stractedly it  may  be  called  beautiful,  has,  both  from  the  associ- 
ation of  cold  and  barrenness,  and  from  its  comparative  infre- 
quency,  a  wild,  strange,  and  desolate  appearance.  Objects, 
well-known  to  us  in  their  common  state,  have  either  disap- 
peared, or  are  so  strangely  varied  and  disguised,  that  we  seem 
gazing  on  an  unknown  world.  But  it  was  not  with  such  reflec- 
tions that  the  mind  of  this  bad  man  was  occupied.  His  eye 
was  upon  the  gigantic  and  gloomy  outlines  of  the  old  castle, 
where,  in  a  flanking  tower  of  enormous  size  and  thickness, 
glimmered  two  lights, — one  from  the  window  of  the  strong 
room  where  Hatteraick  was  confined,  the  other  from  that  of 
the  adjacent  apartment  occupied  by  his  keepers.  "  Has  he 
made  his  escape,  or  will  he  be  able  to  do  so  ? — Have  these  men 
watched,  who  never  watched  before,  in  order  to  complete  my 
ruin? — If  morning  finds  him  there,  he  must  be  committed  to 
prison  ;  Mac-Morlan  or  some  other  person  will  take  the  matter 
up — he  will  be  detected — convicted — and  will  tell  all  in  re- 
venge !  

While  these  racking  thoughts  glided  rapidly  through  Glos- 
sin's  mind,  he  observed  one  of  the  lights  obscured,  as  by  an 


GUY  MANNERING, 


197 


opaque  body  placed  at  the  window.  What  a  moment  of  interest 
— "  He  has  got  clear  of  his  irons  ! — he  is  working  at  the 
stancheons  of  the  window — they  are  surely  quite  decayed,  they 
must  give  way — O  God!  they  have  fallen  outward;  I  heard 
them  clink  among  the  stones  ! — the  noise  cannot  fail  to  wake 
them — furies  seize  his  Dutch  awkwardness — The  light  burns 
free  again — they  have  torn  him  from  the  window,  and  are  bind- 
ing him  in  the  room  ! — No  !  he  had  only  retired  an  instant  on 
the  alarm  of  the  falling  bars — he  is  at  the  window  again — and 
the  light  is  quite  obscured  now — he  is  getting  out !  " 

A  heavy  sound,  as  of  a  body  dropped  from  a  height  among 
the  snow,  announced  that  Hatteraick  had  completed  his  escape, 
and  shortly  after  Glossin  beheld  a  dark  figure,  like  a  shadow, 
steal  along  the  whitened  beach,  and  reach  the  spot  where  the 
skiff  lay.  New  cause  for  fear ! — "His  single  strength  will  be 
unable  to  float  her,'*  said  Glossin  to  himself — "  1  must  go  to  the 
rascal's  assistance.  But  no  !  he  has  got  her  off,  and  now,  thank 
God !  her  sail  is  spreading  itself  against  the  moon — ay,  he  has 
got  the  breeze  now — would  to  heaven  it  were  a  tempest,  to  sink 
him  to  the  bottom  !  " 

After  this  last  cordial  wish,  he  continued  watching  the  prO' 
gress  of  the  boat  as  it  stood  away  toward  the  Point  of  Warroch, 
until  he  could  no  longer  distinguish  the  dusky  sail  from  the 
gloomy  waves  over  which  it  glided.  Satisfied  then  that  the 
immediate  danger  was  averted,  he  retired  with  somewhat  more 
composure  to  his  guilty  pillow. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FOURTH. 

Why  dost  not  comfort  me  and  help  me  out 
From  this  unhallowed  and  blood-stained  hole  ? 

Titus  Andronicus. 

On  the  next  morning,  great  was  the  alarm  and  confusion  of 
the  officers  when  they  discovered  the  escape  of  their  prisoner. 
Mac-Guffog  appeared  before  Glossin  with  a  head  perturbed 
with  brandy  and  fear,  and  incurred  a  most  severe  reprimand 
for  neglect  of  duty.  The  resentment  of  the  Justice  appeared 
only  to  be  suspended  by  his  anxiety  to  recover  possession  of 
the  prisoner,  and  the  thief-takers,  glad  to  escape  from  his 
awful  and  incensed  presence,  were  sent  off  in  every  direction 
(except  the  right  one)  to  recover  their  prisoner,  if  possible. 


198 


GUY  MANNER/NO, 


Glossin  particularly  recommended  a  careful  search  at  the  Kaim 
of  Derncleugh,  which  was^  occasionally  occupied  under  night 
by  vagrants  of  different  descriptions.  Having  thus  dispersed 
his  myrmidons  in  various  directions,  he  himself  hastened  by 
devious  paths  through  the  wood  of  Warroch,  to  his  appointed 
interview  with  Hatteraick,  from  whom  he  hoped  to  learn  at 
more  leisure  than  last  night^s  conference  admitted,  the  circum- 
stances  attending  the  return  of  the  heir  of  Ellangowan  to  his 
native  country. 

With  manoeuvres  like  those  of  a  fox  when  he  doubles  to 
avoid  the  pack,  Glossin  strove  to  approach  the  place  of  ap- 
pointment in  a  manner  which  should  leave  no  distinct  track  of 
his  course.  *^  Would  to  Heaven  it  would  snow,''  he  said,  look- 
ing upward,  And  hide  these  foot-prints.  Should  one  of  the 
officers  light  upon  them,  he  would  run  the  scent  up  like  a  blood- 
hound, and  surprise  us.  I  must  get  down  upon  the  sea  beach, 
and  contrive  to  creep  along  beneath  the  rocks." 

And  accordingly  he  descended  from  the  cliffs  with  some 
difficulty,  and  scrambled  along  between  the  rocks  and  the  ad- 
vancing tide  ;  now  looking  up  to  see  if  his  motions  were 
watched  from  the  rocks  above  him,  now  casting  a  jealous 
glance  to  mark  if  any  boat  appeared  upon  the  sea,  from  which 
his  course  might  be  discovered. 

But  even  the  feelings  of  selfish  apprehension  were  for  a 
time  superseded,  as  Glossin  passed  the  spot  where  Kennedy's 
body  had  been  found.  It  was  marked  by  the  fragment  of  a 
rock  which  had  been  precipitated  from  the  cliff  above,  either 
with  the  body  or  after  it.  The  mass  was  now  encrusted  with 
small  shell-fish,  and  tasseled  with  tangle  and  sea-weed  ;  but 
still  its  shape  and  substance  were  different  from  those  of  the 
other  rocks  which  lay  scattered  around.  His  voluntary  walks, 
it  will  readily  be  believed,  had  never  led  to  this  spot ;  so  that 
finding  himself  now  there  for  the  first  time  after  the  terrible 
catastrophe,  the  scene  at  once  recurred  to  his  mind  with  all  its 
accompaniments  of  horror.  He  remembered  how,  like  a  guilty 
thing,  gliding  from  the  neighboring  place  of  concealment,  he 
had  mingled  with  eagerness,  yet  with  caution,  among  the  terri- 
fied group  who  surrounded  the  corpse,  dreading  lest  any  one 
should  ask  from  whence  he  came.  He  remembered,  too,  with 
what  conscious  fear  he  had  avoided  gazing  upon  that  ghastly 
spectacle.  The  wild  scream  of  his  patron,  *'  My  bairn  !  my 
bairn  !  "  again  rang  in  his  ears.  Good  God  !  "  he  exclaimed, 
"  and  is  all  I  have  gained  worth  the  agony  of  that  moment, 
and  the  thousand  anxious  fears  and  liorrors  which  have  since 
embittered  my  life  I — O  how  I  wish  that  I  lay  where  that 


GUY  MAJsrl^ERTNG. 


199 


wretched  man  lies,  and  that  he  stood  here  in  life  and  health  ! 
But  these  regrets  are  all  too  late." 

Stifling,  therefore,  his  feelings,  he  crept  forward  to  the  cave, 
which  was  so  near  the  spot  where  the  body  was  found,  that  the 
smugglers  might  have  heard  from  their  hiding-place  the  various 
conjectures  of  the  bystanders  concerning  the  fate  of  their  victim. 
But  nothing  could  be  more  completely  concealed  than  the 
entrance  to  their  asylum.  The  opening,  not  larger  than  that  of 
a  fox-earth,  lay  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  directly  behind  a  large 
black  rock,  or  rather  upright  stone,  which  served  at  once  to 
conceal  it  from  strangers,  and  as  a  mark  to  point  out  its  situation 
to  those  who  used  it  as  a  place  of  retreat.  The  space  between 
the  stone  and  the  cliff  was  exceedingly  narrow,  and  being 
heaped  with  sand  and  other  rubbish,  the  most  minute  search 
would  not  have  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  without  re- 
moving those  substances  which  the  tide  had  drifted  before  it. 
For  the  purpose  of  further  concealment,  it  was  usual  with  the 
contraband  traders  who  frequented  this  haunt,  after  they  had  en- 
tered, to  stuff  the  mouth  with  withered  sea-weed,  Joosely  piled 
together,  as  if  carried  there  by  the  waves.  Dirk  Hatteraick 
had  not  forgotten  this  precaution. 

Glossin,  though  a  bold  and  hardy  man,  felt  his  heart  throb, 
and  his  knees  knock  together,  when  he  prepared  to  enter  this 
den  of  secret  iniquity,  in  order  to  hold  conference  with  a  felon, 
whom  he  justly  accounted  one  of  the  most  desperate  and  de- 
praved of  men.  But  he  has  no  interest  to  injure  me,'^  was  his 
consolatory  reflection.  He  examined  his  pocket  pistols,  how- 
ever, before  removing  the  weeds  and  entering  the  cavern,  which 
he  did  upon  his  hands  and  knees.  The  passage,  which  at  first 
was  low  and  narrow,  just  admitting  entrance  to  a  man  in  a  creep-  « 
ing  posture,  expanded  after  a  few  yards  into  a  high  arched . 
vault  of  considerable  width.  The  bottom,  ascending  gradually, 
was  covered  with  the  purest  sand.  Ere  Glossin  had  got  upon 
his  feet,  the  hoarse  yet  suppressed  voice  of  Hatteraick  growled 
through  the  recesses  of  the  cave. 

"  Hagel  and  donner  ! — be'st  du  !  " 

"  Are  you  in  the  dark  ?  " 

*'  Dark  ?  der  deyvil  !  ay,"  said  Dirk  Hatteraick  ;  "  where 
should  I  have  a  glim  ?  " 

"  I  have  brought  light ;  "  and  Glossin  accordingly  produced 
a  tinder-box,  and  lighted  a  small  lantern. 

"  You  must  kindle  some  fire  too,  for  hold  mich  der  deyvil, 
Ich  bin  ganz  gefrorne  !  " 

"  It  is  a  cold  place,  to  be  sure,"  said  Glossin,  gathering  to- 
gether some  decayed  staves  of  barrels  and  pieces  of  wood, 


200 


GUY  MANI^ERING, 


which  had  perhaps  lain  in  the  cavern  since  Hatteraick  was  there 
last. 

"  Cold  ?  Snow-wasser  and  hagel ! — it's  perdition — I  could 
only  keep  myself  alive  by  rambling  up  and  down  this  d — d  vaults 
and  thinking  about  the  merry  rouses  we  have  had  in  it.'* 

The  flame  then  began  to  blaze  brightly,  and  Hatteraick  hung 
his  bronzed  visage,  and  expanded  his  hard  and  sinewy  hands 
over  it,  with  an  avidity  resembling  that  of  a  famished  wretch  to 
whom  food  is  exposed.  The  light  showed  his  savage  and  stern 
features,  and  the  smoke,  which  in  his  agony  of  cold  he  seemed 
to  endure  almost  to  suffocation,  after  circling  round  his  head, 
rose  to  the  dim  and  rugged  roof  of  the  cave,  through  which  it 
escaped  by  some  secret  rents  or  clefts  in  the  rock  ;  the  same 
doubtless  that  afforded  air  to  the  cavern  when  the  tide  was  in, 
at  which  time  the  aperture  to  the  sea  was  filled  with  water. 

"  And  now  I  have  brought  you  some  breakfast,"  said  Glossin, 
producing  some  meat  and  a  flask  of  spirits.  The  latter 
Hatteraick  eagerly  seized  upon,  and  applied  to  his  mouth  ;  and 
after  a  hearty  draught,  he  exclaimed  with  great  rapture,"  Das 
schmeckt ; — that  is  good — that  warms  the  liver  !  "  Then  broke 
into  the  fragment  of  a  High-Dutch  song, 

Saufen  Bier,  und  Brante-wein, 

Schmeissen  alle  die  Festern  cin 

Ich  ben  liederlich, 

Du  hist  liederlich ; 

Sind  wir  nicht  liederlich  Leute  a !  " 

"  Well  said,  my  hearty  Captain  !  "  cried  Glossin,  endeavoring 
to  catch  the  tone  of  revelry, — 

Gin  by  pailfuls,  wine  in  rivers, 
Dash  the  window-glass  to  shivers  I 

For  three  wild  lads  were  we,  brave  boys, 

And  three  wild  lads  were  we; 

Thou  on  the  land,  and  I  on  the  sand, 

And  Jack  on  the  gallowb-tree  1 

That's  it,  my  bully-boy  !  Why,  you're  alive  again  now  !  And 
now  let  us  talk  about  our  business." 

Your  business,  if  you  please,'*  said  Hatteraick  ;  "  hagel 
and  donner  ! — mine  was  done  when  I  got  out  of  the  bilboes/' 

"  Have  patience,  my  good  friend; — Fll  convince  you  our 
interests  are  just  the  same." 

Hatteraick  gave  a  short  dry  cough,  and  Glossin,  after  a 
pause,  procc(;ded. 

**  How  came  you  to  let  the  boy  escape  I " 


GUY  MAJVlVERim. 


261 


"Why,  fluch  and  blitzen !  he  was  no  charge  of  minCc 
Lieutenant  Brown  gave  him  to  his  cousin  that's  in  the  Middle- 
burgh  House  of  Vanbeest  and  Vanbruggen,  and  told  him  some 
goose's  gazette  about  his  being  taken  in  a  skirmish  with  the 
land-sharks — he  gave  him  for  a  foot-boy.  Me  let  him  escape  ! 
— the  bastard  kinchin  should  have  walked  the  plank  ere  I 
troubled  myself  about  him." 

"  Well,  and  was  he  bred  a  foot-boy  then  ?  " 

"  Nein,  nein  ;  the  kinchin  got  about  the  old  man's  heart,  and 
he  gave  him  his  own  name,  and  bred  him  up  in  the  office,  and 
then  sent  him  to  India — I  believe  he  would  have  packed  him 
back  here,  but  his  nephew  told  him  it  would  do  up  the  free  trade 
for  many  a  day,  if  the  youngster  got  back  to  Scotland." 

"  Do  you  think  the  younker  knows  much  of  his  own  origin 
now  ?  " 

"  Deyvil !  "  replied  Hatteraick,  how  should  I  tell  what  he 
knows  now  ?  But  he  remembered  something  of  it  long.  When 
he  was  but  ten  years  old,  he  persuaded  another  Satan's  limb  of 
an  English  bastard  like  himself  to  steal  my  lugger's  kahn — boat 
• — what  do  you  call  it — to  return  to  his  country,  as  he  called  it 
—fire  him  !  Before  we  could  overtake  them,  they  had  the  skiff 
out  of  channel  as  far  as  the  Deurloo — the  boat  might  have  been 
lost." 

"  I  wish  to  Heaven  she  had — with  him  in  her  !  "  ejaculated 
Glossin. 

"  Why,  I  was  so  angry  myself,  that,  sapperment !  I  did  give 
him  a  tip  over  the  side — but  split  him — the  comical  little  devil 
swam  like  a  duck  ;  so  I  made  him  swim  astern  for  a  mile  to 
teach  him  manners,  and  then  took  him  in  when  he  was  sinking. 
By  the  knocking  Nicholas  !  he'll  plague  you,  now  he's  come 
over  the  herring-pond  !  When  he  was  so  high  he  had  the  spirit 
of  thunder  and  lightning." 

"  How  did  he  get  back  from  India  ? " 

"Why,  how  should  I  know  ? — the  house  there  was  done  up, 
and  that  gave  us  a  shake  at  Middleburgh,  I  think — so  they 
sent  me  again  to  see  what  could  be  done  among  my  old  ac- 
quaintances here — for  we  held  old  stories  were  done  away 
and  forgotten.  So  I  had  got  a  pretty  trade  on  foot  within  the 
last  two  trips  ;  but  that  stupid  houndsfoot  schelm.  Brown,  has 
knocked  it  on  the  head  again,  I  suppose,  with  getting  himself 
shot  by  the  colonel-man  ?  " 

"  Why  were  not  you  with  them  ?  '* 

"Why,  you  see — sapperment!    I  fear  nothing — but  it  was 
too  far  within  land,  and  I  might  have  been  scented," 
"  True.    But  to  return  to  this  youngster  "  


"  Ay,  ay,  donner  and  blitzen  !  he's  your  affair,"  said  the 
Captain, 

"  — How  do  you  really  know  that  he  is  in  this  country  ?  " 
"  Why,  Gabriel  saw  him  up  among  the  hills/' 
"  Gabriel !  who  is  he  ? 

"  A  fellow  from  the  gypsies,  that,  about  eighteen  years  since, 
was  pressed  on  board  that  d — d  fellow  Prichard's  sloop-of-war. 
It  was  he  came  off  and  gave  us  warning  that  the  Shark  was 
coming  round  upon  us  the  day  Kennedy  was  done  ;  and  he  told 
us  how  Kennedy  had  given  the  information.  The  gypsies  and 
Kennedy  had  some  quarrel  besides.  This  Gab  went  to  the 
East  Indies  in  the  same  ship  with  your  younker,  and,  sapper- 
ment !  knew  him  well,  though  the  other  did  not  remember  him. 
Gab  kept  out  of  his  eye  though,  as  he  had  served  the  States 
against  England,  and  was  a  deserter  to  boot ;  and  he  sent  us 
word  directly,  that  we  might  know  of  his  being  here — though 
it  does  not  concern  us  a  rope's  end.'' 

"  So,  then,  really,  and  in  sober  earnest,  he  is  actually  in  this 
country,  Hatteraick,  between  friend  and  friend  ?  "  asked  Glossin, 
seriously. 

Wetter  and  donner  !  yaw.    What  do  you  take  me  for  .J*  " 
For  a  blood-thirsty,  fearless  miscreant !  thought  Glossin  in- 
ternally ;  but  said  aloud.    ^*  And  which  of  your  people  was  it 
that  shot  young  Hazlewood  ?  " 

Sturm-wetter  !  "  said  the  Captain,  do  ye  think  we  were 
mad  }  none  of  us^  man.  Gott  !  the  country  was  too  hot  for  the 
trade  already  with  that  d — d  frolic  of  Brown's,  attacking  what 
you  call  Woodbourne  House.*' 

"  Why,  I  am  told,"  said  Glossin,  it  was  Brown  who  shot 
Hazlewood  ?  " 

Not  our  lieutenant,  I  promise  you  ;  for  he  was  laid  six  feet 
deep  at  Derncleugh  the  day  before  the  thing  happened.  Tau- 
send  deyvils,  man  !  do  ye  think  that  he  could  rise  out  of  the 
earth  to  shoot  another  man  " 

A  light  here  began  to  break  upon  Glossin's  confusion  of 
ideas.  T3id  you  not  say  that  the  younker,  as  you  call  him, 
goes  by  the  name  of  Brown  .J* " 

"  Of  Brown  ?  yaw — Vanbeest  Brown  ;  old  Vanbeest  Brown, 
of  our  Vanbeest  and  Vanbruggen,  gave  hira  his  own  name — he 
did." 

"  Then,"  said  Glossin,  rubbing  his  hands,  "  it  is  he,  by 
Heaven,  who  has  committed  this  crime  I  " 

And  what  have  we  to  do  with  that  ? "  demanded  Hatter- 
aick. 

Glossin  paused  ;  and,  fertile  in  expedients,  hastily  ran  over 


GUY  MANNERING, 


203 


his  project  in  his  own  mind,  and  then  drew  near  the  smuggler 
with  a  confidential  air.       You  know,  my  dear  Hatteraick,  it  is 
our  principal  business  to  get  rid  of  this  young  man  ?  ^' 
"  Umph  !  ^'  answered  Dirk  Hatteraick. 

"  Not,"  continued  Glossin — not  that  I  would  wish  any 
personal  harm  to  him — if — if — if  we  can  do  without.  Now,  he 
is  liable  to  be  seized  upon  by  justice,  both  as  bearing  the  same 
name  with  your  lieutenant,  who  was  engaged  in  that  affair  at 
Woodbourne,  and  for  firing  at  young  Hazlewood  with  intent  to 
kill  or  wound." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Dirk  Hatteraick  ;  but  what  good  will  that 
do  you  ?  He'll  be  loose  again  as  soon  as  he  shows  himself  to 
carry  other  colors." 

"  True,  my  dear  Dirk — well  noticed,  my  friend  Hatteraick  ! 
But  there  is  ground  enough  for  a  temporary  imprisonment  till 
he  fetch  his  proofs  from  England  or  elsewhere,  my  good  friend. 
I  understand  the  law,  Captain  Hatteraick,  and  I'll  take  it  upon 
me  simple  Gilbert  Glossin  of  Ellangowan,  justice  of  peace  for 

the  county  of  ,  to  refuse  his  bail,  if  he  should  offer  the 

best  in  the  country,  until  he  is  brought  up  for  a  second  exami- 
nation— now  where  d'ye  think  I'll  incarcerate  him  1  " 

"  Hagel  and  wetter  !  what  do  I  care  ? 

"  Stay,  my  friend — you  do  care  a  good  deal.  Do  you  know 
your  goods,  that  were  seized  and  carried  to  Woodbourne,  are 
now  lying  in  the  Custom-house  at  Portanferry  ? "  (a  small 
fishing-town).    "  Now  I  will  commit  this  younker  "  

**  When  you  have  caught  him  ? " 
Ay,  ay,  when  I  have  caught  him — I  shall  not  be  long 
about  that — I  will  commit  him  to  the  Work-house,  or  Bridewell, 
which  you  know  is  beside  the  Custom-house." 

"Yaw,  the  Rasp-house,  I  know  it  very  well." 

"  I  will  take  care  that  the  red-coats  are  dispersed  through 
the  country  ;  you  land  at  night  with  the  crew  of  your  lugger, 
receive  your  own  goods,  and  carry  the  younker  Brown  with 
you  back  to  Flushing.    Won't  that  do  } 

"  Ay,  carry  him  to  Flushing,"  said  the  Captain,  "  or — to 
America  ? " 

"  Ay,  ay,  my  friend." 

"Or— to  Jericho?" 

"  Psha  !  Wherever  you  have  mind." 

"  Ay,  or — pitch  him  overboard  t  " 

"  Nay,  I  advise  no  violence." 

"  Nein,  nein- — you  leave  that  to  me.  Sturm-wetter  !  I  know 
you  of  old.  But  hark  ye,  what  am  I,  Dirk  Hatteraick,  to  be 
the  better  of  this  ? 


204 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  Why,  is  it  not  your  interest  as  well  as  mine  ? "  said 
Glossin  :  "  besides,  I  set  you  free  this  morning/* 

"  You  set  me  free  ! — Donner  and  deyvil !  I  set  myself  free. 
Besides,  it  was  all  in  the  way  of  your  profession,  and  happened 
a  long  time  ago,  ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  " 

"  Pshaw  !  pshaw  !  don't  let  us  jest ;  I  am  not  against  mak- 
ing a  handsome  compliment — but  it's  your  affair  as  w^ell  as 
mine." 

"  What  do  you  talk  of  my  affair  ?  is  it  not  you  that  keep 
the  younker's  whole  estate  from  him  ?  Dirk  Hatteraick  never 
touched  a  stiver  of  his  rents." 

"  Hush  !  hush  ! — I  tell  you  it  shall  be  a  joint  business." 

"  Why,  will  ye  give  me  half  the  kitt?  " 
What,  half  the  estate  ? — d'ye  mean  we  should  set  up  house 
together  at  Ellangowan,  and  take  the  barony,  ridge  about  1  " 

Sturm-wetter,  no  !  but  you  might  give  me  half  the  value 
— half  the  gelt.  Live  with  you  ? — nein — I  would  have  a  lust- 
haus  of  mine  own  on  the  Middleburgh  dyke,  and  a  blumen- 
garten  like  a  burgomaster's." 

Ay,  and  a  wooden  lion  at  the  door,  and  a  painted  sentinel 
in  the  garden,  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth  \ — But,  hark  ye,  Hatter- 
aick— what  will  all  the  tulips,  and  flower-gardens,  and  pleasure- 
houses  in  the  Netherlands  do  for  you,  if  you  are  hanged  here 
in  Scotland  ?  " 

Hatteraick's  countenance  fell.    "  Der  Deyvil ! — hanged  ?  " 

"  Ah,  hanged,  meinheer  Captain.  The  devil  can  scarce 
save  Dirk  Hatteraick  from  being  hanged  for  a  murderer  and 
kidnapper,  if  the  younker  of  Ellangowan  should  settle  in  this 
country,  and  if  the  gallant  Captain  chances  to  be  caught  here 
re-establishing  his  fair  trade  !  And  I  won't  say,  but,  as  peace 
is  now  so  much  talked  of,  their  High  Mightinesses  may  not 
hand  him  over  to  oblige  their  new  allies,  even  if  he  remained 
in  faderland." 

"  Poz  hagel  blitzen  and  donner  !    I — I  doubt  you  say  true." 

"  Not,"  said  Glossin,  perceiving  he  had  made  the  desired 
impression,  "  not  that  I  am  against  being  civil  ;'*  and  he  slid 
into  Hatteraick's  passive  hand  a  bank-note  of  some  value. 

"  Is  this  all  ?  "  said  the  smuggler  ;  "  you  had  the  price  of 
half  a  cargo  for  winking  at  our  job,  and  made  us  do  your  busi- 
ness too." 

"  But,  my  good  friend,  you  forget — in  this  case  you  will 
recover  all  your  own  goods." 

"  Ay,  at  the  risk  of  all  our  own  necks — we  could  do  that 
without  you.'* 

doubt  that,  Captain  Hatteraick,"  said  Glossin  dryly, 


GUY  MANNERING, 


20$ 


''because  you  would  probably  find  a  dozen  red-coats  at  the 
Cuslonn-house,  whom  it  must  be  my  business,  if  we  agree  about 
this  matter,  to  have  removed.  Come,  come,  I  will  be  as  liberal 
as  I  can,  but  you  should  have  a  conscience." 

"  Now  strafe  mich  der  deyfel  ! — this  provokes  me  more 
than  all  the  rest ! — You  rob  and  you  murder,  and  you  want  me 
to  rob  and  murder,  and  play  the  silver-cooper,  or  kidnapper,  as 
you  call  it,  a  dozen  times  over,  and  then,  hagel  and  wind- 
sturm  !  you  speak  to  me  of  conscience  !  Can  you  think  of  no 
fairer  way  of  getting  rid  of  this  unlucky  lad  ?  " 

"  No,  meinheer ;  but  as  I  commit  him  to  your  charge  "  

"  To  my  charge — to  the  charge  of  steel  and  gunpowder  ! 
and — well,  if  it  must  be,  it  must — but  you  have  a  tolerably  good 
guess  what's  like  to  come  of  it." 

"  O,  my  dear  friend,  I  trust  no  degree  of  severity  will  be 
necessary,"  replied  Glossin. 

"  Severity  !  "  said  the  fellow,  with  a  kind  of  groan.  I  wish 
you  had  had  my  dreams  when  I  first  came  to  this  dog-hole, 
and  tried  to  sleep  among  the  dry  sea-weed.  First,  there  was 
that  d — d  fellow  there,  with  his  broken  back,  sprawling  as  he 
did  when  I  hurled  the  rock  over  a-top  on  him — ha  !  ha ! — you 
would  have  sworn  he  was  lying  on  the  floor  where  you  stand, 
wriggling  like  a  crushed  frog — and  then  "  

"  Nay,  my  friend,"  said  Glossin,  interrupting  him,  "  what 
signifies  going  over  this  nonsense  ? — If  you  are  turned  chicken- 
hearted,  why,  the  gamers  up,  that's  all — the  game's  up  with  us 
both." 

"  Chicken-hearted  ? — No.  I  have  not  lived  so  long  upon 
the  account  to  start  at  last  neither  for  devil  nor  Dutchman." 

"Well,  then,  take  another  schnaps — the  cold's  at  your 
heart  still. — And  now  tell  me,  are  any  of  your  old  crew  with 
you.?" 

"Nein — all  dead,  shot,  hanged,  drowned,  and  damned. 
Brown  was  the  last — all  dead  but  Gypsy  Gab,  and  he  would  go 
off  the  country  for  a  spill  of  money — or  he'll  be  quiet  for  his 
own  sake — or  old  Meg,  his  aunt,  will  keep  him  quiet  for  hers." 

"  Which  Meg  >  " 

"  Meg  Merrilies,  the  old  deviFs  limb  of  a  gypsy  witch." 
"  Is  she  still  alive  ?  " 
"  Yaw." 

"  And  in  this  country  ? " 

"  And  in  this  country.  She  was  at  the  Kaim  of  Dern- 
cleugh,  at  Vanbeest  Brown's  last  wake,  as  they  call  it,  the  other 
night,  with  two  of  my  people,  and  some  of  her  own  blasted 
gypsies." 


2o6 


GC/V  MANNERING. 


That's  another  breaker  a-head,  Captain  !  Will  she  not 
squeak,  think  ye  ? 

Not  she — she  won't  start — she  swore  by  the  salmon,*  if 
we  did  the  kinchin  no  harm,  she  would  never  tell  how  the 
ganger  got  it.  Why,  man,  though  I  gave  her  a  wipe  with  my 
hanger  in  the  heat  of  the  matter,  and  cut  her  arm,  and  though 
she  was  so  long  after  in  trouble  about  it  up  at  your  borough- 
town  there,  der  deyvil !  old  Meg  was  as  true  as  steel." 

*^Why,  that's  true,  as  you  say,"  replied  Glossin.  ''And  yet 
if  she  could  be  carried  over  to  Zealand,  or  Hamburgh,  or — or 
— anywhere  else,  you  know,  it  were  as  well." 

Hatteraick  jumped  upright  upon  his  feet,  and  looked  at 
Glossin  from  head  to  heel. — "  I  don't  see  the  goat's  foot,"  he 
said  ; — "  and  yet  he  must  be  the  very  deyvil  ! — But  Meg 
Merrilies  is  closer  yet  with  the  Kobold  than  you  are — ay,  and 
I  had  never  such  weather  as  after  having  drawn  her  blood. — 
Nein,  nein,  I'll  meddle  with  her  no  more — she's  a  witch  of  the 
fiend — a  real  deyvil's  kind — but  that's  her  affair.  Donner  and 
wetter  !  I'll  neither  make  nor  meddle — that's  her  work. — But 
for  the  rest — why,  if  I  thought  the  trade  would  not  suffer,  I 
would  soon  rid  you  of  the  younker,  if  you  send  me  word  when 
he's  under  embargo." 

In  brief  and  under  tones  the  two  worthy  associates  con- 
certed their  enterprise,  and  agreed  at  which  of  his  haunts  Hat- 
teraick should  be  heard  of.  The  stay  of  his  lugger  on  the 
coast  was  not  difficult,  as  there  were  no  king's  vessels  there  at 
the  time. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIFTH. 

You  are  one  of  those  that  will  not  serve  God  if  the  devil  bids  you. — 
Because  we  come  to  do  you  service,  you  think  we  are  ruffians. 

Othello. 

When  Glossin  returned  home,  he  found,  among  other  letters 
and  papers  sent  to  him,  one  of  considerable  importance.  It 
was  signed  by  Mr.  Protocol,  an  attorney  in  Edinburgh,  and, 
addressing  him  as  the  agent  for  Godfrey  Bertram,  Esq.,  late  of 
Ellangowan,  and  his  representatives,  acquainted  him  with  the 
sudden  death  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram  of  Singleside,  request- 
ing him  to  inform  his  clients  therefore,  in  case  they  should  judge 

*  The  great  and  inviolable  oath  of  the  strolling  tribes. 


it  proper  to  have  any  person  present  for  their  interest  at  opening 
the  repositories  of  the  deceased.  Mr.  Glossin  perceived  at  once 
that  the  letter-writer  was  unacquainted  with  the  breach  which 
had  taken  place  between  him  and  his  late  patron.  The  estate 
of  the  deceased  lady  should  by  rights,  as  he  well  knew,  descend 
to  Lucy  Bertram  ;  but  it  was  a  thousand  to  one  that  the  caprice 
of  the  old  lady  might  have  altered  its  destination.  After  running 
over  contingencies  and  probabilities  in  his  fertile  mind,  to  ascer- 
tain what  sort  of  personal  advantage  might  accrue  to  him  from 
this  incident,  he  could  not  perceive  any  mode  of  availing  himself 
of  it,  except  in  so  far  as  it  might  go  to  assist  his  plan  of  recover- 
ing,  or  rather  creating,  a  character,  the  want  of  which  he  had 
already  experienced,  and  was  likely  to  feel  yet  more  deeply. 
**  I  must  place  myself,"  he  thought,  "  on  strong  ground,  that  if 
anything  goes  wrong  with  Dirk  Hatteraick's  project,  I  may  have 
prepossessions  in  my  favor  at  least." — Besides,  to  do  Glossin 
justice,  bad  as  he  was,  he  might  feel  some  desire  to  compensate 
to  Miss  Bertram  in  a  small  degree,  and  in  a  case  in  which  his 
own  interest  did  not  interfere  with  hers,  the  infinite  mischief 
which  he  had  occasioned  to  her  family.  He  therefore  resolved 
early  the  next  morning  to  ride  over  to  Woodbourne. 

It  was  not  without  hesitation  that  he  took  this  step,  having 
the  natural  reluctance  to  face  Colonel  Mannering,  which  fraud 
and  villainy  have  to  encounter  honor  and  probity.  But  he  had 
great  confidence  in  his  own  savoir  /aire.  His  talents  were 
naturally  acute,  and  by  no  means  confined  to  the  line  of  his 
profession.  He  had  at  different  times  resided  a  good  deal  in 
England  and  his  address  was  free  both  from  country  rusticity 
and  professional  pedantry  ;  so  that  he  had  considerable  powers 
both  of  address  and  persuasion,  joined  to  an  unshaken  effrontery, 
which  he  affected  to  disguise  under  plainness  of  manner.  Con- 
fident, therefore,  in  himself,  he  appeared  at  Woodbourne,  about 
ten  in  the  morning,  and  was  admitted  as  a  gentleman  come 
wait  upon  Miss  Bertram. 

He  did  not  announce  himself  until  he  was  at  the  door  of  the 
breakfast-parlor,  when  the  servant,  by  his  desire,  said  aloud — 
Mr.  Glossin,  to  wait  upon  Miss  Bertram."  Lucy,  remember- 
ing the  last  scene  of  her  father's  existence,  turned  as  pale  as 
death,  and  had  well-nigh  fallen  from  her  chair.  Julia  Manner- 
ing flew  to  her  assistance,  and  they  left  the  room  together. 
There  remained  Colonel  Mannering,  Charles  Hazlewood,  with 
his  arm  in  a  sling,  and  the  Dominie,  whose  gaunt  visage  and 
wall-eyes  assumed  a  most  hostile  aspect  on  recognizing  Glossin. 

That  honest  gentleman,  though  somewhat  abashed  by  the 
effect  of  his  first  introduction,  advanced  with  confidence,  and 


5o8 


GUY  MANNERING, 


hoped  he  did  not  intrude  upon  the  ladies.  Colonel  Mannering^ 
in  a  very  upright  and  stately  manner,  observed,  that  he  did  not 
know  to  what  he  was  to  impute  the  honor  of  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Glossin. 

Hem  !  hem  ! — I  took  the  liberty  to  wait  upon  Miss  Bertram, 
Colonel  Mannering,  on  account  of  a  matter  of  business/* 

"  If  it  can  be  communicated  to  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  her  agent, 
sir,  I  believe  it  will  be  more  agreeable  to  Miss  Bertram.*' 

"  I  beg  pardon,  Colonel  Mannering,"  said  Glossin,  making  a 
wretched  attempt  at  an  easy  demeanor ;  you  are  a  man  of 
the  world — there  are  some  cases  in  which  it  is  most  prudent 
for  all  parties  to  treat  with  principals.'* 

"Then,"  replied  Mannering  with  a  repulsive  air,  "  if  Mr. 
Glossin  will  take  the  trouble  to  state  his  object  in  a  letter,  I 
will  answer  that  Miss  Bertram  pays  proper  attention  to  it.'* 

Certainly,'*'  stammered  Glossin  ; — "  but  there  are  cases  in 
which  a  viva  voce  conference — Hem  !  I  perceive — I  know — 
that  Colonel  Mannering  has  adopted  some  prejudices  which 
may  make  my  visit  appear  intrusive  ;  but  I  submit  to  his 
good  sense,  w^hether  he  ought  to  exclude  me  from  a  hearing 
without  knowing  the  purpose  of  my  visit,  or  of  how  much  con- 
sequence it  may  be  to  the  young  lady  whom  he  honors  with 
his  protection." 

"  Certainly,  sir,  I  have  not  the  least  intention  to  do  so," 
replied  the  Colonel.  I  will  learn  Miss  Bertram's  pleasure  on 
the  subject,  and  acquaint  Mr.  Glossin,  if  he  can  spare  time  to 
wait  for  her  answer.**    So  saying  he  left  the  room. 

Glossin  had  still  remained  standing  in  the  midst  of  the 
apartment.  Colonel  Mannering  had  made  not  the  slightest 
motion  to  invite  him  to  sit,  and  indeed  had  remained  standing 
himself  during  their  short  interview.  When  he  left  the  room, 
however,  Glossin  seized  upon  a  chair,  and  threw  himself  into 
it  with  an  air  between  embarrassment  and  effrontery.  He  felt 
the  silence  of  his  companions  disconcerting  and  oppressive,  and 
resolved  to  interrupt  it. 

"  A  fine  day,  Mr.  Sampson.*' 

The  Dominie  answered  with  something  between  an  acqui- 
escent grunt  and  an  indignant  groan. 

"  You  never  come  down  to  see  your  old  acquaintance  on 
the  Kllangowan  property,  Mr.  Sampson — You  would  find  most 
of  the  old  stagers  still  stationary  there.  I  have  too  much  re- 
spect for  the  late  family  to  disturb  old  residenters,  even  undel 
pretence  of  improvement.  Besides,  it's  not  my  way — I  don't 
like  it — I  believe,  Mr.  Sampson,  Scripture  particularly  con- 
.demns  those  who  oppress  the  poor,  and  remove  landmarks," 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  Or  who  devour  the  substance  of  orphans/*  subjoined  the 
Dominie.  "  Anathema  !  Maranatha  !  So  saying,  he  rose 
shouldered  the  folio  which  he  had  been  perusing,  faced  to  the 
right  about,  and  marched  out  of  the  room  with  the  strides  of  a 
grenadier. 

Mr.  Glossin  no  way  disconcerted,  at  least  feeling  it  necessary 
not  to  appear  so,  turned  to  young  Hazlewood,  who  was  appar- 
ently  busy  with  the  newspaper.  Any  news,  sir?'*  Hazle-^ 
wood  raised  his  eyes,  looked  at  him,  and  pushed  the  paper  to- 
ward him,  as  if  to  a  stranger  in  a  coffee-house,  then  rose,  and 
was  about  to  leave  the  room.  I  beg  pardon,  Mr.  Hazlewood 
— but  I  can't  help  wishing  you  joy  of  getting  sg  easily  over 
that  infernal  accident.'*  This  was  answered  by  a  sort  of  incli- 
nation of  the  head,  as  slight  and  stiff  as  could  well  be  imagined. 
Yet  it  encouraged  our  man  of  law  to  proceed.  I  can  promise 
you,  Mr.  Hazlewood,  few  people  have  taken  the  interest  in  that 
matter  which  I  have  done,  both  for  the  sake  of  the  country, 
and  on  account  of  my  particular  respect  for  your  family,  which 
has  so  high  a  stake  in  it ;  indeed  so  very  high  a  stake,  that,  as 
Mr.  Featherhead  is  turning  old  now,  and  as  there's  a  talk,  since 
his  last  stroke,  of  his  taking  the  Chiltern  Hundreds,"*  it  might 
be  worth  your  while  to  look  about  you.  I  speak  as  a  friend, 
Mr.  Hazlewood,  and  as  one  who  understands  the  roll ;  and  if  in 
going  over  it  together  "  

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir,  but  I  have  no  views  in  which  your  assist- 
ance could  be  useful.'* 

"  O,  very  well — perhaps  you  are  right — it's  quite  time 
enough,  and  I  love  to  see  a  young  gentleman  cautious.  But  I 
was  talking  of  your  wound — I  think  I  have  got  a  clew  to  that  busi- 
ness— I  think  I  have — and  if  I  don't  bring  the  fellow  to  con- 
dign punishment  !  "  

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  once  more  ;  but  your  zeal  outruns 
my  wishes.  I  have  every  reason  to  think  the  wound  was 
accidental — certainly  it  was  not  premeditated.  Against  ingrat- 
itude and  premeditated  treachery,  should  you  find  anyone 
guilty  of  them,  my  resentment  will  be  as  warm  as  your  own.'- 
This  was  Hazlewood's  answer. 

"  Another  rebuff,"  thought  Glossin  ;  "  I  must  try  him  upon 

the  other  tack.  Right  sir  ;  very  nobly  said  !  I  would  have 

no  more  mercy  on  an  ungrateful  man  than  I  would  on  a  wood- 

*  (**The  Chiltern  Hundreds  is  an  estate  of  the  Crown  in  Buckingham- 
shire, the  stewardship  whereof  is  a  nominal  office,  conferred  on  Members 
of  Parliament  when  they  wish  to  vacate  their  seats,  as,  by  accepting  an 
office  under  the  Crown,  a  member  becomes  disqualified,  unless  he  be  ar^aln 
returned  by  his  constituents."    Haydn's  Diciy,  of  Dates,) 


210 


GUV  MANNER  WO. 


cock. — And  now  we  talk  of  sport/*  (this  was  a  sort  of  diverting 
of  the  conversation  which  Glossin  had  learned  from  his  former 
patron),  I  see  you  often  carry  a  gun,  and  I  hope  you  will 
be  soon  able  to  take  the  field  again.  I  observe  you  confine 
yourself  always  to  your  own  side  of  the  Hazleshaws-burn.  I 
hope,  my  dear  sir,  you  will  make  no  scruple  of  following  your 
game  to  the  Ellangowan  bank :  I  believe  it  is  rather  the  best 
exposure  of  the  two  for  woodcocks,  although  both  are  capital." 

As  this  offer  only  excited  a  cold  and  constrained  bow,  Glos- 
sin was  obliged  to  remain  silent,  and  was  presently  afterward 
somewhat  relieved  by  the  entrance  of  Colonel  Mannering. 

I  have  detained  you  some  time,  I  fear,  sir,''  said  he  address- 
ing Glossin  :  I  wished  to  prevail  upon  Miss  Bertram  to  see 
you,  as,  in  my  opinion,  her  objections  ought  to  give  way  to  the 
necessity  of  hearing  in  her  own  person  what  is  stated  to  be  of 
importance  that  she  should  know.  But  I  find  that  circum- 
stances of  recent  occurrence,  and  not  easily  to  be  forgotten, 
have  rendered  her  so  utterly  repugnant  to  a  personal  interview 
with  Mr.  Glossin,  that  it  would  be  cruelty  to  insist  upon  it ; 
and  she  has  deputed  me  to  receive  his  commands,  or  proposal 
— or,  in  short,  whatever  he  may  wish  to  say  to  her. 

Hem,  hem  !  I  am  sorry,  sir — I  am  very  sorry.  Colonel 
Mannering,  that  Miss  Bertram  should  suppose — that  any  prej- 
udice, in  short — or  idea  that  anything  on  my  part  "  

"  Sir,''  said  the  inflexible  Colonel,  where  no  accusation  is 
made,  excuses  or  explanations  are  unnecessary.  Have  you 
any  objection  to  communicate  to  me,  as  Miss  Bertram's  tem- 
porary guardian,  the  circumstances  which  you  conceive  to  inter- 
est her  ?  " 

None,  Colonel  Mannering;  she  could  not  choose  a  more 
respectable  friend,  or  one  with  whom  I,  in  particular,  would 
more  anxiously  wish  to  communicate  frankly." 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  speak  to  the  point,  sir,  if  you 
please," 

"  Why,  sir,  it  is  not  so  easy  all  at  once — but  Mr.  Hazlewood 
need  not  leave  the  room — 1  mean  so  well  to  Miss  Bertram, 
that  I  could  wish  the  whole  world  to  hear  my  part  of  the  con- 
ference." 

My  friend  Mr.  Charles  Hazlewood  will  not  probably  be 
anxious,  Mr.  Glossin,  to  listen  to  what  cannot  concern  him — 
and  now,  when  he  has  left  us  alone,  let  me  pray  you  to  be  short 
and  explicit  in  what  you  have  to  say.  I  am  a  soldier,  sir, 
somewhat  impatient  of  forms  and  introductions."  So  saying, 
he  drew  himself  up  in  his  chair,  and  waited  for  Mr.  Glossin's 
communication. 


GUY  iMANNERING: 


211 


Be  pleased  to  look  at  that  letter/*  said  Glossin,  putting 
Protocol's  epistle  into  Mannering's  hand,  as  the  shortest  way 
of  stating  his  business. 

The  Colonel  read  it,  and  returned  it,  after  penciling  the 
name  of  the  writer  in  his  memorandum-book.  This,  sir,  does 
not  seem  to  require  much  discussion — I  will  see  that  Miss  Ber- 
tram's interest  is  attended  to. 

"But,  sir — but.  Colonel  Mannering,"  added  Glossin,  ''there 
is  another  matter  which  no  one  can  explain  but  myself.  This 
lady— this  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram,  to  my  certain  knowledge, 
made  a  general  settlement  of  her  affairs  in  Miss  Lucy  Bertram's 
favor  while  she  lived  with  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Bertram,  at  Ellan- 
gowan.  The  Dominie — that  was  the  name  by  which  my  de- 
ceased friend  always  called  that  very  respectable  man  Mr. 
Sampson — he  and  I  witnessed  the  deed.  And  she  had  full 
power  at  that  time  to  make  such  a  settlement,  for  she  was  in 
fee  of  the  estate  of  Singleside  even  then,  although  it  was  life- 
rented  by  an  elder  sister.  It  was  a  whimsical  settlement  of 
old  Singleside's,  sir  ;  he  pitted  the  two  cats  his  daughters 
against  each  other — ha  1  ha  !  ha  !  " 

"  Well,  sir,''  said  Mannering,  without  the  slightest  smile  of 
sympathy — "  but  to  the  purpose.  You  say  that  this  lady  had 
power  to  settle  her  estate  on  Miss  Bertram,  and  that  she  did 
so?" 

"  Even  so.  Colonel,"  replied  Glossin.  "  I  think  I  should 
understand  the  law — I  have  followed  it  for  many  years,  and 
though  I  have  given  it  up  to  retire  upon  a  handsome  compe- 
tence, I  did  not  throw  away  that  knowledge  which  is  pro- 
nounced better  than  house  and  land,  and  which  I  take  to  be 
the  knowledge  of  the  law,  since,  as  our  common  rhyme  has  it, 

'Tis  most  excellent, 

To  win  the  land  that's  gone  and  spent. 

No,  no — I  love  the  smack  of  the  whip — I  have  a  little,  a  very 
little  law  yet,  at  the  service  of  my  friends." 

Glossin  ran  on  in  this  manner,  thinking  he  had  made  a  fav- 
orable impression  on  Mannering.  The  Colonel  indeed  re- 
flected that  this  might  be  a  most  important  crisis  for  Miss 
Bertram's  interest,  and  resolved  that  his  strong  inclination  to 
throw  Glossin  out  at  window,  or  at  door,  should  not  interfere 
with  it.  He  put  a  strong  curb  on  his  temper,  and  resolved  to 
listen  with  patience  at  least,  if  without  complacence.  He  there- 
fore let  Mr.  Glossin  get  to  the  end  of  his  self-congratulations, 
and  then  asked  him  if  he  knew  where  the  deed  was. 


212 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  I  know —  hat  is,  I  think— I  believe  I  can  recover  it.  In 
such  cases  custodiers  have  sometimes  made  a  charge." 

"  We  won't  differ  as  to  that,  sir/*  said  the  Colonel,  taking 
out  his  pocket-book. 

But,  my  dear  sir,  you  take  me  so  very  short,  I  said  some 
persons  might  make  such  a  claim — I  mean  for  payment  of  the 
expenses  of  the  deed,  trouble  in  the  affair,  etc.  But  I,  for  my 
own  part,  only  wish  Miss  Bertram  and  her  friends  to  be  satisfied 
that  I  am  acting  toward  her  with  honor.  There's  the  paper, 
sir !  It  would  have  been  a  satisfaction  to  me  to  have  delivered 
it  into  Miss  Bertram's  own  hands,  and  to  have  wished  her  joy 
of  the  prospects  which  it  opens.  But  since  her  prejudices  on 
the  subject  are  invincible,  it  only  remains  for  me  to  transmit 
her  my  best  wishes  through  you,  Colonel  Mannering,  and  to 
express  that  I  shall  willingly  give  my  testimony  in  support  of 
that  deed  when  I  shall  be  called  upon.  I  have  the  honor  to 
wish  you  a  good  morning,  sir." 

This  parting  speech  was  so  well  got  up,  and  had  so  much  the 
tone  of  conscious  integrity  unjustly  suspected,  that  even  Colonel 
Mannering  was  staggered  in  his  bad  opinion.  He  followed  him 
two  or  three  steps,  and  took  leave  of  him  with  more  politeness 
(though  still  cold  and  formal)  than  he  had  paid  during  his 
visit.  Glossin  left  the  house,  half  pleased  with  the  impression 
he  had  made,  half  mortified  by  the  stern  caution  and  proud 
reluctance  with  which  he  had  been  received.  "  Colonel  Man- 
nering might  have  had  more  politeness,"  he  said  to  himself — 
"  it  is  not  every  man  that  can  bring  a  good  chance  of  ^^"400  a- 
year  to  a  penniless  girl.  Singleside  must  be  up  to  ;^4oo  a-year 
now — there's  Reilageganbeg,  Gillifidget,  Loverless,  Liealone, 
and  the  Spinster's  Knowe — good  ^400  a-year.  Some  people 
might  have  made  their  own  of  it  in  my  place — and  yet,  to  own 
the  truth,  after  much  consideration,  I  don't  see  how  that  is 
possible.'' 

Glossin  was  no  sooner  mounted  and  gone  than  the  Colonel 
despatched  a  groom  for  Mac-Morlan,  and  putting  the  deed 
into  his  hand,  requested  to  know  if  it  was  likely  to  be  available 
to  his  friend  Lucy  Bertram.  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  perused  it  with 
eyes  that  sparkled  with  delight,  snapped  his  fingers  repeatedly, 
and  at  length  exclaimed,  Available  ! — it's  as  tight  as  a  glove 
■ — naebody  could  make  better  wark  than  Glossin,  when  he  didna 
let  down  a  steek  on  purpose.    But  "  (his  countenance  falling) 

"  the  auld  b  ,  that    I    should   say  so,   might   alter  at 

pleasure  ?  " 

"  Ah  !    And  how  shall  we  know  whether  she  has  done  so  ? 


GCry  MANNERING, 


"  Somebody  must  attend  on  Miss  Bertram^s  part  when  the 
repositories  of  the  deceased,  are  opened." 
Can  you  go  ?  "  said  the  Colonel. 

*'  I  fear  I  cannot/'  replied  Mac-AIorlan  ;  "  I  must  attend  a 
jury  trial  before  our  court." 

"  Then  I  will  go  myself,"  said  the  Colonel  ;  "  I'll  set  out  to- 
morrow. Sampson  shall  go  with  me — he  is  witness  to  this 
settlement.    But  I  shall  want  a  legal  adviser." 

The  gentleman  that  was  lately  sheriff  of  this  county  is  high 
in  reputation  as  a  barrister  ;  I  will  give  you  a  card  of  introduc- 
tion to  him." 

"  What  I  like  about  you,  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,"  said  the  Colonel, 
"  is,  that  you  always  come  straight  to  the  point  : — let  me  have 
it  instantly.  Shall  we  tell  Miss  Lucy  her  chance  of  becoming 
an  heiress  1  " 

Surely,  because  you  must  have  some  powers  from  her, 
which  I  will  instantly  draw  out.  Besides,  I  will  be  caution  for 
her  prudence,  and  that  she  will  consider  it  only  in  the  light  of  a 
chance.'' 

Mr.  Mac-Morlan  judged  well.  It  could  not  be  discerned 
from  Miss  Bertram's  manner  that  she  founded  exulting  hopes 
upon  the  prospect  thus  unexpectedly  opening  before  her.  She 
did,  indeed,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  ask  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  as 
if  by  accident,  what  might  be  the  annual  income  of  the  Hazle- 
wood  property  ;  but  shall  we  therefore  aver  for  certain  that  she 
was  considering  whethei  an  heiress  of  four  hundred  a-year  might 
be  a  suitable  match  for  the  young  Laird  1 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SIXTH. 

Give  me  a  cup  of  sack,  to  make  mine  eyes  look  red — 

For  I  must  speak  in  passion,  and  I  will  do  it  in  King  Cambvses'  vein. 

Henry  IV.  Fart  L 

Mannering,  with  Sampson  for  his  companion,  lost  no  time 
in  his  journey  to  Edinburgh.  They  traveled  in  the  Colonel's 
post-chariot,  who,  knowing  his  companion's  habits  of  abstraction, 
did  not  choose  to  lose  him  out  of  his  own  sight,  far  less  to  trust 
him  on  horseback,  where,  in  all  probability,  a  knavish  stable- 
boy  might  with  little  address  have  contrived  to  mount  him  with 
his  face  to  the  tail.    Accordingly,  with  the  aid  of  his  valet,  who 


2i4 


GUY  MANNERING. 


attended  on  horseback,  he  contrived  to  bring  Mr.  Sampson  safe 
to  an  inn  in  Edinburgh, — for  hotels  in  those  days  there  were 
none, — without  any  other  accident  than  arose  from  his  straying 
twice  upon  the  road.  On  one  occasion  he  was  recovered  by 
Barnes,  who  understood  his  humor,  when,  after  engaging  in 
close  colloquy  with  the  schoolmaster  of  Moffat,  respecting  a 
disputed  quantity  in  Horace's  seventh  Ode,  Book  II.,  the  dispute 
led  on  to  another  controversy,  concerning  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  word  Malobathro^  in  that  lyric  effusion.  His  second  es- 
capade was  made  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  field  of  Rullion- 
green,  which  was  dear  to  his  Presbyterian  predilections.  Hav- 
ing got  out  of  the  carriage  for  an  instant,  he  saw  the  sepulchral 
monument  of  the  slain  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile,  and  was 
arrested  by  Barnes  in  his  progress  up  the  Pentland  Hills,  having 
on  both  occasions  forgot  his  friend,  patron,  and  fellow-traveler, 
as  completely  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  East  Indies.  On  being 
reminded  that  Colonel  Mannering  was  waiting  for  him,  he  ut- 
tered his  usual  ejaculation  of  "  Prodigious  \ — I  was  oblivious," 
and  then  strode  back  to  his  post.  Barnes  was  surprised  at  his 
master's  patience  on  both  occasions,  knowing  by  experience 
how  little  he  brooked  neglect  or  delay ;  but  the  Dominie  was  in 
every  respect  a  privileged  person.  His  patron  and  he  were 
never  for  a  moment  in  each  other's  way,  and  it  seemed  obvious 
that  they  were  formed  to  be  companions  through  life.  If  Man- 
nering wanted  a  particular  book,  the  Dominie  could  bring  it ;  if 
he  wished  to  have  accounts  summed  up  or  checked,  his  assist- 
ance was  equally  ready  ;  if  he  desired  to  recall  a  particular 
passage  in  the  classics,  he  could  have  recourse  to  the  Dominie  as 
to  a  dictionary ;  and  all  the  while,  this  walking  statue  was 
neither  presuming  when  noticed,  nor  sulky  when  left  to  himself. 
To  a  proud,  shy,  reserved  man,  and  such  in  many  respects  was 
Mannering,  this  sort  of  living  catalogue,  and  animated  autom- 
aton, had  all  the  advantages  of  a  literary  dumb-waiter. 

As  soon  as  they  arrived  in  Edinburgh,  and  were  established 
at  the  George  Inn,  near  Bristo-Port,  then  kept  by  old  Cockburn, 
^  (I  love  to  be  particular),  the  Colonel  desired  the  waiter  to  pro- 
cure him  a  guide  to  Mr.  Pleydell's  the  advocate,  for  whom  he 
had  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Mac-Morlan.  He  then 
commanded  Barnes  to  have  an  eye  to  the  Dominie,  and  walked 
forth  with  a  chairman,  who  was  to  usher  him  to  the  man  of 
law. 

The  period  was  near  the  end  of  the  American  war.  The 
desire  of  room,  of  air,  and  of  decent  accommodation,  had  not 
as  yet  made  very  much  progress  in  the  capital  of  Scotland. 
Some  efforts  had  been  made  on  the  south  side  of  the  town  to- 


GUY  MANNERINO, 


ward  building  houses  within  themselves^  as  they  are  emphatically 
termed  ;  and  the  New  Town  on  the  north,  since  so  much  ex- 
tended, was  then  just  commenced.  But  the  great  bulk  of  the 
better  classes,  and  particularly  those  connected  with  the  law, 
still  lived  in  flats  or  dungeons  of  the  Old  Town.  The  manners 
also  of  some  of  the  veterans  of  the  law  had  not  admitted  inno- 
vation. One  or  two  eminent  lawyers  still  saw  their  clients  in 
taverns,  as  was  the  general  custom  fifty  years  before  ;  and  al- 
though their  habits  were  already  considered  as  old-fashioned 
by  the  younger  barristers,  yet  the  custom  of  mixing  wine  and 
revelry  with  serious  business  was  still  maintained  by  those 
senior  counselors,  who  loved  the  old  road,  either  because  it  was 
such,  or  because  they  had  got  too  well  used  to  it  to  travel  any 
other.  Among  those  praisers  of  the  past  time,  who  with  os- 
tentatious obstinacy  affected  the  manners  of  a  former  genera- 
tion, was  this  same  Paulus  Pleydell,  Esq.,  otherwise  a  good 
scholar,  an  excellent  lawyer,  and  a  worthy  man. 

Under  the  guidance  of  his  trusty  attendant.  Colonel  Man- 
nering,  after  threading  a  dark  lane  or  two,  reached  the  High- 
Street,  then  clanging  with  the  voices  of  oyster-women  and  the 
bells  of  pie-men ;  for  it  had,  as  his  guide  assured  him,  just 
"  chappit  eight  upon  the  Tron."  It  was  long  since  Mannering 
had  been  in  the  street  of  a  crowded  metropolis,  which,  with  its 
noise  and  clamor,  its  sounds  of  trade,  of  revelry  and  of  license, 
its  variety  of  lights,  and  the  eternally  changing  bustle  of  its 
hundred  groups,  offers,  by  night  especially,  a  spectacle  which, 
though  composed  of  the  most  vulgar  materials  when  they  are 
separately  considered,  has,  when  they  are  combined,  a  striking 
and  powerful  effect  on  the  imagination.  The  extraordinary 
height  of  the  houses  was  marked  by  lights,  which,  glimmering 
irregularly  along  the  front,  ascended  so  high  among  the  attics, 
that  they  seemed  at  length  to  twinkle  in  the  middle  sky.  This 
coup  d^ml^  which  still  subsists  in  a  certain  degree,  was  then  more 
imposing,  owing  to  the  uninterrupted  range  of  buildings  on  each 
side,  which,  broken  only  at  the  space  where  the  North  Bridge 
joins  the  main  street,  formed  a  superb  and  uniform  Place, 
extending  from  the  front  of  the  Luckenbooths  to  the  head  of 
the  Canongate,  and  corresponding  in  breadth  and  length  to  the 
uncommon  height  of  the  buildings  on  either  side. 

Mannering  had  not  much  time  to  look  and  to  admire.  His 
conductor  hurried  him  across  this  striking  scene,  and  suddenly 
dived  with  him  into  a  very  steep  paved  lane.  Turning  to  the 
right,  they  entered  a  scale-staircase,  as  it  is  called,  the  state  of 
which,  so  far  as  it  could  be  judged  of  by  one  of  his  senses 
annoyed  Mannering's  delicacy  not  a  little.    When  they  had 


ii6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


ascended  cautiously  to  a  considerable  height,  they  heard  a 
heavy  rap  at  a  door,  still^  two  stories  above  them.  The  door, 
opened,  and  immediately  ensued  the  sharp  and  worrying  bark 
of  a  dog,  the  squalling  of  a  woman,  the  screams  of  an  assaulted 
cat,  and  the  hoarse  voice  of  a  man,  who  cried  in  a  most 
imperative  tone,  "Will  ye.  Mustard? — will  ye?  —  down,  sir! 
down ! 

"  Lord  preserve  us  !  "  said  the  female  voice,  "  an  he  had 
worried  our  cat,  Mr.  Pleydell  would  ne'er  hae  forgi'en  me  ! 

"  Aweel,  my  doo,  the  cat's  no  a  prin  the  waur — So  he's  no 
in,  ye  say  ?  " 

"  Na,  Mr,  Pleydell's  ne'er  in  the  house  on  Saturday  at  e'en," 
answered  the  female  voice. 

And  the  morn's  Sabbath  too,"  said  the  querist ;  "  I  dinna 
ken  what  will  be  done." 

By  this  time  Mannering  appeared,  and  found  a  tall  strong 
countryman,  clad  in  a  coat  of  pepper-and-salt  colored  mixture, 
with  huge  metal  buttons,  a  glazed  hat  and  boots,  and  a  large 
horsewhip  beneath  his  arm,  in  colloquy  with  a  slip-shod  damsel, 
who  had  in  one  hand  the  lock  of  the  door,  and  in  the  other  a 
pail  of  whiting,  or  camsfane,  as  it  is  called,  mixed  with  water — 
a  circumstance  which  indicates  Saturday  night  in  Edinburgh. 

"  So  Mr.  Pleydell  is  not  at  home,  my  good  girl  ? "  said 
Mannering. 

"  Ay,  sir,  he's  at  hame,  but  he's  no  in  the  house  :  he's  aye 
out  on  Saturday  at  e'en." 

"  But,  my  good  girl,  I  am  a  stranger,  and  my  business 
express. — Will  you  tell  me  where  I  can  find  him  ?  " 

"  His  honor,"  said  the  chairman,  "  will  be  at  Clerihugh's 
about  this  time — Hersell  could  hae  tell'd  ye  that,  but  she 
thought  ye  wanted  to  see  his  house." 

"  Well,  then,  show  me  to  this  tavern — I  suppose  he  will  see 
me,  as  I  come  on  business  of  some  consequence  ? " 

"  I  dinna  ken,  sir,"  said  the  girl ;  he  disna  like  to  be 
disturbed  on  Saturday  wi'  business — but  he's  aye  civil  to 
strangers." 

*'  I'll  gang  to  the  tavern  too,"  said  our  friend  Dinmont,  *  for 
I  am  a  stranger  also,  and  on  business  e'en  sic  like." 

"Na,"said  the  handmaiden,  "an  he  see  the  gentleman  he'll 
see  the  simple  body  too — but,  Lord's  sake,  dinna  say  it  was  me 
sent  ye  there  !  " 

"  Aweel,  I'm  a  simple  body,  that's  true,  hinney,  but  I  am 
no  come  lo  steal  ony  o'  his  skeel  for  naething,"  said  the  fanner 
in  his  honest  pride,  and  strutted  away  down  stairs,  followed  by 
Mannering  and  the  cadie.  Mannering  could  not  help  admiring 


GUY  MANNERING. 


217 


the  determined  stride  with  which  the  stranger  who  preceded 
them  divided  the  press,  shouldering  from  him,  by  the  mere 
weight  and  impetus  of  his  motion,  both  drunk  and  sober 
passengers.  He'll  be  a  Teviotdale  tup  tat  ane/'  said  the 
chairman,  tat's  for  keeping  ta  crown  o'  ta  causeway  tat  gate  ; 
he'll  no  gang  far  or  he'll  get  somebody  to  bell  ta  cat  wi'  him." 

His  shrewd  augury,  however,  was  not  fulfilled.  Those  who 
recoiled  from  the  colossal  weight  of  Dinmont,  on  looking  up  at 
his  size  and  strength,  apparently  judged  him  too  heavy  metal 
to  be  rashly  encountered,  and  suffered  him  to  persue  his  course 
unchallenged.  Following  in  the  wake  of  this  first-rate,  Man- 
nering  proceeded  till  the  farmer  made  a  pause,  and,  looking 
back  to  the  chairman,  said,  "  I'm  thinking  this  will  be  the 
close,  friend  1 " 

"Ay,  ay"  replied  Donald,  "tat's  ta  close." 

Dinmont  descended  confidently,  then  turned  into  a  dark  alley 
— then  up  a  dark  stair — and  then  into  an  open  door.  While 
he  was  whistling  shrilly  for  the  waiter,  as  if  he  had  been  one  of 
his  collie  dogs,  Mannering  looked  round  him,  and  could  hardly 
conceive  how  a  gentleman  of  a  liberal  profession,  and  good 
society,  should  choose  such  a  scene  for  social  indulgence.  Be- 
sides the  miserable  entrance,  the  house  itself  seemed  paltry  and 
half  ruinous.  The  passage  in  which  they  stood  had  a  window 
to  the  close,  which  admitted  a  little  light  during  the  day-time, 
and  a  villainous  compound  of  smells  at  all  times,  but  more 
especially  toward  evening.  Corresponding  to  this  window  was 
a  borrowed  light  on  the  other  side  of  the  passage,  looking  into 
the  kitchen,  which  had  no  direct  communication  with  the  free 
air,  but  received  in  the  day-time,  at  second  hand,  such  straggling 
and  obscure  light  as  found  its  way  from  the  lane  though  the 
window  opposite.  At  present,  the  interior  of  the  kitchen  was 
visible  by  its  own  huge  fires — a  sort  of  pandemonium,  where 
men  and  women,  half  undressed,  were  busied  in  baking,  broil- 
ing, roasting  oysters,  and  preparing  devils  on  the  gridiron  ;  the 
mistress  of  the  place,  with  her  shoes  slip-shod,  and  her  hair 
straggling  like  that  of  Magaera  from  under  a  round-eared  cap, 
toiling,  scolding,  receiving  orders,  giving  them,  and  obeying 
them  all  at  once,  seemed  the  presiding  enchantress  of  that 
gloomy  and  fiery  region. 

Loud  and  repeated  bursts  of  laughter,  from  different  quar- 
ters of  the  house,  proved  that  her  labors  were  acceptable,  and 
not  unrewarded  by  a  generous  public.  With  some  difficulty  a 
waiter  was  prevailed  upon  to  show  Colonel  Mannering  and 
Dinmont  the  room  where  their  friend,  learned  in  the  law,  held 
his  hebdomadal  carousals.    The  scene  which  it  exhibited, 


2I& 


GUY  MANNERim. 


and  particularly  the  attitude  of  the  counselor  himself,  the 
principal  figure  therein,  struck  his  two  clients  with  amaze 
ment. 

Mr.  Pleydell  was  a  lively,  sharp-looking  gentleman,  with  a 
professional  shrewdness  in  his  eye,  and,  generally  speaking,  a 
professional  formality  in  his  manners.  But  this,  like  his  three- 
tailed  wig  and  black  coat,  he  could  slip  off  on  a  Saturday  even- 
ing, when  surrounded  by  a  party  of  jolly  companions,  and  dis- 
posed for  what  he  called  his  altitudes.  On  the  present  occasion, 
the  revel  had  lasted  since  four  o'clock,  and  at  length,  under  the 
direction  cf  a  venerable  compotator,  who  had  shared  the  sports 
and  festivity  of  three  generations,  the  frolicsome  company  had 
begun  to  practice  the  ancient  and  now  forgotten  pastime  of 
High  Jmks,^  This  game  was  played  in  several  different  ways. 
Most  frequently  the  dice  were  thrown  by  the  company,  and  those 
upon  whom  the  lot  fell  were  obliged  to  assume  and  maintain 
for  a  time,  a  certain  fictitious  character,  or  to  repeat  a  certain 
number  of  fescennine  verses  in  a  particular  order.  If  they 
departed  from  the  characters  assigned,  or  if  their  memory  proved 
treacherous  in  the  repetition,  they  incurred  forfeits,  which  were 
either  compounded  for  by  swallowing  an  additional  bumper,  or 
by  paying  a  small  sum  toward  the  reckoning.  At  this  sport 
the  jovial  company  were  closely  engaged,  when  Mannering 
entered  the  room. 

Mr.  Counselor  Pleydell,  such  as  we  have  described  him,  was 
enthroned,  as  a  monarch,  in  an  elbow-chair,  placed  on  the 
dining-table,  his  scratch  wig  on  one  side,  his  head  crowned  with 
a  bottle-slider,  his  eye  leering  with  an  expression  betwixt  fun 
and  the  effects  of  wine,  while  his  court  around  him  resounded 
with  such  crambo  scraps  of  verse  as  these  : — 

Where  is  Gerunto  now  !  and  what's  become  of  him  ? 
Gerunto's  drowned  because  he  could  not  swim,  etc.  etc. 

Such,  O  Themis,  were  anciently  the  sports  of  thy  Scottish 
children  1  Dinmont  was  first  in  the  room.  He  stood  aghast 
a  moment, — and  then  exclaimed,  "  It's  him,  sure  enough — 
Deil  o'  the  like  o*  that  ever  I  saw ! 

At  the  sound  of  Mr.  Dinmont  and  Colonel  Mannering 
wanting  to  speak  to  you,  sir,''  Pleydell  turned  his  head,  and 
blushed  a  little  when  he  saw  the  very  genteel  figure  of  the 
English  stranger.  He  was,  however,  of  the  opinion  of  Falstaff, 
"Out,  ye  villains,  play  out  the  play!"  wisely  judging  it  the 
better  way  to  appear  totally  unconcerned.    "  Where  be  your 


*  Note  G.    High  Jinks. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


219 


guards  ? "  exclaimed  this  second  Justinian  ;  "  see  ye  not  a 
stranger  knight  from  foreign  parts  arrived  at  this  our  court  of 
Holyrood, — with  our  bold  yeoman  Andrew  Dinmont,  who  has 
succeeded  to  the  keeping  of  our  royal  flocks  within  the  forest  of 
Jedwood,  where,  thanks  to  our  royal  care  in  the  administration 
of  justice,  they  feed  as  safe  as  if  they  were  within  the  bounds  of 
Fife  ?  Where  be  our  heralds,  our  pursuivants,  our  Lyon,  our 
Marchmount,  our  Carrick,  and  our  Snowdown  ?  Let  the  stran- 
gers be  placed  at  our  board,  and  regaled  as  beseemeth  their 
quality,  and  this  our  high  holiday — to-morrow  we  will  hear  their 
tidings." 

"  So  please  you,  my  liege,  to-morrow's  Sunday,"  said  one  of 
the  company. 

"  Sunday,  is  it  1  then  w'e  will  give  no  offence  to  the  assembly 
of  the  kirk — on  Monday  shall  be  their  audience." 

Mannering,  who  had  stood  at  first  uncertain  whether  to 
advance  or  retreat,  now  resolved  to  enter  for  the  moment  into 
the  whim  of  the  scene,  though  internally  fretting  at  Mac-Morlan 
for  sending  him  to  consult  with  a  cracked-brained  humorist. 
He  therefore  advanced  with  three  profound  congees,  and  craved 
permission  to  lay  his  credentials  at  the  foot  of  the  Scottish 
monarch,  in  order  to  be  perused  at  his  best  leisure.  The 
gravity  with  which  he  accommodated  himself  to  the  humor  of 
the  moment,  and  the  deep  and  humble  inclination  with  which 
he  at  first  declined,  and  then  accepted,  a  seat  presented  by 
the  master  of  the  ceremonies,  procured  him  three  rounds  of  ap- 
plause. 

"  Deil  hae  me,  if  they  arena  a'  mad  thegither !  "  said  Din- 
mont, occupying  with  less  ceremony  a  seat  at  the  bottom  of  the 
table,  "  or  else  they  hae  taen  Yule  before  it  comes,  and  are 
gaun  aguisarding." 

A  large  glass  of  claret  was  offered  to  Mannering,  who  drank 
it  to  the  health  of  the  reigning  prince.  *'  You  are,  I  presume 
to  guess,"  said  the  monarch,  that  celebrated  Sir  Miles  Man- 
nering, so  renowned  in  the  French  wars,  and  may  well  pro- 
nounce to  us  if  the  wines  of  Gascony  lose  their  flavor  in  our 
more  northern  realm." 

Mannering,  agreeably  flattered  by  this  allusion  to  the  fame 
of  his  celebrated  ancestor,  replied,  by  professing  himself  only  a 
distant  relation  of  the  preux  chevalier,  and  added,  *'  that,  in  his 
opinion,  the  wine  wjis  superlatively  good." 

"  It's  ower  cauld  for  my  stamach,"  said  Dinmont,  setting 
down  the  glass  (empty,  however). 

We  will  correct  that  quality,"  answered  King  Paulus,  the 
first  of  tne  name  ;  we  have  not  forgotten  that  the  moist  and 


220 


GUY  MANNERING. 


humid  air  of  our  valley  of  Liddel  inclines  to  stronger  potations. 
— Seneschal,  let  our  faithful  yeoman  have  a  cup  of  brandy ;  it 
will  be  more  germain  to  the  matter/' 

"  And  now/'  said  Mannering,  "  since  we  have  unwarily  in- 
truded upon  your  majesty  at  a  moment  of  mirthful  retirement, 
be  pleased  to  say  when  you  will  indulge  a  stranger  with  an 
audience  on  those  affairs  of  weight  which  have  brought  him  to 
your  northern  capital." 

The  monarch  opened  Mac-Morlan's  letter,  and,  running  it 
hastily  over,  exclaimed  with  his  natural  voice  and  manner, 
"  Lucy  Bertram  of  Ellangowan,  poor  dear  lassie  !  " 

"  A  forfeit !  a  forfeit ! "  exclaimed  a  dozen  voices  ;  his 
majesty  has  forgot  his  kingly  character." 

Not  a  whit  !  not  a  whit !  "  replied  the  king ; — I'll  be 
judged  by  this  courteous  knight.  May  not  a  monarch  love  a 
maid  of  low  degree  ?  Is  not  King  Copherua  and  the  Beggar 
maid  an  adjudged  case  in  point  ?  " 

"  Professional !  professional ! — another  forfeit !  "  exclaimed 
the  tumultuary  nobility. 

"  Had  not  our  royal  predecessors,"  continued  the  monarch, 
exalting  his  sovereign  voice  to  drown  these  disaffected  clamors 
— "  had  they  not  their  Jean  Logics,  their  Bessie  Carmichaels, 
their  Oliphants,  their  Sandilands,  and  their  Weirs,  and  shall  it 
be  denied  to  us  even  to  name  a  maiden  whom  we  delight  to 
honor  Nay,  then,  sink  state,  and  perish  sovereignty  !  for,  like 
a  second  Charles  V.,  we  will  abdicate,  and  seek  in  the  private 
shades  of  life  those  pleasures  which  are  denied  to  a  throne." 

So  saying,  he  flung  away  his  crown,  and  sprung  from  his 
exalted  station  with  more  agility  than  could  have  been  expected 
from  his  age,  ordered  lights  and  a  wash-hand  basin  and  towel, 
with  a  cup  of  green  tea,  into  another  room,  and  made  a  sign  to 
Mannering  to  accompany  him.  In  less  than  two  minutes  he 
washed  his  face  and  hands,  settled  his  wig  in  the  glass,  and,  to 
Mannering's  great  surprise,  looked  quite  a  different  man  from 
the  childish  Bacchanal  he  had  seen  a  moment  before. 

''There  are  folks,"  he  said,  "  Mr.  Mannering,  before  whom 
one  should  take  care  how  they  play  the  fool — because  they 
have  either  too  much  malice,  or  too  little  wit,  as  the  poet  says. 
The  best  compliment  I  can  pay  Colonel  Mannering,  is  to  show 
I  am  not  ashamed  to  expose  myself  before  him — and  truly  I 
think  it  is  a  compliment  I  have  not  spared  to-night  on  your 
good-nature. — But  what's  that  great  strong  fellow  wanting  " 

Dinmont,  who  had  pushed  after  Mannering  mto  the  room, 
began  with  a  scrape  of  his  foot  and  a  scratch  of  his  head  in 
unison.    "  1  am  Dandie  Dinmont,  sir,  of  the  Charlies-hope — 


GUY  MANNERING. 


221 


the  Liddesdale  kd — ye'U  mind  me  ?  It  was  for  me  you  won 
yon  grand  plea/* 

"  What  plea,  you  loggerhead  ? "  said  the  lawyer  ;  "  d'ye  think 
I  can  remember  all  the  fools  that  come  to  plague  me  ? 

"  Lord,  sir,  it  was  the  grand  plea  about  the  grazing  o*  the 
Langtae-head,''  said  the  farmer. 

"  Well,  curse  thee,  never  mind  ; — give  me  the  memorial,* 
and  come  to  me  on  Monday  at  ten,  replied  the  learned  counsel. 

"  But,  sir,  I  haena  got  ony  distinct  memorial." 
No  memorial,  man  ?  "  said  Pleydell. 

"  Na,  sir,  nae  memorial  answered  Dandie ;  "  for  your 
honor  said  before,  Mr.  Pleydell,  ye'll  mind,  that  ye  liked  best 
to  hear  us  hill-folk  tell  our  ane  tale  by  word  o*  mouth." 

"  Beshrew  my  tongue  that  said  so  !  "  answered  the  counselor; 
it  will  cost  my  ears  a  dinning. — Well,  say  in  two  words  what 
you've  got  to  say — you  see  the  gentleman  waits." 

"  Ou,  sir,  if  the  gentleman  likes  he  may  play  his  ain  spring 
first;  it's  a'  ane  to  Dandie." 

Now,  you  looby,"  said  the  lawyer,  cannot  you  conceive 
that  your  business  can  be  nothing  to  Colonel  Mannering,  but 
that  he  may  not  choose  to  have  these  great  ears  of  thine  regaled 
with  his  matters  ?  " 

"  Aweel,  sir,  just  as  you  and  he  like,  so  you  see  to  my  busi- 
ness," said  Dandie,  not  a  whit  disconcerted  by  the  roughness 
of  this  reception.  "  We're  at  the  auld  wark  o'  the  marches 
again,  Jock  o'  Dawston  Cleugh  and  me.  Ye  see  we  march  on 
the  tap  o'  Touthop-rigg  after  we  pass  the  Pomoragrains ;  for 
the  Pomoragrains,  and  Slackenspool,  and  Bloodylaws,  they 
come  in  there,  and  they  belang  to  the  Peel ;  but  after  ye  pass 
Pomoragrains  at  a  muckle  great  saucer-headed  cutlugged  stane, 
that  they  ca'  Charlies  Chuckle,  there  Dawston  Cleugh  and 
Charlies-hope  chey  march.  Now,  I  say,  the  march  rins  on  the 
tap  o'  the  hill  where  the  wind  and  water  shears  ;  but  Jock 
Dawston  Cleugh  again,  he  contravenes  that,  and  says  that  it 
hands  down  by  the  auld  drove-road  that  gaes  awa  by  the  Knot 
o'  the  Gate  ower  to  Keelder-ward — and  that  makes  an  unco 
difference," 

"  And  what  difference  does  it  make,  friend  ?  "  said  Pleydell. 
"  How  many  sheep  will  it  feed  ?  " 

Ou,  no  mony,"  said  Dandie,  scratching  his  head  ;  "  it's 
lying  high  and  exposed — it  may  feed  a  hog,  or  aiblins  twa  in  a 
good  year." 

And  for  this  grazing,  which  may  be  worth  about  five  shil* 
•  Scottish  memorial  corresponds  to  the  English  brict» 


222 


GUY  MANNERING, 


lings  a-year,  you  are  willing  to  throw  away  a^hundred  pound  or 
two  ?  " 

"  Na,  sir,  it's  no  for  the  value  of  the  grass,"  replied  Dinmont, 
if  s  for  justice." 

"My  good  friend,"  said  Pleydell,  "justice,  like  charity, 
should  begin  at  home.  Do  you  justice  to  your  wife  and  family, 
and  think  no  more  about  the  matter." 

Dinmont  still  lingered,  twisting  his  hat  in  his  hand — "  It's 
no  for  that,  sir — but  I  would  like  ill  to  be  bragged  wi^  him  ; — 
he  threeps  he'll  bring  a  score  o'  witnesses  and  mair — and  I'm 
sure  there's  as  mony  will  swear  for  me  as  for  him,  folk  that 
lived  a'  their  days  upon  the  Charlies-hope,  and  wadna  like  to 
see  the  land  lose  its  right." 

*' Zounds,  man,  if  it  be  a  point  of  honor,"  said  the  lawyer, 
why  don't  your  landlords  take  it  up  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  ken,  sir,  (scratching  his  head  again)  ;  "  there's 
been  nae  election-dusts  lately,  and  the  lairds  are  unco  neigh- 
borly, and  Jock  and  me  cannot  get  them  to  yoke  thegither 
about  it  a'  that  we  can  say  ;  but  if  ye  thought  we  might  keep 
up  the  rent  "  

"  No  !  no  !  that  will  never  do,"  said  Pleydell; — "  confound 
you,  why  don't  you  take  good  cudgels  and  settle  it  ?  " 

"  Od,  sir,"  answered  the  farmer,  "  we  tried  that  three  times 
already — that's  twice  on  the  land  and  ance  at  Lockerby  fair. 
But  I  dinna  ken — we're  baith  gey  good  at  single-stick,  and  it 
couldna  weel  be  judged." 

"Then  take  broadswords,  and  be  d — d  to  you,  as  your 
fathers  did  before  you,"  said  the  counsel  learned  in  the  law. 

"  Aweel,  sir,  if  ye  think  it  wadna  be  again  the  law,  it's  a' 
ane  to  Dandie." 

"  Hold  !  hold  !  "  exclaimed  Pleydell,  "  we  shall  have  an- 
other Lord  Soulis'  mistake  ^ — Pr'ythee,  man,  comprehend  me  ; 
I  wish  you  lo  consider  how  very  trifling  and  foolish  a  lawsuit 
you  wish  to  engage  in." 

"Ay,  sir?"  said  Dandie,  in  a  disappointed  tone.  "  So  ye 
winna  take  on  wi'  me,  I'm  doubting  t " 

"  Me  !  not  I — Go  home,  go  home,  take  a  pint  and  agree.'* 
Dandie  looked  but  half  contented,  and  still  remained  stationary, 
•'^  Anything  more,  my,  friend  ?  " 

"Only,  sir,  about  the  succession  of  this  leddy  that's  dead — 
auld  Miss  Margaret  Bertram  o'  Singlcside." 

"  Ay,  what  about  her  1 "  said  the  counselor,  rather  surprised. 

"Ou,  we  have  nae  connection  at  a'  wi'  the  Bertrams,"  said 

*  [Sec  Minstrelsy^  vol.  iv.  p.  214. — This  border  tyrant  was  boiled  in  his 
own  cauldron  at  the  jocular  suggestion  of  the  king.] 


GtJY  MANNERING, 


Dandie — they  were  grand  folk  by  the  like  o'  us. — But  Jean 
Liltup,  that  was  auld  Singleside's  housekeeper,  and  the  mother 
of  these  twa  young  ladies  that  are  gane — the  last  o'  them's 
dead  at  a  ripe  age,  I  trow — Jean  Liltup  came  out  o'  Liddle 
water,  and  she  was  as  near  our  connection  as  second  cousin  to 
my  mother's  half  sister.  She  drew  up  wi'  Singleside,  nae  doubt, 
when  she  was  his  housekeeper,  and  it  was  a  sair  vex  and  grief 
to  a'  her  kith  and  kin.  But  he  acknowledged  a  marriage,  and 
satisfied  the  kirk — and  now  I  wad  ken  frae  you  if  we  hae  not 
some  claim  by  law  ?  " 

^'  Not  the  shadow  of  a  claim." 

"  Aweel,  we're  nae  puirer,"  said  Dandie — "  but  she  may  hae 
thought  on  us  if  she  was  minded  to  make  a  testament. — Weel, 

sir,  I've  said  my  say — I'se  e'en  wish  you  good  night,  and  "  ■ 

putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket. 

"  No,  no,  my  friend ;  I  never  take  fees  on  Saturday  night, 
or  without  a  memorial — away  with  you,  Dandie."  And  Dandie 
made  his  reverence,  and  departed  accordingly. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SEVEN. 

But  this  poor  farce  has  neither  truth,  nor  art, 

To  please  the  fancy  or  to  touch  the  heart, 

Dark  but  not  awful,  dismal  but  yet  mean. 

With  anxious  bustle  moves  the  cumbrous  scene ; 

Presents  no  objects  tender  or  profound, 

But  spreads  its  cold  unmeaning  gloom  around. 

Parish  Register. 

Your  majesty,"  said  Mannering,  laughing,  "has  solem- 
nized your  abdication  by  an  act  of  mercy  and  charity. — That 
fellow  will  scarce  think  of  going  to  law." 

Oh,  you  are  quite  wrong,"  said  the  experienced  lawyer. 
"  The  only  difference  is,  I  have  lost  my  client  and  my  fee. 
He'll  never  rest  till  he  finds  somebody  to  encourage  him  to 
commit  the  folly  he  has  predetermined. — No  !  no  !  I  have  only 
shown  you  another  weakness  of  my  character — I  always  speak 
truth  of  a  Saturday  night." 

"  And  sometimes  through  the  week,  I  should  think,"  said 
Mannering,  continuing  the  same  tone. 

"  Why,  yes  ;  as  far  as  my  vocation  will  permit.  I  am,  as 
Hamlet  says,  indifferent  honest,  when  my  clients  and  their 
solicitors  do  not  make  me  the  medium  of  conveying  their 


CUV  MANNERWG. 


double-distilled  lies  to  the  bench.  But  oportet  vivere !  it  is  a 
sad  thing. — And  now  to  our  business.  I  am  glad  my  old  friend 
Mac-Morlan  has  sent  you  to  me ;  he  is  an  active,  honest,  and 

intelligent  man,  long  sheriff -substitute  of  the  county  of  = 

under  me,  and  still  holds  the  office.  He  knows  I  have  a 
regard  for  that  unfortunate  family  of  Ellangowan,  and  for  poor 
Lucy.  I  have  not  seen  her  since  she  was  twelve  years  old,  and 
she  was  then  a  sweet  pretty  girl  under  the  management  of  a 
very  silly  father.  But  my  interest  in  her  is  of  an  early  date. 
I  was  called  upon,  Mr.  Mannering,  being  then  sheriff  of  that 
county,  to  investigate  the  particulars  of  a  murder  which  had 
been  committed  near  Ellangowan  the  day  on  which  this  poor 
child  was  born  ;  and  which,  by  a  strange  combination  that  I 
was  unhappily  not  able  to  trace,  involved  the  death  or  abstrac- 
tion of  her  only  brother,  a  boy  of  about  five  years  old.  No, 
Colonel,  I  shall  never  forget  the  misery  of  the  house  of  Ellan- 
gowan that  morning  ! — the  father  half-distracted — the  mother 
dead  in  premature  travail — the  helpless  infant,  with  scarce  any 
one  to  attend  it,  coming  wawling  and  crying  into  this  miserable 
world  at  such  a  moment  of  unutterable  misery.  We  lawyers 
are  not  of  iron,  sir,  or  of  brass,  any  more  than  you  soldiers  are 
of  steel.  We  are  conversant  with  the  crimes  and  distresses  of 
civil  society,  as  you  are  with  those  that  occur  in  a  state  of  war 
— and  to  do  our  duty  in  either  case,  a  little  apathy  is  perhaps 
necessary. — But  the  devil  take  a  soldier  whose  heart  can  be  as 
hard  as  his  sword,  and  his  dam  catch  the  lawyer  who  bronzes 
his  bosom  instead  of  his  forehead  ! — But  come,  I  am  losing  my 
Saturday  at  e'en — will  you  have  the  kindness  to  trust  me  with 
these  papers  which  relate  to  Miss  Bertram's  business  ? — And 
stay — to-morrow  you'll  take  a  bachelor's  dinner  with  an  old 
lawyer, — I  insist  upon  it,  at  three  precisely — and  come  an  hour 
sooner. — The  old  lady  is  to  be  buried  on  Monday ;  it  is  the 
orphan's  cause,  and  we'll  borrow  an  hour  from  the  Sunday  to 
talk  over  this  business — although  I  fear  nothing  can  be  done 
if  she  has  altered  her  settlement — unless  perhaps  it  occurs 
within  the  sixty  days,  and  then  if  Miss  Bertram  can  show  that 
she  possesses  the  character  of  heir-at-law,  why  

"  But,  hark  !  my  lieges  are  impatient  of  their  interregnum— 
I  do  not  invite  you  to  rejoin  us,  Colonel  ;  it  would  be  a  trespass 
on  your  complaisance,  unless  you  had  begun  the  day  with  us, 
and  gradually  glided  on  from  wisdom  to  mirth,  and  from  mirth 
to — to — to — extravagance. — Good  night. — PTarry,  go  home  with 
Mr.  Mannering  to  his  lodging. — Colonel,  I  expect  you  at  a 
little  past  two  to-morrow." 

The  Colonel  returned  to  his  inn,  equally  surprised  at  the 


GUV  MANI^ERTl^C. 


childish  frolics  in  which  he  had  found  his  learned  counselor 
engaged,  at  the  candor  and  sound  sense  which  he  had  in  a 
moment  summoned  up  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  his  profession, 
and  at  the  tone  of  feeling  which  he  displayed  when  he  spoke  of 
the  friendless  orphan. 

In  the  morning,  while  the  Colonel  and  his  most  quiet  and 
silent  of  all  retainers.  Dominie  Sampson,  were  finishing  the 
breakfast  which  Barnes  had  made  and  poured  out,  aftei  the 
Dominie  had  scalded  himself  in  the  attempt,  Mr.  Pleydell  was 
suddenly  ushered  in.  A  nicely-dressed  bob-wig,  upon  every 
hair  of  which  a  zealous  and  careful  barber  had  bestowed  its 
proper  allowance  of  powder ;  a  well-brushed  black  suit,  with 
very  clean  shoes  and  gold  buckles  and  stock-buckle  ;  a  manner 
rather  reserved  and  formal  than  intrusive,  but,  withal,  showing 
only  the  formality  of  manner,  by  no  means  that  of  awkwardness  ; 
a  countenance  the  expressive  and  somewhat  comic  features  of 
which  were  in  complete  repose, — all  showed  a  being  perfectly 
different  from  the  choice  spirit  of  the  evening  before.  A  glance 
of  shrewd  and  piercing  fire  in  his  eye  was  the  only  marked  ex- 
pression which  recalled  the  man  of  ''^  Saturday  at  e'en." 

"  I  am  come,"  said  he,  with  a  very  polite  address,  "  to  use  my 
regal  authority  in  your  behalf  in  spirituals  as  well  as  temporals 
— can  I  accompany  you  to  the  Presbyterian  kirk,  or  Episcopal 
meeting-house  ?  Tros  Tyriiisve — a  lawyer,  you  know,  is  of  both 
religions,  or  rather  I  should  say  of  both  forms — or  can  I  assist  in 
passing  the  forenoon  otherwise  ?  You'll  excuse  my  old-fashioned 
importunity — I  was  born  in  a  time  when  a  Scotchman  was  thought 
inhospitable  if  he  left  a  guest  alone  a  moment,  except  when  he 
slept — but  I  trust  you  will  tell  me  at  once  if  I  intrude." 

"  Not  at  all,  my  dear  sir,"  answered  Colonel  Mannering — "  I 
am  delighted  to  put  myself  under  your  pilotage.  I  should  wish 
much  to  hear  some  of  your  Scottish  preachers  whose  talents 
have  done  such  honor  to  your  country — your  Blair,  your  Robert- 
son, or  your  Henry;  and  I  embrace  your  kind  offer  with  all  my 
heart. — Only,"  drawing  the  lawyer  a  little  aside,  and  turning 
his  eye  toward  Sampson,  "  my  worthy  friend  there  in  the 
reverie  is  a  little  helpless  and  abstracted,  and  my  servant, 
Barnes,  who  is  his  pilot  in  ordinary,  cannot  well  assist  him  here, 
especially  as  he  has  expressed  his  determination  of  going  to  some 
of  your  darker  and  more  remote  places  of  worship." 

The  lawyer's  eye  glanced  at  Dominie  Sampson.  "  A  curiosity 
worth  preserving — and  I'll  find  you  a  fit  custodier. — Here  you, 
sir'*  (to  the  waiter),  "go  to  Luckie  Finlayson's  in  the  Cowgate 


♦  (Anglice,  street-porter). 


226 


GUY  MANNERINO. 


for  Miles  Macfin  the  cadie"* — he'll  be  there  about  this  time,— 
and  tell  him  I  wish  to  speak  to  him.*' 

The  person  wanted  soon  arrived.  I  will  commit  your  friend 
to  this  man's  charge,"  said  Pleydell ;  "  he'll  attend  him,  or 
conduct  him  wherever  he  chooses  to  go,  with  a  happy  indiffer- 
ence as  to  kirk  or  market,  meeting  or  court  of  justice,  or — any 
other  place  whatever,  and  bring  him  safe  home  at  whatever 
hour  you  appoint ;  so  that  Mr.  Barnes  there  may  be  left  to  the 
freedom  of  his  own  will." 

This  was  easily  arranged,  and  the  Colonel  committed  the 
Dominie  to  the  charge  of  this  man  while  they  should  remain  in 
Edinburgh. 

"  And  now,  sir,  if  you  please,  we -shall  go  to  the  Greyfriars 
church,  to  hear  our  historian  of  Scotland,  of  the  Continent, 
and  of  America." 

They  were  disappointed — he  did  not  preach  that  morning. — 
"  Never  mind,"  said  the  counselor,  "  have  a  moment's  patience, 
and  we  shall  do  very  well." 

The  colleague  of  Dr.  Robertson  ascended  the  pulpit.*  His 
external  appearance  was  not  prepossessing.  A  remarkably  fair 
complexion,  strangely  contrasted  with  a  black  wig  without  a 
grain  of  powder  ;  a  narrow  chest  and  a  stooping  posture  ;  hands 
which,  placed  like  props  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit,  seemed 
necessary  rather  to  support  the  person  than  to  assist  the  gestic- 
ulation of  the  preacher, — no  gown,  not  even  that  of  Geneva, 
a  tumbled  band,  and  a  gesture  which  seemed  scarce  voluntary, 
were  the  first  circumstances  which  struck  a  stranger.  The 
preacher  seems  a  very  ungainly  person,"  whispered  Mannering 
to  his  new  friend. 

"Never  fear;  he's  the  son  of  an  excellent  Scottish  lawyer t 
— he'll  show  blood,  I'll  warrant  him." 

The  learned  counselor  predicted  truly.  A  lecture  was  de- 
livered, fraught  with  new,  striking,  and  entertaining  views  of 
Scripture  history — a  sermon,  in  which  the  Calvinism  of  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland  was  ably  supported,  yet  made  the  basis  of  a 
sound  system  of  practical  morals,  which  should  neither  shelter 
the  sinner  under  the  cloak  of  speculative  faith  or  of  peculiarity 
of  opinion,  nor  leave  him  loose  to  the  waves  of  unbelief  and 
schism.  Something  there  was  of  an  antiquated  turn  of  argu- 
ment and  metaphor,  but  it  only  served  to  give  zest  and  pecul 

♦  This  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  Erskine,  a  distinguished  clergyman,  and 
a  most  excellent  man. 

t  The  father  of  Dr.  Erskine  was  an  eminent  lawyer,  and  his  Institutes 
of  the  Law  of  Scotland  are  to  this  day  the  text-book  of  students  of  that 
science. 


GUY  MANNERIMC. 


227 


iarity  to  the  style  of  elocution.  The  sermon  was  not  read — 
a  scrap  of  paper  containing  the  heads  of  the  discourse  was  oc- 
casionally referred  to,  and  the  enunciation,  which  at  first  seemed 
imperfect  and  embarrassed,  became,  as  the  preacher  warmed  in 
his  progress,  animated  and  distinct ;  and  although  the  discourse 
could  not  be  quoted  as  a  correct  specimen  of  pulpit  eloquence, 
yet  Mannering  had  seldom  heard  so  much  learning,  metaphys- 
ical acuteness,  and  energy  of  argument,  brought  into  the  service 
of  Christianity. 

"  Such,"  he  said,  going  out  of  the  church,  "  must  have  been 
the  preachers  to  whose  unfearing  minds,  and  acute,  though 
sometimes  rudely  exercised  talents,  we  owe  the  Reformation.'' 

"  And  yet  that  reverend  gentleman,"  said  Pleydell,  "  whom 
I  love  for  his  father's  sake  and  his  own,  has  nothing  of  the 
sour  or  pharisaical  pride  which  has  been  imputed  to  some  of 
the  early  fathers  of  the  Calvinistic  Kirk  of  Scotland.  His  col- 
league and  he  differ,  and  head  different  parties  in  the  Kirk, 
about  particular  points  of  church  discipline,  but  without  for  a 
moment  losing  personal  regard  or  respect  for  each  other,  or 
suffering  malignity  to  interfere  in  an  opposition,  steady,  con- 
stant, and  apparently  conscientious  on  both  sides." 

"  And  you,  Mr.  Pleydell,  what  do  you  think  of  their  points 
of  difference  }  " 

"  Why,  I  hope,  Colonel,  a  plain  man  may  go  to  heaven  with- 
out thinking  about  them  at  all  ; — besides,  iiiter  7tos,  I  am  a 
member  of  the  suffering  and  Episcopal  church  of  Scotland — 
the  shadow  of  a  shade  now,  and  fortunately  so ; — but  I  love  to 
pray  where  my  father  prayed  before  me,  without  thinking  worse 
of  the  Presbyterian  forms  because  they  do  not  affect  me  with 
the  same  associations."  And  with  this  remark  they  parted 
until  dinner-time. 

From  the  awkward  acicess  to  the  lawyer's  mansion,  Man- 
nering was  induced  to  form  very  moderate  expectations  of  the 
entertainment  which  he  was  to  receive.  The  approach  looked 
even  more  dismal  by  day-light  than  on  the  preceding  evening. 
The  houses  on  each  side  of  the  lane  were  so  close,  that  the 
neighbors  might  have  shaken  hands  with  each  other  from  the 
different  sides,  and  occasionally  the  space  between  was  tra- 
versed by  wooden  galleries,  and  thus  entirely  closed  up.  The 
stair,  the  scale-stair,  was  not  well  cleaned  ;  and  on  entering  the 
house,  Mannering  was  struck  with  the  narrowness  and  mean- 
ness of  the  wainscoted  passage.  But  the  library,  into  which  he 
was  shown  by  an  elderly  respectable-looking  man-servant,  was 
a  complete  contrast  to  these  unpromising  appearances.  It  was 
a  well-proportioned  room,  hung  with  a  portrait  or  two  of  Scot- 


228 


GUY  MAJVNEkim. 


tish  characters  of  eminence,  by  Jamieson,  the  Caledonian  Van 
dyke,  and  surrounded  with. books,  the  best  editions  of  the  best 
authors,  and  in  particular,  an  admirable  collection  of  classics. 

These,"  said  Pleydell,  "  are  my  tools  of  trade.  A  lawyer 
without  history  or  literature  is  a  mechanic,  a  mere  working 
mason  :  if  he  possesses  some  knowledge  of  these,  he  may  ven- 
ture to  call  himself  an  architect." 

But  Manner! ng  was  chiefly  delighted  with  the  view  from 
the  windows,  which  commanded  that  incomparable  prospect  of 
the  ground  between  Edinburgh  and  the  sea  ;  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
with  its  islands  ;  the  embayment  which  is  terminated  by  the  Law 
of  North  Berwick ;  and  the  varied  shores  of  Fife  to  the  north- 
ward, indenting  with  a  hilly  outline  the  clear  blue  horizon. 

When  Mr.  Pleydell  had  sufficiently  enjoyed  the  surprise  of 
his  guest,  he  called  his  attention  to  Miss  Bertram's  affairs.  "  I 
was  in  hopes,"  he  said,  "  though  but  faint,  to  have  discovered 
some  means  of  ascertaining  her  indefeasible  right  to  this  prop- 
erty of  Singleside ;  but  my  researches  have  been  in  vain. 
The  old  lady  was  certainly  absolute  fiar,  and  might  dispose  of 
it  in  full  right  of  property.  All  that  we  have  to  hope  is,  that 
the  devil  may  not  have  tempted  her  to  alter  this  very  proper 
settlement.  You  must  attend  the  old  girl's  funeral  to-morrow,  to 
which  you  will  receive  an  invitation,  for  I  have  acquainted  her 
agent  with  your  being  here  on  Miss  Bertram's  part ;  and  I  will 
meet  you  afterward  at  the  house  she  inhabited,  and  be  present  to 
see  fair  play  at  the  opening  of  the  settlement.  The  old  cat 
had  a  little  girl,  the  orphan  of  some  relation,  who  lived  with 
her  as  a  kind  of  slavish  companion.  I  hope  she  has  had  the 
conscience  to  make  her  independent,  in  consideration  of  the 
peine  forte  et  dure  to  which  she  subjected  her  during  her  life- 
time." 

Three  gentlemen  now^  appeared,  and  were  introduced  to  the 
stranger.  They  were  men  of  good  sense,  gayety,  and  general 
information,  so  that  the  day  passed  very  pleasantly  over ;  and 
Colonel  Mannering  assisted,  about  eight  o'clock  at  night,  in 
discussing  the  landlord's  bottle,  which  was,  of  course,  a  7nag' 
num.  Upon  his  return  to  the  inn,  he  found  a  card  inviting  him 
to  the  funeral  of  Miss  Margaret  Bertram,  late  of  Singleside, 
which  was  to  proceed  from  her  own  house  to  the  place  of  inter- 
ment in  the  Greyfriars  churchyard,  at  one  o'clock  afternoon. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  Mannering  went  to  a  small  house  in 
the  suburbs  to  the  southward  of  the  city,  where  he  found  the 
place  of  mourning,  indicated  as  usual  in  Scotland,  by  two  rueful 
figures  with  long  black  cloaks,  white  crapes  and  hat-bands,  hold- 
ing in  their  hands  poles,  adorned  with  melancholy  streamers  of 


GUV  MANNERING. 


229 


the  same  description.    By  two  other  mutes,  who,  from  their 

visages,  seemed  suffering  under  the  pressure  of  some  strange 
calamity,  he  was  ushered  into  the  dining-parlor  of  the  defunct, 
where  the  company  were  assembled  for  the  funeral. 

In  Scotland,  the  custom,  now  disused  in  England,  of  invit- 
ing the  relations  of  the  deceased  to  the  interment,  is  universally 
retained.  On  many  occasions  this  has  a  singular  and  striking 
effect,  but  it  degenerates  into  mere  empty  form  and  grimace, 
in  cases  where  the  defunct  has  had  the  misfortune  to  live  un- 
beloved  and  die  unlamented. — The  English  service  for  the  dead, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  impressive  parts  of  the  ritual  of 
the  church,  would  have  in  such  cases,  the  effect  of  fixing  the 
attention,  and  uniting  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  audience 
present,  in  an  exercise  of  devotion  so  peculiarly  adapted  to  such 
an  occasion.  But,  according  to  the  Scottish  custom,  if  there 
be  not  real  feeling  among  the  assistants,  there  is  nothing  to 
supply  the  deficiency,  and  exalt  or  rouse  the  attention  ;  so  that 
a  sense  of  tedious  form,  and  almost  hypocritical  restraint,  is  too 
apt  to  pervade  the  company  assembled  for  the  mournful  solem- 
nity. Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram  was  unluckily  one  of  those  whose 
good  qualities  had  attached  no  general  friendship.  She  had  no 
near  relations  who  might  have  mourned  from  natural  affection, 
and  therefore  her  funeral  exhibited  merely  the  exterior  trap- 
pings of  sorrow. 

Mannering,  therefore,  stood  among  this  lugubrious  company 
of  cousins  m  the  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  degree,  compos- 
ing his  countenance  to  the  decent  solemnity  of  all  who  were 
around  him,  and  looking  as  much  concerned  on  Mrs.  Margaret 
Bertram's  account,  as  if  the  deceased  lady  of  Singleside  had 
been  his  own  sister  or  mother.  After  a  deep  and  awful  pause, 
the  company  began  to  talk  aside — under  their  breaths,  how- 
ever, and  as  if  in  the  chamber  of  a  dying  person. 

"  Our  poor  friend,"  said  one  grave  gentleman,  scarcely 
opening  his  mouth  for  fear  of  deranging  the  necessary  solemnity 
of  his  features,  and  sliding  his  whisper  from  between  his  lips, 
which  were  as  little  unclosed  as  possible — "our  poor  friend  has 
died  well  to  pass  in  the  world.'' 

"  Nae  doubt,"  answered  the  person  addressed,  with  half- 
closed  eyes ;  poor  Mrs.  Margaret  was  aye  careful  of  the 
gear." 

"  Any  news  to-day.  Colonel  Mannering  ?  "  said  one  of  the 
gentleman  whom  he  had  dined  with  the  day  before,  but  in  a 
tone  which  might,  for  its  impressive  gravity,  have  communicated 
the  death  of  his  whole  generation. 

"  Nothing  particular,  I  believe,  sir,''  said  Mannering,  in  the 


GtJY  MANNERING. 


cadence  which  was,  he  observed,  appropriated  to  the  house  of 
mourning. 

"  I  understand,"  continued  the  first  speaker,  emphatically, 
and  with  the  air  of  one  who  is  well  informed — "  I  understand 
there  is  a  settlement." 

"  And  what  does  little  Jenny  Gibson  get  ? " 

"  A  hundred  and  the  auld  repeater." 

"  That's  but  sma'  gear,  puir  thing ;  she  had  a  sair  time  o't 
with  the  old  leddy.    But  it's  ill  waiting  for  dead  folk's  shoon." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  the  politician,  who  was  close  by  Man- 
nering,  "  we  have  not  done  with  your  old  friend  Tippoo  Saib 
yet — I  doubt  he'll  give  the  company  more  plague ;  and  I  am 
told — but  you'll  know  for  certain — that  East  India  Stock  is  not 
rising." 

"  I  trust  it  will,  sir,  soon." 

"Mrs.  Margaret,"  said  another  person,  mingling  in  the  con- 
versation, "  had  some  India  bonds.  I  know  that,  for  I  drew 
the  interest  for  her — it  would  be  desirable  now  for  the  trustees 
and  legatees  to  have  the  Colonel's  advice  about  the  time  and 
mode  of  converting  them  into  money.  For  my  part  I  think — 
But  there's  Mr.  Mortcloke  to  tell  us  they  are  gaun  to  lift." 

Mr,  Mortcloke  the  undertaker  did  accordingly,  with  a  visage 
of  professional  length  and  most  grievous  solemnity,  distribute 
among  the  pall-bearers  little  cards,  assigning  their  respective 
situations  in  attendance  upon  the  coffin.  As  this  precedence  is 
supposed  to  be  regulated  by  propinquity  to  the  defunct,  the  un- 
dertaker, however  skilful  a  master  of  these  lugubrious  ceremo- 
nies, did  not  escape  giving  some  offence.  To  be  related  to  Mrs. 
Bertram  was  to  be  kin  to  the  lands  of  Singleside,  and  was  a  pro- 
pinquity of  which  each  relative  present  at  that  moment  was  par- 
ticularly jealous.  Some  murmurs  there  were  on  the  occasion,  and 
our  friend  Dinmontgave  more  open  offence,  being  unable  either 
to  repress  his  discontent,  or  to  utter  it  in  the  key  properly  modu- 
lated to  the  solemnity.  "  I  think  ye  might  hae  at  least  gi^en 
me  a  leg  o'  her  to  carry,"  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  considerably 
louder  than  propriety  admitted.  "God  !  an  it  hadna  been  for 
the  rigs  o'  land,  I  would  hae  gotten  her  a'  to  carry  mysell,  for 
as  mony  gentles  as  are  here." 

A  score  of  frowning  and  reproving  brows  were  bent  upon 
the  unappalled  yeoman,  who,  having  given  vent  to  his  displeas- 
ure, stalked  sturdily  down  stairs  with  the  rest  of  the  company, 
totally  disregarding  the  censures  of  those  whom  his  remarks 
had  scandalized. 

And  then  the  fiiiicral  pomp  set  forth;  saulies  with  their 
batons,  and  gumphions  of  tarnished  white  crape,  in  honor  of 


GUY  MANNERING, 


231 


the  well-preserved  maiden  fame  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram* 
Six  starved  horses,  themselves  the  very  emblems  of  mortality, 
well  cloaked  and  plumed,  lugging  along  the  hearse  with  its 
dismal  emblazonry,  crept  in  slow  state  toward  the  place  of  in- 
terment, preceded  by  Jamie  Duff,  an  idiot,  who  with  weepers 
and  cravat  made  of  white  paper,  attended  on  every  funeral,  and 
followed  by  six  mourning  coaches,  filled  with  the  company. — 
Many  of  these  now  gave  more  free  loose  to  their  tongues^  and 
discussed  with  unrestrained  earnestness  the  amount  of  the  suc- 
cession, and  the  probability  of  its  destination.  The  principal 
expectants,  however,  kept  a  prudent  silence,  indeed  ashamed 
to  express  hopes  which  might  prove  fallacious ;  and  the  agent, 
or  man  of  business,  v/ho  alone  knew  exactly  how  matters  stood, 
maintained  a  countenance  of  mysterious  importance,  as  if  de- 
termined to  preserve  the  full  interest  of  anxiety  and  suspense. 

At  length  they  arrived  at  the  churchyard  gates,  and  from 
thence,  amid  the  gaping  of  two  or  three  dozen  of  idle  women 
with  infants  in  their  arms,  and  accompanied  by  some  twenty 
children,  who  ran  gamboling  and  screaming  alongside  of  the 
sable  procession,  they  finally  arrived  at  the  burial-place  of  the 
Singleside  family.  This  was  a  square  enclosure  in  the  Grey- 
friars  churchyard,  guarded  on  one  side  by  a  veteran  angel,  with- 
out a  nose,  and  having  only  one  wing,  who  had  the  merit  of 
having  maintained  his  post  for  a  century,  while  his  comrade 
cherub,  who  had  stood  sentinel  on  the  corresponding  pedestal, 
lay  a  broken  trunk  among  the  hemlock,  burdock,  and  nettles, 
which  grew  in  gigantic  luxuriance  around  the  walls  of  the  mau- 
soleum.  A  moss-grown  and  broken  inscription  informed  the 
reader,  that  in  the  year  1650  Captain  Andrew  Bertram,  first  of 
Singleside,  descended  of  the  very  ancient  and  honorable  house 
of  Ellangowan,  had  caused  this  monument  to  be  erected  for 
himself  and  his  descendants.  A  reasonable  number  of  scythes 
and  hour-glasses,  and  death's  heads,  and  cross-bones,  garnished 
the  following  sprig  of  sepulchral  poetry,  to  the  memory  of  the 
founder  of  the  mausoleum  : — 

Nathaniel's  heart,  Bezaleers  hand, 

If  ever  any  had, 
These  boldly  do  I  say  had  he. 

Who  lieth  in  this  bed. 

Here  then,  amid  the  deep  black  fat  loam  into  which  her  an- 
cestors were  now  resolved,  they  deposited  the  body  of  Mrs. 
Margaret  Bertram ;  and,  like  soldiers  returning  from  a  military 
.uneral,  the  nearest  relations  who  might  be  interested  in  the 


232  MANNERING. 

settlements  of  the  lady,  urged  the  dog-cattle  of  the  hackney 
coaches  to  all  the  speed  of  which  they  were  capable,  in  order 
to  put  an  end  to  further  suspense  on  that  interesting  topic. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-EIGHTH. 

Die  and  endow  a  college  or  a  cat. 

Pope. 

There  is  a  fable  told  by  Lucian,  that  while  a  troop  of 
monkeys,  well  drilled  by  an  intelligent  manager,  were  perform- 
ing a  tragedy  with  great  applause,  the  decorum  of  the  whole 
scene  was  at  once  destroyed,  and  the  natural  passions  of  the 
actors  called  forth  in  a  very  indecent  and  active  emulation,  by  a 
wag  who  threw  a  handful  of  nuts  upon  the  stage.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  approaching  crisis  stirred  up  among  the  expectants 
feelings  of  a  nature  very  different  from  those  of  which,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Mortcloke,  they  had  but  now  been 
endeavoring  to  imitate  the  expression.  Those  eyes  which  were 
lately  devoutly  cast  up  to  heaven,  or  wdth  greater  humility  bent 
solemnly  upon  earth,  were  now  sharply  and  alertly  darting  their 
glances  through  shuttles,  and  trunks,  and  draw^ers,  and  cabi- 
nets, and  all  the  odd  corners  of  an  old  maiden  lady's  reposi- 
tories. Nor  was  their  search  without  interest,  though  they  did 
not  find  the  will  of  which  they  were  in  quest. 

Here  w^as  a  promissory-note  for  £20  by  the  minister  of  the 
nonjuring  chapel,  interest  marked  as  paid  to  Martinmas  last, 
carefully  folded  up  in  a  new  set  of  words  to  the  old  tune  of 
"  Over  the  Water  to  Charlie  — there  was  a  curious  love  cor- 
respondence between  the  deceased  and  a  certain  Lieutenant 
O'Kean,  of  a  marching  regiment  of  foot;  and  tied  up  with  the 
letters  was  a  document,  which  at  once  explained  to  the  relatives 
why  a  connection  that  boded  them  little  good  had  been  sudden- 
ly broken  off,  being  the  Lieutenant's  bond  for  two  hundred 
pounds,  upon  which  710  interest  whatever  appeared  to  have  been 
paid.  Other  bills  and  bonds  to  a  larger  amount,  and  signed  by 
better  names  (I  mean  commercially)  than  those  of  the  worthy 
divine  and  gallant  soldier,  also  occurred  in  the  course  of  their 
researches,  besides  a  hoard  of  coins  of  every  size  and  denomi- 
nation, and  scraps  of  broken  gold  and  silver,  old  earrings, 
hinges  of  cracked  snuff-boxes,  mountings  of  spectacles,  etc. 
etc.  etc.    Still  no  will  made  its  appearance,  and  Colonel  Man- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


233 


nering  began  full  well  to  hope  that  the  settlement  which  he  had 
obtained  from  Glossin  contained  the  ultimate  arrangement  of 
the  old  lady's  affairs.  But  his  friend  Pleydell,  who  now  came 
into  the  room,  cautioned  him  against  entertaining  this  belief. 

"  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  gentleman,"  he  said,  "who 
is  conducting  the  search,  and  I  guess  from  his  manner  that  he 
knows  something  more  of  the  matter  than  any  of  us."  Mean- 
time, while  the  search  proceeds,  let  us  take  a  brief  glance  at 
one  or  two  of  the  company,  who  seem  most  interested. 

Of  Dinmont,  who,  with  his  large  hunting-whip  under  his 
arm,  stood  poking  his  great  round  face  over  the  shoulder  of  the 
homme  d'  affaires^  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  anything.  That  thin- 
looking  oldish  person,  in  a  most  correct  and  gentleman-like 
suit  of  mourning,  is  Mac-Casquil,  formerly  of  Drumquag,  who 
was  ruined  by  having  a  legacy  bequeathed  to  him  of  two  shares 
in  the  Ayr  bank.  His  hopes  on  the  present  occasion  are 
founded  on  a  very  distant  relationship,  upon  his  sitting  in  the 
same  pew  with  the  deceased  every  Sunday,  and  upon  his  play- 
ing at  cribbage  with  her  regularly  on  the  Saturday  evenings — 
taking  great  care  never  to  come  off  a  winner.  That  other 
coarse-looking  man,  wearing  his  own  greasy  hair  tied  in  a 
leathern  cue  more  greasy  still,  is  a  tobacconist,  a  relation  of 
Mrs.  Bertram's  mother,  who,  having  a  good  stock  in  trade  when 
the  colonial  war  broke  out,  trebled  the  price  of  his  commodity 
to  all  the  world,  Mrs.  Bertram  alone  excepted,  whose  tortoise- 
shell  snuff-box  was  weekly  filled  with  the  best  rappee  at  the  old 
prices,  because  the  maid  brought  it  to  the  shop  with  Mrs.  Ber- 
tram's respects  to  her  cousin  Mr.  Quid.  That  young  fellow, 
who  has  not  had  the  decency  to  put  off  his  boots  and  buck- 
skins, might  have  stood  as  forward  as  most  of  them  in  the 
graces  of  the  old  lady,  who  loved  to  look  upon  a  comely  young 
man  ;  but  it  is  thought  he  has  forfeited  the  moment  of  fortune, 
by  sometimes  neglecting  her  tea-table  when  solemnly  invited ; 
sometimes  appearing  there,  when  he  had  been  dining  with 
blither  company;  twice  treading  upon  her  cat's  tail,  and  once 
affronting  her  parrot. 

To  Mannering,  the  most  interesting  of  the  group  was  the 
poor  girl,  who  had  been  a  sort  of  humble  companion  of  the 
deceased,  as  a  subject  upon  whom  she  could  at  all  times  ex- 
pectorate her  bad  humor.  She  was  for  form's  sake  dragged 
into  the  room  by  the  deceased's  favorite  female  attendant,  where, 
shrinking  into  a  corner  as  soon  as  possible,  she  saw  with  wonder 
and  affright  the  intrusive  researches  of  the  strangers  amongst 
those  recesses  to  which  from  childhood  she  had  looked  with 
awful  veneration.    This  girl  was  regarded  with  an  unfavorable 


234 


GUY  MANNERING, 


eye  by  all  the  competitors,  honest  Dinmont  only  excepted  ;  the 
rest  conceived  they  should  find  in  her  a  formidable  competitor, 
whose  claims  might  at  least  encumber  and  diminish  their  chance 
of  succession.  Yet  she  was  the  only  person  present  who 
seemed  really  to  feel  sorrow  for  the  deceased.  Mrs.  Bertram 
had  been  her  protectress,  although  from  selfish  motives, — and 
her  capricious  tyranny  was  forgotten  at  the  moment,  while  the 
tears  followed  each  other  fast  down  the  cheeks  of  her  frightened 
and  friendless  dependent.  There's  ower  muckle  saut  water 
there,  Drumquag,"  said  the  tobacconist  to  the  ex-proprietor, 
to  bode  ither  folk  muckle  gude.  Folk  seldom  greet  that  gate 
but  they  ken  what  it's  for."  Mr.  Mac-Casquil  only  replied  with 
a  nod,  feeling  the  propriety  of  asserting  his  superior  gentry  in 
presence  of  Mr.  Pleydell  and  Colonel  Mannering. 

Very  queer  if  there  suld  be  nae  will  after  a',  friend,"  said 
Dinmont,  who  began  to  grow  impatient,  to  the  man  of  business. 

"  A  moment's  patience,  if  you  please — she  was  a  good  and 
prudent  woman,  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram — a  good  and  prudent 
and  well-judging  woman,  and  knew  how  to  choose  friends  and 
depositories  ;  she  may  have  put  her  last  will  and  testament,  or 
rather  her  mortis  causa  settlement,  as  it  relates  to  heritage,  into 
the  hands  of  some  safe  friend." 

I'll  bet  a  rump  and  dozen,"  said  Pleydell  whispering  to  the 
Colonel,  "  he  has  got  it  in  his  own  pocket ;  " — then  addressing 
the  man  of  law,  Come,  sir,  we'll  cut  this  short,  if  you  please — 
here  is  a  settlement  of  the  estate  of  Singleside,  executed  several 

years  ago,  in  favor  of  Miss  Lucy  Bertram  of  Ellangowan,"  

The  Company  stared  fearfully  wild.  "  You,  I  presume,  Mr. 
Protocol,  can  inform  us  if  there  is  a  later  deed  1  " 

"  Please  to  favor  me,  Mr.  Pleydell ;  "  and  so  saying,  he 
took  the  deed  out  of  the  learned  counsel's  hand,  and  glanced 
his  eye  over  the  contents. 

"  Too  cool,"  said  Pleydell,  "  too  cool  by  half — he  has  another 
deed  in  his  pocket  still." 

Why  does  he  not  show  it  then,  and  be  d  d  to  him  !  " 

said  the  military  gentleman,  whose  patience  began  to  wax 
threadbare. 

"Why,  how  should  I  know?"  answered  the  Barrister — 
"  why  does  a  cat  not  kill  a  mouse  when  she  takes  him  ? — the 
consciousness  of  power  and  the  love  of  teasing,  I  suppose. — 
Well,  Mr.  Protocol,  what  say  you  to  that  deed  1  " 

"  Why,  Mr.  IMeydell,  the  deed  is  a  well-drawn  deed,  properly 
authenticated  and  tested  in  forms  of  the  statute." 

"  i>ut  recalled  or  superseded  by  another  of  posterior  date  in 
your  possession,  eh  ?  "  said  the  counselor. 


OUY  MANNEklNG. 


"  Something  of  the  sort,  I  confess,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  rejoined 
the  man  of  business,  producing  a  bundle  tied  with  tape,  and 
sealed  at  each  fold  and  legation  with  black  wax.  "  That  deed, 
Mr.  Pleydell,  which  you  produce  and  found  upon,  is  dated  ist 
June  17 — ;  but  this" — breaking  the  seals  and  unfolding  the 
document  slowly — "  is  dated  the  20th — no,  I  see  it  is  the  21st 
of  April  of  this  present  year,  being  ten  years  posterior." 

Marry,  hang  her,  brock  !  "  said  the  counselor,  borrowing 
an  exclamation  from  Sir  Toby  Belch — "just  the  month  in  which 
Ellangowan's  distresses  became  generally  public.  But  let  us 
bear  what  she  has  done." 

Mr.  Protocol  accordingly,  having  required  silence,  began  to 
read  the  settlement  aloud  in  a  slow,  steady,  business-like  tone. 
The  group  around,  in  whose  eyes  hope  alternately  awakened 
and  faded,  and  who  were  straining  their  apprehensions  to  get 
at  the  drift  of  the  testator's  meaning  through  the  mist  of  techni- 
cal language  in  which  the  conveyance  had  involved  it,  might 
have  made  a  study  for  Hogarth. 

The  deed  was  of  an  unexpected  nature.  It  set  forth  with 
conveying  and  disponing  all  and  whole  the  estate  and  lands  of 
Singleside  and  others,  with  the  lands  of  Loverless,  Liealone, 
Spinster's  Knowe,  and  heaven  knows  what  beside,  to  and  in 
favor  of  "  (here  the  reader  softened  his  voice  to  a  gentle  and 
modest  piano)  Peter  Protocol,  clerk  to  the  signet,  having  the 
fullest  confidence  in  his  capacity  and  integrity, — (these  are  the 
very  words  which  my  worthy  deceased  friend  insisted  upon  my 
inserting), — But  in  trust  always  "  (here  the  reader  recovered 
his  voice  and  style,  and  the  visages  of  several  of  the  hearers, 
which  had  attained  a  longitude  that  Mr.  Mortcloke  might  have 
envied,  were  perceptibly  shortened),  "  in  trust  always,  and  for 
the  uses,  ends,  and  purposes  hereinafter  mentioned." 

In  these  "  uses,  ends,  and  purposes,"  lay  the  cream  of  the 
affair.  The  first  was  introduced  by  a  preamble  setting  forth, 
that  the  testatrix  was  lineally  descended  from  the  ancient  house 
of  Ellangowan,  her  respected  great-grandfather,  Andrew  Ber- 
tram, first  of  Singleside,  of  happy  memory,  having  been  second 
son  to  Allan  Bertram,  fifteenth  Baron  of  Ellangowan.  It  pro- 
ceeded to  state,  that  Henry  Bertram,  son  and  heir  of  Godfrey 
Bertram,  now  of  P^llangowan,  had  been  stolen  from  his  parents  in 
infancy,  but  that  she,  the  testatrix,  was  well  assured  that  he  was 
yet  alive  in  foreign  parts ^  and  by  the  providejice  of  heaven  would 
be  restored  to  the  possessions  of  his  ancestors — in  which  case  the 
said  Peter  Protocol  was  bound  and  obliged,  likeas  he  bound  and 
obliged  himself,  by  acceptance  of  these  presents,  to  denude  him- 
self of  the  said  lands  of  Singleside  and  others,  and  of  all  the 


Cl/y  MANNERING. 


other  effects  thereby  conveyed  (excepting  always  a  proper  grat« 
ification  for  his  own  trouble),  to  and  in  favor  of  the  said  Henry 
Bertram,  upon  his  return  to  his  native  country.  And  during 
the  time  of  his  residing  in  foreign  parts,  or  in  case  of  his 
never  again  returning  to  Scotland,  Mr.  Peter  Protocol,  the 
trustee,  was  directed  to  distribute  the  rents  of  the  land,  and 
interest  of  the  other  funds  (deducting  always  a  proper  gratifica- 
tion for  his  trouble  in  the  premises),  in  equal  portions,  among 
four  charitable  establishments  pointed  out  in  the  will.  The 
power  of  management,  of  letting  leases,  of  raising  and  lending 
out  money,  in  short,  the  full  authority  of  a  proprietor,  was 
vested  in  this  confidential  trustee,  and,  in  the  event  of  his  death, 
went  to  certain  official  persons  named  in  the  deed.  There  were 
only  two  legacies, — one  of  a  hundred  pounds  to  a  favorite 
waiting-maid,  another  of  the  like  sum  to  Janet  Gibson,  (whom 
the  deed  stated  to  have  been  supported  by  the  charity  of  the 
testatrix),  for  the  purpose  of  binding  her  an  apprentice  to  some 
honest  trade. 

A  settlement  in  mortmain  is  in  Scotland  termed  a  mortifi" 
cation,  and  in  one  great  borough  (Aberdeen,  if  I  remember 
rightly)  there  is  a  municipal  officer  who  takes  care  of  these 
public  endowments,  and  is  thence  called  the  Master  of  Mortifi- 
cations. One  would  almost  presume  that  the  term  had  its 
origin  in  the  effect  which  such  settlements  usually  produce  upon 
the  kinsmen  of  those  by  whom  they  are  executed.  Heavy  at 
least  was  the  mortification  which  befell  the  audience,  who,  in  the 
late  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram's  parlor,  had  listened  to  this 
unexpected  destination  of  the  lands  of  Singleside.  There  was 
a  profound  silence  after  the  deed  had  been  read  over. 

Mr.  Pleydell  was  the  first  to  speak.  He  begged  to  look  at 
the  deed,  and  having  satisfied  himself  that  it  was  correctly 
drawn  and  executed,  he  returned  it  without  any  observation, 
only  saying  aside  to  Mannering,  "  Protocol  is  not  worse  than 
other  people,  I  believe  ;  but  this  old  lady  has  determined,  that 
ii  he  do  not  turn  rogue,  it  shall  not  be  for  Vv^ant  of  temptation.' 

"  I  really  think,"  said  Mr.  Mac-Casquil  of  Drumquag,  who, 
having  gulped  down  one  half  of  his  vexation,  determined  to  give 
vent  to  the  rest — "  I  really  think  this  is  an  extraordinary  case  1 
I  should  like  now  to  know  from  Mr.  Protocol,  who,  being  sole 
and  unlimited  trustee,  must  have  been  consulted  upon  this 
occasion — I  should  like,  I  say,  to  know,  how  Mrs.  BertrarD 
could  possibly  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  boy,  that  a'  th'^ 
world  kens  was  m.urdered  many  a  year  since  ?  " 

"  Really,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Protocol,  "  I  do  not  conceive  it  is 
possible  for  me  to  explain  her  motives  more  than  she  has  done 


GUY  MANNERING, 


herself.  Our  excellent  deceased  friend  was  a  good  woman,  sir 
— a  pious  woman — and  might  have  grounds  for  confidence  in  the 
boy's  safety  which  are  not  accessible  to  us,  sir.'' 

"  Hout,"  said  the  tobacconist,  I  ken  very  weel  what  were 
her  grounds  for  confidence.  There's  Mrs.  Rebecca  (the  maid) 
sitting  there,  has  tell'd  me  a  hundred  times  in  my  ain  shop,  there 
was  nae  kenning  how  her  leddy  wad  settle  her  affairs,  for  an 
auld  gipsy  witch  wife  at  Gilsland  had  possessed  her  with  a 
notion,  that  the  callant — Harry  Bertram  ca's  she  him  ? — 
would  come  alive  again  some  day  after  a' — ye'll  no  deny  that, 
Mrs.  Rebecca  ? — though  I  dare  to  say  ye  forgot  to  put  your 
mistress  in  mind  of  what  ye  promised  to  say  when  I  gied  ye 
mony  a  half-crown — But  ye'll  no  deny  what  I'm  saying  now, 
lass  ? " 

"  I  ken  naething  at  a'  about  it,"  answered  Rebecca  doggedly 
and  looking  straight  forward  with  the  firm  countenance  of  one 
not  disposed  to  be  compelled  to  remember  more  than  was  agree- 
able to  her. 

"  Weel  said,  Rebecca  !  ye're  satisfied  wi'  your  ain  share,  ony 
way,"  rejoined  the  tobacconist. 

The  buck  of  the  second-head,  for  a  buck  of  the  first-head  he 
was  not,  had  hitherto  been  slapping  his  boots  with  his  switch- 
whip,  and  looking  like  a  spoiled  child  that  has  lost  its  supper. 
His  murmurs,  however,  were  all  vented  inwardly,  or  at  most  in 
a  soliloquy  such  as  this — ^'  I  am  sorry,  by  G — d,  I  ever  plagued 
myself  about  her — I  came  here,  by  G — d,  one  night  to  drink  tea, 
and  1  left  King,  and  the  Duke's  rider.  Will  Hack.  They  were 
toasting  a  round  of  running  horses  ;  by  G — d,  I  might  have  got 
leave  to  wear  the  jacket  as  well  as  other  folk,  if  I  had  carried 
it  on  with  them — and  she  has  not  so  much  as  left  me  that 
hundred  !  " 

"  We'll  make  the  payment  of  the  note  quite  agreeable,"  said 
Mr.  Protocol,  who  had  no  wish  to  increase  at  that  moment  the 
odium  attached  to  his  ofiice — "  And  now,  gentlemen,  I  fancy 
we  have  no  more  to  wait  for  here,  and — I  shall  put  the  settle- 
ment of  my  excellent  and  worthy  friend  on  record  to-morrow, 
that  every  gentleman  may  examine  the  contents,  and  have  free 
access  to  take  an  extract ;  and  " — he  proceeded  to  lock  up  the 
repositories  of  the  deceased  with  more  speed  than  he  had 
opened  them — "  Mrs.  Rebecca,  ye'll  be  so  kind  as  to  keep  all 
right  here  until  we  can  let  the  house — I  had  an  offer  from  a 
tenant  this  morning,  if  such  a  thing  should  be,  and  if  I  was  to 
have  any  management." 

Our  friend  Dinmont,  having  had  his  hopes  as  well  as 
another,  had  hitherto  sate  sulky  enough  in  the  arm  chair  formerly 


238 


GUY  MANNERWG. 


appropriated  to  the  deceased,  and  in  which  she  would  have  been 
not  a  little  scandalized  to  have  seen  this  colossal  specimen  of 
the  masculine  gender  lolling  at  length.  His  employment  had 
been  rolling  up,  into  the  form  of  a  coiled  snake,  the  long  lash  of 
his  horse-whip,  and  then  by  a  jerk  causing  it  to  unroll  itself 
into  the  middle  of  the  floor.  The  first  words  he  said  when  he 
had  digested  the  shock,  contained  a  magnanimous  declaration, 
which  he  probably  was  not  conscious  of  having  uttered  aloud — 
^'Weel — blude's  thicker  than  water — she's  welcome  to  the 
cheeses  and  the  hams  just  the  same.''  But  when  the  trustee 
had  made  the  above-mentioned  motion  for  the  mourners  to  de- 
part, and  talked  of  the  house  being  immediately  let,  honest 
Dinmont  got  upon  his  feet,  and  stunned  the  company  with  this 
blunt  question,  "  And  what's  to  come  o'  this  poor  lassie  then — 
Jenny  Gibson  ?  Sae  mony  o'  us  as  thought  oursells  sib  to  the 
family  when  the  gear  was  parting,  we  may  do  something  for  her- 
amang  us  surely." 

This  proposal  seemed  to  dispose  most  of  the  assembly  in- 
stantly to  evacuate  the  premises,  although  upon  Mr.  Protocol's 
motion  they  had  lingered  as  if  around  the  grave  of  their  disap- 
pointed hopes.  Drumquad  said,  or  rather  muttered,  something 
of  having  a  family  of  his  own,  and  took  precedence  in  virtue 
of  his  gentle  blood,  to  depart  as  fast  as  possiV'e.  The  tobacco- 
nist sturdily  stood  forward  and  scouted  the  motion — "  A  little 
huzzie  like  that  was  weel  eneugh  provided  for  already  ;  and 
Mr.  Protocol,  at  ony  rate,  was  the  proper  person  to  take  direc- 
tion of  her,  as  he  had  charge  of  her  legacy ;  and  after  uttering 
such  his  opinion  in  a  steady  and  decisive  tone  of  voice,  he  also 
left  the  place.  The  buck  made  a  stupid  and  brutal  attempt  at 
a  jest  upon  Mrs.  Bertrand's  recommendation  that  the  poor  girl 
should  be  taught  some  honest  trade  ;  but  encountered  a  scowl 
from  Colonel  Mannering's  darkening  eye  (to  whom,  in  his 
ignorance  of  the  tone  of  good  society,  he  had  looked  for 
applause)  that  made  him  ache  to  the  very  back-bone.  He 
shuffled  down  stairs,  therefore,  as  fast  as  possible. 

Protocol,  who  was  really  a  good  sort  of  man,  next  expressed 
his  intention  to  take  a  temporary  charge  of  the  young  lady, 
under  protest  always,  that  his  doing  so  should  be  considered  as 
merely  eleemosynary ;  when  Dinmont  at  length  got  up,  and, 
having  shaken  his  huge  dreadnought  great-coat  as  a  Newfound- 
land dog  does  his  shaggy  hide  when  he  comes  out  of  the  water, 
ejaculated,  "  Well,  deil  hae  me  then,  if  ye  hae  ony  fash  wi'  her; 
Mr.  l^rotocol — if  she  likes  to  gang  hame  wi'  me  that  is.  Ye 
see,  Ailie  and  me  we're  weel  to  pass,  and  we  would  like  the 
lassies  to  hae  a  wee  bit  mair  lair  than  oursells,  and  to  be  neigh- 


GUY  MANNERING. 


239 


bor-like — that  wad  we. — And  ye  see  Jenny  canna  miss  but  to 
ken  manners,  and  the  like  o'  reading  books,  and  sewing  seams 
— having  lived  sae  lang  wi'  a  grand  lady  like  Lady  Singleside, 
or  if  she  disna  ken  onything  about  it,  I'm  jealous  that  our 
bairns  will  like  her  a'  the  better.  And  I'll  take  care  o'  the 
bits  o'  claes  and  what  spending  siller  she  maun  hae  ;  so  the 
hundred  pound  may  rin  on  in  your  hands,  Mr.  Protocol,  and 
I'll  be  adding  something  till't,  till'she'll  maybe  get  a  Liddesdale 
joe  that  wants  something  to  help  to  buy  the  hirsel.^ — What  d'ye 
say  to  that,  hinney  ?  I'll  take  out  a  ticket  for  ye  in  the  fly  to 
Jethart. — Od,  but  ye  maun  take  a  powny  after  that  o'er  the 
Limestanerig — deil  a  wheeled  carriage  ever  gaed  into  Liddes- 
dale.t — And  I'll  be  very  glad  if  Mrs.  Rebecca  comes  wi'  you, 
hinney,  and  stays  a  month  or  twa  while  ye're  stranger  like." 

While  Mrs.  Rebecca  was  courtseying,  and  endeavoring  to 
make  the  poor  orphan  girl  courtsey  instead  of  crying,  and  while 
Dandie,  in  his  rough  way,  was  encouraging  them  both,  old  Pley- 
dell  had  recourse  to  his  snuff-box.  "  It's  meat  and  drink  to 
me,  now.  Colonel,"  he  said  as  he  recovered  himself,  ^'to  see  a 
clown  like  this — I  must  gratify  him  in  his  own  way — must 
assist  him  to  ruin  himself  ; — there's  no  help  for  it.  Here,  you 
Liddesdale  Dandie — Charlies-hope — what  do  they  call  you  ?  " 

The  farmer  turned,  infinitely  gratified  even  by  this  sort  of 
notice  ;  for  in  his  heart,  next  to  his  own  landlord,  he  honored 
a  lawyer  in  high  practice. 

"  So  you  will  not  be  advised  against  trying  that  question 
about  your  marches  ?  " 

"  No — no,  sir— naebody  likes  to  lose  their  right,  and  to  be 
laughed  at  down  the  haill  water.  But  since  your  honor's  no 
agreeable,  and  is  maybe  a  friend  to  the  other  side  like,  we 
maun  try  some  other  advocate." 

"  There — I  told  you  so.  Colonel  Mannering  ! — Well,  sir,  if 
you  must  needs  be  a  fool,  the  business  is  to  give  you  the  luxury 
of  a  lawsuit  at  the  least  possible  expense,  and  to  bring  you  oft 
conqueror  if  possible.  Let  Mr.  Protocol  send  me  your  papers, 
and  I  will  advise  him  how  to  conduct  your  cause.  I  don't  see, 
after  all,  why  you  should  not  have  your  lawsuits  too,  and  your 
feuds  in  the  Court  of  Session,  as  well  as  your  forefathers  had 
their  manslaughters  and  fire-raisings." 

*  The  stock  of  sheep. 

t  The  roads  of  Liddesdale,  in  Dandie  Dinmont's  days,  could  not  be  said 
to  exist,  and  the  district  was  only  accessible  through  a  succession  of  tre- 
mendous morasses.  About  thirty  years  ago,  the  author  himself  was  the 
first  person  who  ever  drove  a  little  open  carriage  into  these  wilds  ;  the  ex- 
cellent roads  by  which  they  are  now  traversed  being  then  in  some  progress. 
The  people  stared  with  no  small  wonder  at  a  sight  which  many  of  them  had 
never  witnessed  in  their  lives  before. 


240 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  Very  natural,  to  be  sure,  sir.  We  wad  just  take  the  auld 
gate  as  readily,  if  it  werna  for  the  law.  And  as  the  law  binds 
us  the  law  should  loose  us.  Besides,  a  man's  aye  the  better 
thought  o'  in  our  country  for  having  been  afore  the  Feifteen." 

"  Excellently  argued,  my  friend  !  Away  with  you,  and  send 
your  papers  to  me. — Come,  Colonel,  we  have  no  more  to  do 
here." 

God,  we'll  ding  Jock  o'  Dawston  Cleugh  now,  after  a'  !  " 
said  Dinmont,  slapping  his  thigh  in  great  exultation. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-NINTH. 

 1  am  going  to  the  parliament  ; 

You  understand  this  bag.    If  you  have  any  business 
Depending  there,  be  short  and  let  me  hear  it, 
And  pay  your  fees. 

Little  French  Lawyer. 

Shall  you  be  able  to  carry  this  honest  fellow's  cause  for 
him  ?  "  said  Mannering. 

"  Why,  I  don't  know  ;  the  battle  is  not  to  the  strong,  but  he 
shall  come  off  triumphant  over  Jock  of  Dawston  if  we  can  make 
it  out.  I  owe  him  something.  It  is  the  pest  of  our  profession, 
that  we  seldom  see  the  best  side  of  human  nature.  People 
come  to  us  with  every  selfish  feeling,  newly  pointed  and  grinded  ; 
they  turn  down  the  very  caulkers  of  their  animosities  and  prej- 
udices, as  smiths  do  with  horses'  shoes  in  a  white  frost.  Many 
a  man  has  come  to  my  garret  yonder,  that  I  have  at  first  longed 
to  pitch  out  at  the  window,  and  yet,  at  length,  have  discovered 
that  he  was  only  doing  as  I  might  have  done  in  his  case,  being 
very  angry,  and,  of  course,  very  unreasonable.  I  have  now 
satisfied  myself,  that  if  our  profession  sees  more  of  human  folly 
and  human  roguery  than  others,  it  is  because  we  witness  them 
acting  in  that  channel  in  which  they  can  most  freely  vent  them- 
selves. In  civilized  society,  law  is  the  chimney  through  which 
all  that  smoke  discharges  itself  that  used  to  circulate  through 
the  whole  house,  and  put  every  one's  eyes  out — no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  the  vent  itself  should  sometimes  get  a  little  sooty, 
l^ut  we  will  take  care  our  Liddesdale  man's  cause  is  well  con- 
ducted and  well  argued,  so  all  unnecessary  expense  will  be  saved 
— he  shall  have  his  pine-apple  at  wholesale  price." 

Will  you  do  me  the  pleasure,"  said  Mannering,  as  they 


GUY  MANNERING. 


241 


parted,  "  to  dine  with  me  at  my  lodgings  ?  my  landlord  says  he 
has  a  bit  of  red-deer  venison,  and  some  excellent  wine." 

Venison — eh  ?  "  answered  the  counsellor  alertly,  but  pres- 
ently added — "  but  no  !  it's  impossible — and  I  can't  ask  you 
home  neither.  Monday's  a  sacred  day — so's  Tuesday — and 
Wednesday,  we  are  to  be  heard  in  the  great^teind  case  in  presence 
— But  stay — it's  frosty  weather,  and-if  you  don't  leave  town,  and 
that  venison  would  keep  till  Thursday  "  

"  You  will  dine  with  me  that  day  ?  " 

"  Under  certification." 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  indulge  a  thought  I  had  of  spending  a 
week  here  ;  and  if  the  venison  will  not  keep,  why  we  will  see 
what  else  our  landlord  can  do  for  us." 

"  Oh,  the  venison  z£////keep,"  said  Pleydell.  And  now,  good- 
by ; — look  at  these  two  or  three  notes,  and  deliver  them  if  you 
like  the  addresses  ;  I  wrote  them  for  you  this  morning.  Fare- 
well ;  my  clerk  has  been  waiting  this  hour  to  begin  a  d — d 
information."— And  away  walked  Mr.  Pleydell  with  great  activity, 
diving  through  closes  and  ascending  covered  stairs,  in  order  to 
attain  the  High  Street  by  an  access,  which,  compared  to  the 
common  route,  was  what  the  Straits  of  Magellan  are  to  the  more 
open  but  circuitous  passage  round  Cape  Horn. 

On  looking  at  the  notes  of  introduction  which  Pleydell  had 
thrust  into  his  hand,  Mannering  was  gratified  with  seeing  that 
they  were  addressed  to  some  of  the  first  literary  characters  of 
Scotland—''  To  David  Hume,  Esq."—''  To  John  Home,  Esq." 

To  Dr.  Ferguson."—''  To  Dr.  Black."— "To  Lord  Kaimes," 
"  To  Mr.  Hutton."— "  To  John  Clerk,  Esq.  of  Eldin."— "  To 
Adam  Smith,  Esq."—"  To  Dr.  Robertson." 

"  Upon  my  word,  my  legal  friend  has  a  good  selection  of 
acquaintances — these  are  names  pretty  widely  blown  indeed. 
An  East  Indian  must  rub  up  his  faculties  a  little,  and  put  his 
mind  in  order,  before  he  enters  this  sort  of  society." 

Mannering  gladly  availed  himself  of  these  introductions  ;  and 
we  regret  deeply  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  give  the  reader  an 
account  of  the  pleasure  and  information  which  he  received, 
in  admission  to  a  circle  never  closed  against  strangers  of  sense 
and  information,  and  which  has  perhaps  at  no  period  been 
equaled,  considering  the  depth  and  variety  of  talent  which 
it  embraced  and  concentrated. 

Upon  the  Thursday  appointed,  Mr.  Pleydell  made  his  ap- 
pearance at  the  inn  where  Colonel  Mannering  lodged.  The 
venison  proved  in  high  order,  the  claret  excellent ;  and  the 
learned  counsel,  a  professed  amateur  in  the  affairs  of  the  table, 
did  distinguish  honor  to  both.    I  am  uncertain,  however,  if 


242 


GUY  MANNERING. 


even  the  good  cheer  gave  him  more  satisfaction  than  the  pres. 
ence  of  Dominie  Sampson,  from  whom  in  his  own  juridical  style 
of  wit,  he  contrived  to  extract  great  amusement,  both  for  himself 
and  one  or  two  friends,  whom  the  Colonel  regaled  on  the  same 
occasion.  The  grave  and  laconic  simplicity  of  Sampson's  an- 
swers to  the  insidious  questions  of  the  barrister,  placed  the  ban- 
hominie  of  his  character  in  a  more  luminous  point  of  view  than 
Mannering  had  yet  seen  it.  Upon  the  same  occasion  he  drew 
forth  a  strange  quantity  of  miscellaneous  and  abstruse,  though, 
generally  speaking,  useless  learning.  The  lawyer  afterward 
compared  his  mind  to  the  magazine  of  a  pawnbroker,  stowed 
with  goods  of  every  description,  but  so  cumbrously  piled  together, 
and  in  such  total  disorganization,  that  the  owner  can  never  lay 
his  hands  upon  any  one  article  at  the  moment  he  has  occasion 
for  it. 

As  for  the  advocate  himself,  he  afforded  at  least  as  much 
exercise  to  Sampson  as  he  extracted  amusement  from  him. 
When  the  man  of  law  began  to  get  into  his  altitudes,  and  his 
wit  naturally  shrewd  and  dry,  became  more  lively  and  poignant, 
the  Dominie  looked  upon  him  wdth  that  sort  of  surprise  with 
which  we  can  conceive  a  tame  bear  might  regard  his  future 
associate,  the  monkey,  on  their  being  first  introduced  to  each 
other.  It  was  Mr.  Pleydell's  delight  to  state  in  grave  and  seri- 
ous argument  some  position  which  he  knew  the  Dominie  would 
be  inclined  to  dispute.  He  then  beheld  with  exquisite  pleasure 
the  internal  labor  with  which  the  honest  man  arranged  his 
ideas  for  reply,  and  tasked  his  inert  and  sluggish  powers  to 
bring  up  all  the  heavy  artillery  of  his  learning  for  demolishing 
the  schismatic  or  heretical  opinion  which  had  been  stated — 
when,  behold  !  before  the  ordnance  could  be  discharged,  the  foe 
had  quitted  the  post,  and  appeared  in  a  new  position  of  annoy- 
ance on  the  Dominie's  flank  or  rear.  Often  did  he  exclaim 
"  Prodigious  ! "  when,  marching  up  to  the  enemy  in  full  confi- 
dence of  victory,  he  found  the  field  evacuated  ;  and  it  may  be 
supposed  that  it  cost  him  no  little  labor  to  attempt  a  new  for- 
mation. "  He  was  like  a  native  Indian  army,"  the  Colonel 
said,  formidable  by  numerical  strength  and  size  of  ordnance, 
but  liable  to  be  thrown  into  irreparable  confusion  by  a  move- 
ment to  take  ihem  in  flank." — On  the  whole,  however,  the 
Dominie,  though  somewhat  fatigued  with  these  mental  exertions, 
made  at  unusual  speed  and  upon  the  pressure  of  the  moment, 
reckoned  this  one  of  the  white  days  of  his  life,  and  always  men- 
tioned Mr.  Pleydell  as  a  very  erudite  and  fa-ce-ti-ous  person. 

By  degrees  the  rest  of  the  party  dropped  ofl",  and  left  these 
three  gentlemen  together.    Their  conversation  turned  to  Mrs. 


GUV  MANNERim. 


Bertram^s  settlements. — "Now  what  could  drive  it  into  the 
noddle  of  that  old  harridan/'  said  Pleydell,  "  to  disinherit  poor 
Lucy  Bertram,  under  pretence  of  settling  her  property  on  a  boy 
who  has  been  so  long  dead  and  gone  ? — I  ask  your  pardon,  Mr. 
Sampson — I  forgot  what  an  affecting  case  this  was  for  you ; — I 
remember  taking  your  examination  upon  it — and  I  never  had 
so  much  trouble  to  make  any  one  speak  three  words  consec- 
utively.— You  may  talk  of  your  Pythagoreans,or  your  silent  Brah- 
mins, Colonel — go  to,  I  tell  you  this  learned  gentleman  beats 
them  all  in  taciturnity — but  the  words  of  the  wise  are  precious, 
and  not  to  be  thrown  away  lightly/* 

"  Of  a  surety,"  said  the  Dominie,  taking  his  blue-checked 
handkerchief  from  his  eyes,  "  that  was  a  bitter  day  with  me 
indeed  ;  ay,  and  a  day  of  grief  hard  to  be  borne — but  He  giveth 
strength  who  layeth  on  the  load." 

Colonel  Mannering  took  this  opportunity  to  request  Mr. 
Pleydell  to  inform  him  of  the  particulars  attending  the  loss  of 
the  boy ;  and  the  counselor,  who  was  fond  of  talking  upon  sub- 
jects of  criminal  jurisprudence,  especially  when  connected  with 
his  own  experience,  went  through  the  circumstances  at  full 
length.  "And  what  is  your  opinion  upon  the  result  of  the 
whole  ? " 

"Oh,  that  Kennedy  was  murdered  :  it's  an  old  case  which 
has  occurred  on  that  coast  before  now — the  case  of  Smuggler 
versus  Exciseman." 

"  What,  then,  is  your  conjecture  concerning  the  fate  of  the 
child  t " 

"  Oh,  murdered  too,  doubtless,"  answered  Pleydell.  "  He 
was  old  enough  to  tell  what  he  had  seen,  and  these  ruthless 
scoundrels  would  not  scruple  committing  a  second  Bethlehem 
massacre,  if  they  thought  their  interest  required  it." 

The  Dominie  groaned  deeply,  and  ejaculated,  "  Enormous  ! " 

"Yet  there  was  mention  of  gypsies  in  the  business  too,  coun- 
selor," said  Mannering,  "  and  from  what  that  vulgar-looking 
fellow  said  after  the  funeral  "  

"  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram's  idea  that  the  child  was  alive 
was  founded  upon  the  report  of  a  gypsy,"  said  Pleydell,  catch- 
ing at  the  half-spoken  hint — "  I  envy  you  the  concatenation, 
Colonel. — it  is  a  shame  to  me  not  to  have  drawn  the.  same  con- 
clusion. We'll  follow  this  business  up  instantly — Here,  hark 
ye,  waiter, — go  down  to  Luckie  Wood's  in  the  Cowgate ;  ye'll 
find  my  clerk  Driver  ;  he'll  be  set  down  to  High-Jinks  by  this 
time  (for  we  and  our  retainers.  Colonel,  are  exceedingly  regular 
in  our  irregularities) ;  tell  him  to  come  here  instantly,  and  I 
>vill  pay  his  forfeits." 


^44 


GUY  MANNERINQ, 


"  He  won't  appear  in  character  will  he  ?  said  Mannering. 
Ah  !  no  more  of  that,  Hal,  an  thou  lovest  me/*  said  Pley 
dell.  *^  But  we  must  have  some  news  from  the  land  of  Egypt, 
if  possible.  O,  if  I  had  but  hold  of  the  slightest  thread  of  this 
complicated  skein,  you  should  see  how  I  would  unravel  it  !  I 
would  work  the  truth  out  of  your  Bohemian,  as  the  French  call 
them,  better  than  a  Monitoire^  or  a  Flainte  de  Toiirnelle :  I  know 
how  to  manage  a  refractory  witness.'* 

While  Mr.  Pleydell  was  thus  vaunting  his  knowledge  of  his 
profession,  the  waiter  re-entered  with  Mr.  Driver,  his  mouth 
still  greasy  with  mutton  pies,  and  the  frath  of  the  last  draught 
of  twopenny  yet  unsubsided  on  his  upper  lip,  with  such  speed 
had  he  obeyed  the  commands  of  his  principal.  Driver  you 
must  go  instantly  and  find  out  the  woman  w'ho  was  old  Mrs. 
Margaret  Bertram's  maid.  Inquire  for  her  everywhere  ;  but  if 
you  find  it  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  Protocol,  Quid  the  to- 
bacconist, or  any  other  of  these  folks,  you  will  take  care  not  to 
appear  yourself,  but  send  some  woman  of  your  acquaintance — I 
dare  say  you  know  enough  that  may  be  so  condescending  as  to 
oblige  you.  When  you  have  found  her  out,  engage  her  to  come 
to  my  chambers  to-morrow  at  eight  o'clock  precisely." 

What  shall  I  say  to  make  her  forthcoming  ?  "  asked  the 
aide-de-camp. 

"  Anything  you  choose,"  replied  the  lawyer.  "  Is  it  my 
business  to  make  lies  for  you,  do  you  think  ?  But  let  her  be  in 
prcese7itia  by  eight  o'clock,  as  I  have  said  before."  The  clerk 
grinned,  made  his  reverence  and  exit. 

"  That's  a  useful  fellow,"  said  the  counselor; — "  I  don't  be- 
lieve his  match  ever  carried  a  process.  He'll  write  to  my  dic- 
tating three  nights  in  the  week  without  sleep,  or,  what's  the  same 
thing,  he  writes  as  well  and  correctly  when  he's  asleep  as  when 
he's  awake.  Then  he's  such  a  steady  fellow — some  of  them  are 
always  changing  their  alehouses,  so  that  they  have  twenty  cad- 
ies  sweating  after  them,  like  the  bare-headed  captains  travers- 
ing the  taverns  of  East-Cheap  in  search  of  Sir  John  Falstaff. 
But  this  is  a  complete  fixture  ; — he  has  his  winter  seat  by  the 
fire,  and  his  summer  seat:  by  the  window,  in  Luckie  Wood's,  be^ 
twixt  which  seats  are  his  only  migrations — there  he's  to  be 
found  at  all  times  when  he's  off  duty.  It  is  my  opinion  he 
never  puts  off  his  clothes  or  goes  to  sleep  ; — sheer  ale  supports 
him  under  everything;  it  is  meat,  drink,  and  clothing,  bed, 
board,  and  washing." 

And  is  hd  always  fit  for  duty  upon  a  sudden  turn  out  ?  I 
should  distrust  it,  considering  his  quarters." 

"Oh,  drink  never  disturbs  him,  Colonel  ;  he  can  write  for 


GUY  MANNERINC. 


245 


hours  after  he  cannot  speak.  I  remember  being  called  sud- 
denly to  draw  an  appeal  case.  I  had  been  dining,  and  it  was 
Saturday  night,  and  I  had  ill  will  to  begin  to  it ;  however,  they 
got  me  down  to  Clerihugh's,  and  there  we  sat  birling  till  I  had  • 
a  fair  tappit  hen^  under  my  belt,  and  then  they  persuaded  me 
to  draw  the  paper.  Then  we  had  to  seek  Driver,  and  it  was 
all  that  two  men  could  do  to  bear  him  in  ;  for  when  found,  he 
was,  as  it  happened,  Ijoth  motionless  and  speechless.  But  no 
sooner  was  his  pen  put  between  his  fingers,  his  paper  stretched 
before  him,  and  he  heard  my  voice,  than  he  began  to  write  like 
a  scrivener — and,  excepting  that  we  were  obliged  to  have  some- 
body to  dip  his  pen  in  the  ink,  for  he  could  not  see  the  standish, 
I  never  saw  a  thing  scrolled  more  handsomely." 

"  But  how  did  your  joint  production  look  the  next  morning  ?  " 
said  the  Colonel. 

"  Wheugh  !  capital — not  three  words  required  to  be  altered  ;t 
it  was  sent  off  by  that  day's. post.  But  you'll  come  and  break- 
fast with  me  to-morrow,  and  hear  this  woman's  examination  1  " 

"  Why,  your  hour  is  rather  early." 

"  Can't  make  it  later.  If  I  were  not  on  the  boards  of  the 
Outer  House  precisely  as  the  nine-hours  bell  rings,  there  would 
be  a  report  that  I  had  got  an  apoplexy,  and  I  should  feel  the 
effects  of  it  all  the  rest  of  the  session." 

"Well,  I  will  make  an  exertion  to  wait  upon  you." 

Here  the  company  broke  up  for  the  evening. 

In  the  morning.  Colonel  Mannering  appeared  at  the  coun- 
selor's chambers,  although  cursing  the  raw  air  of  a  Scottish 
morning  in  December.  Mr.  Pleydell  had  got  Mrs.  Rebecca 
installed  on  one  side  of  his  fire,  accommodated  her  with  a  cup 
of  chocolate,  and  was  already  deeply  engaged  in  a  conversation 
with  her.  ^'O  no,  I  assure  you,  Mrs.  Rebecca,  there  is  no  in- 
tention to  challenge  your  mistress's  will ;  and  I  give  you  my 
word  of  honor  that  your  legacy  is  quite  safe.  You  have 
deserved  it  by  your  conduct  to  ypur  mistress,  and  I  wish  it  had 
been  twice  as  much." 

"  Why,  to  be  sure,  sir,  it's  no  right  to  mention  what  is  said 
before  ane — ye  heard  how  that  dirty  body  Quid  cast  up  to  me 
the  bits  o'  compliments  he  gied  me,  and  tell'd  ower  again  ony 
loose  cracks  I  might  hae  had  wi'  him ; — now  if  ane  was  talk- 
ing loosely  to  your  honor,  there's  nae  saying  what  might 
come  o't." 

"  I  assure  you,  my  good  Rebecca,  my  character  and  your 

*  Note  H.    Tappit  Hen. 
t  Note  I.    Convivial  Habits  of  the  Scottish  Bar. 


Ct/Y  MANNERim. 


own  age  and  appearance  ,  are  your  security,  if  you  should  talk 
as  loosely  as  an  amatory  poet/' 

"  Aweel,  if  your  honor  thinks  I  am  safe — the  story  is  just 
•  this. — Ye  see,  about  a  year  ago,  or  no  just  sae  lang,  my  leddy 
was  advised  to  go  to  Gilsland  for  a  while,  for  her  spirits  were 
distressing  her  sair.  EUangowan's  troubles  began  to  be  spoken 
o'  publicly,  and  sair  vexed  she  was ;  for  she  was  proud  o'  her 
family.  For  Ellangowan  himself  and  -her,  they  sometimes 
'greed,  and  sometimes  no  ;  but  at  last  they  didna  'gree  at  a' 
for  twa  or  three  years — for  he  was  aye  wanting  to  borrow  siller, 
and  that  was  what  she  couldna  bide  at  no  hand,  and  she  was 
aye  wanting  it  paid  back  again,  and  that  the  Laird  he  liked  as 
little.  So,  at  last,  they  were  clean  aff  thegither.  And  then 
some  of  the  company  at  Gilsland  tells  her  that  the  estate  was 
to  be  sell'd  ;  and  ye  wad  hae  thought  she  had  taen  an  ill  will 
at  Miss  Lucy  Bertram  frae  that  moment,  for  mony  a  time  she 
cried  to  me,  *  O  Becky,  O  Becky,  if  that  useless  peenging  thing 
o'  a  lassie  there  at  Ellangowan,  that  canna  keep  her  ne'er-do- 
weel  father  within  bounds — if  she  had  been  but  a  lad-bairn, 
they  couldna  hae  sell'd  the  auld  inheritance  for  that  fool-body's 
debts  ; ' — and  she  would  rin  on  that  way  till  I  was  just  wearie 
and  sick  to  hear  her  ban  the  puir  lassie,  as  if  she  wadna  hae 
been  a  lad-bairn,  and  keepit  the  land,  if  it  had  been  in  her  will 
to  change  her  seat.  And  ae  day  at  the  'spaw-well,  below  the 
craig  at  Gilsland,  she  was  seeing  a  very  bonny  family  o'  bairns 
— they  belanged  to  ane  Mac-Crosky — and  she  broke  out — '  Is 
not  it  an  oddlike  thing  that  ilka  waff  carle  ^  in  the  country  has 
a  son  and  heir,  and  that  the  house  of  Ellangowan  is  without 
male  succession  1 '  There  was  a  gypsy  wife  stood  ahint  and 
heard  her — a  muckle  stour  fearsome-looking  wife  she  was  as 
ever  I  set  een  on.  *  Wha  is  it,'  says  she,  '  that  dare  say  the 
house  of  Ellangowan  will  perish  without  male  succession  1 ' 
My  mistress  just  turned  on  her ;  she  was  a  high-spirited 
woman,  and  aye  ready  wi'  an  ajnswer  to  a'  body.  *  It's  me  that 
says  it,'  says  she,  '  that  may  say  it  with  a  sad  heart.'  Wi'  that 
the  gypsy  wife  gripped  till  her  hand  :  *  I  ken  you  weel  eneugh,' 
says  she,  ^  though  you  kenna  me — But  as  sure  as  that  sun's  in 
heaven  and  as  sure  as  that  water's  rinning  to  the  sea,  and  as 
sure  as  there's  an  ee  that  sees,  and  an  ear  that  hears  us  baith, 
— Harry  I^ertram,  that  was  thought  to  perish  at  Warroch  Point, 
never  did  die  there.  He  was  to  have  a  weary  weird  o't  till  his 
ane-and-twentieth  year,  that  was  aye  said  o'  him — but  if  ye  live 
and  1  live,  ye'll  hear  mair  o'  him  this  winter  before  the  snaw 


*  Every  insignificant  churl. 


GUY  MANNERING, 


247 


lies  twa  days  on  the  Dun  of  Singleside.  I  want  nane  o'  your 
siller,'  she  said,  '  to  make  ye  think  I  am  blearing  your  ee.  Fare 
ye  weel  till  after  Martinmas/  And  there  she  left  us  stand- 
ing." 

"  Was  she  a  very  tall  woman  ? ''  interrupted  Mannering. 

"  Had  she  black  hair^  black  eyes,  and  a  cut  above  the 
brow  ?  "  added  the  lawyer. 

"  She  was  the  tallest  woman  I  ever  saw,  and  her  hair  w^as 
as  black  as  midnight^  unles^  where  it  was  gray,  and  she  had  a 
scar  abune  the  brow,  that  ye  might  hae  laid  the  lith  of  your 
finger  in.  Naebody  that's  seen  her  will  ever  forget  her,  and  I 
am  morally  sure  that  it  was  on  the  ground  o'  what  that  gypsy- 
woman  said  that  my  mistress  made  her  will,  having  taen  a  dis- 
like at  the  young  leddy  o'  Ellangowan  ;  and  she  liked  her  far 
waur  after  she  was  obliged  to  send  her  £20^ — for  she  said  Miss 
Bertram,  no  content  wd'  letting  the  Ellangowan  property  pass 
into  strange  hands  owing  to  her  being  a  lass  and  no  a  lad,  was 
corning,  by  her  poverty,  to  be  a  burden  and  disgrace  to  Single- 
side  too. — But  I  hope  my  mistress's  is  a  good  will  for  a'  that, 
for  it  would  be  hard  on  me  to  lose  the  wee  bit  legacy — I  served 
for  little  fee  and  bountith,  weel  I  wot." 

The  counselor  relieved  her  fears  on  this  head,  then  inquired 
after  Jenny  Gibson,  and  understood  she  had  accepted  Mr.  Din- 
mont's  offer  ;  and  "  I  have  done  sae  mysell  too,  since  he  was 
sae  discreet  as  to  ask  me,"  said  Mrs.  Rebecca ;  "  they  are  very 
decent  folk  the  Dinmonts,  though  my  lady  didna  dow  to  hear 
muckle  about  the  friends  on  that  side  the  house.  But  she  liked 
the  Charlies-hope  hams,  and  the  cheeses,  and  the  muirfowl, 
that  they  were  aye  sending,  and  the  lamb's-wool  hose  and 
mittens  she  liked  them  weel  eneuch." 

Mr.  Pleydell  now  dismissed  Mrs.  Rebecca.  When  she  was 
gone,  "  I  think  I  know  the  gypsy  woman,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  I  was  just  going  to  say  the  same,"  replied  Mannering. 

"  And  her  name,"  said  Pleydell. 

"  Is  Meg  Merrilies,"  answered  the  Colonel. 

"  Are  you  advised  of  that  ? "  said  the  counselor,  looking  at 
his  military  friend  with  a  comic  expression  of  surprise. 

Mannering  answered,  that  he  had  known  such  a  woman 
when  he  was  at  Ellangowan  upward  of  twenty  years  before ;  " 
and  then  made  his  learned  friend  acquainted  with  all  the 
remarkable  particulars  of  his  first  visit  there. 

Mr.  Pleydell  listened  with  great  attention,  and  then  replied, 
"  I  congratulated  myself  upon  having  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  profound  theologian  in  your  chaplain  ;  but  I  really  did  not 
expect  to  find  a  pupil  of  Albumazar  or  Messahala  in  his  patron. 


248 


GUY  MANNERING. 


I  have  a  notion,  however,  this  gypsy  could  tell  us  some  more 
of  the  matter  than  she  derives  from  astrology  or  second-sight— 
I  had  her  through  hands  once,  and  could  then  make  little  of 
her  ;  but  I  must  write  to  Mac-Morlan  to  stir  heaven  and  earth 
to  find  her  out.  I  will  gladly  come  to  shire  myself  to  as- 
sist at  her  examination.  I  am  still  in  the  commission  of  the 
peace  there,  though  I  have  ceased  to  be  sheriff.  I  never  had 
anything  more  at  heart  in  my  life  than  tracing  that  murder,  and 
the  fate  of  the  child.  1  must  write  to  the  sheriff  of  Roxburgh- 
shite  too,  and  to  an  active  justice  of  peace  in  Cumberland.'* 

I  hope  when  you  come  to  the  country  you  will  make 
Woodbourne  your  head-quarters  ?  " 

"  Certainly  ;  I  was  afraid  you  were  going  to  forbid  me— 
But  we  must  go  to  breakfast  now,  or  I  shall  be  too  late.'' 

On  the  following  day  the  new  friends  parted,  and  the 
Colonel  rejoined  his  family  without  any  adventure  worthy  of 
being  detailed  in  these  chapters. 


CHAPTER  FORTIETH. 

Can  no  rest  find  me,  no  private  place  secure  me, 
But  still  my  miseries  like  bloodhounds  haunt  me? 
Unfortunate  young  man,  which  way  now  guides  thee, 
Guides  thee  from  death  1    The  country's  laid  around  for  thee. 

Women  Pleased. 

Our  narrative  now  recalls  us  for  a  moment  to  the  period 
when  young  Hazlewood  received  his  wound.  That  accident 
had  no  sooner  happened,  than  the  consequences  to  Miss  Man- 
nering  and  to  himself  rushed  upon  Brown's  mind.  From  the 
manner  in  which  the  muzzle  of  the  piece  was  pointed  when  it 
went  off,  he  had  no  great  fear  that  the  consequences  would  be 
fatal.  But  an  arrest  in  a  strange  country,  and  while  he  was  un- 
provided with  any  means  of  establishing  his  rank  and  character, 
was  at  least  to  be  avoided.  He  therefore  resolved  to  escape 
for  the  present  to  the  neighboring  coast  of  England,  and  to  re- 
main concealed  there,  if  possible,  until  he  should  receive  letters 
from  his  regimental  friends,  and  remittances  from  his  agent; 
and  then  to  resume  his  own  character,  and  offer  to  young  Hazle- 
wood and  his  friends  any  explanation  or  satisfaction  they  might 
desire.  With  this  purpose  he  walked  stoutly  forward,  after 
leaving  the  spot  where  the  accident  had  happened,  and  reached 


GUY  MANNERING. 


249 


without  adventure  the  village  which  we  have  called  Portanferry 
(but  which  the  reader  will  in  vain  seek  for  under  that  name  in 
the  county  map).  A  large  open  boat  was  just  about  to  leave 
the  quay,  bound  for  the  little  seaport  of  Allonby,  in  Cumber- 
land. In  this  vessel  Brown  embarked,  and  resolved  to  make 
that  place  his  temporary  abode,  until  he  should  receive  letters 
and  money  from  England. 

In  the  course  of  their  short  voyages  he  entered  into  some 
conversation  with  the  steersman,  who  was  also  owner  of  the 
boat, — a  jolly  old  man  who  had  occasionally  been  engaged  in 
the  smuggling  trade,  like  most  fishers  on  the  coast.  After 
talking  about  objects  of  less  interest.  Brown  endeavored  to  turn 
the  discourse  toward  the  Mannering  family.  The  sailor  had 
heard  of  the  attack  upon  the  house  at  Woodbourne,  but  disap- 
proved of  the  smugglers'  proceedings. 

"  Hands  off  is  fair  play.  Zounds  !  they'll  bring  the  whole 
country  down  upon  them.  Na,  na  !  when  I  was  in  that  way,  I 
played  at  giff-gaff  with  the  officers  :  here  a  cargo  taen — vera 
weel,  that  was  their  luck  ; — there  another  carried  clean  through, 
that  was  mine.  Na,  na  !  hawks  shouldna  pike  out  hawks' 
een." 

"  And  this  Colonel  Mannering,"  said  Brown. 

"  Troth,  he's  nae  wise  man  neither,  to  interfere.  No  that  I 
blame  him  for  saving  the  gangers'  lives — that  was  very  right ; 
but  it  wasna  like  a  gentleman  to  be  fighting  about  the  poor 
folk's  pocks  o'  tea  and  brandy  kegs  ;  however,  he's  a  grand 
man  and  an  officer  man,  and  they  do  what  they  like  wi'  the 
like  o'  us." 

"  And  his  daughter,"  said  Brown  with  a  throbbing  heart, 
"  is  going  to  be  married  into  a  great  family  too,  as  I  have 
heard  ?  " 

"  What,  into  the  Hazlewood's  ?  "  said  the  pilot.  "  Na,  na, 
that's  but  idle  clashes — every  Sabbath-day,  as  regularly  as  it 
came  round,  did  the  young  man  ride  hame  wi'  the  daughter  of 
the  late  EUangowan  ; — and  my  daughter  Peggy's  in  the  service 
up  at  Woodbourne,  and  she  says  she's  sure  young  Hazlewood 
thinks  nae  mair  of  Miss  Mannering  than  you  do." 

Bitterly  censuring  his  own  precipitate  adoption  of  a  con- 
trary belief.  Brown  yet  heard  with  delight  that  the  suspicions 
of  Julia's  fidelity,  upon  which  he  had  so  rashly  acted,  were 
probably  void  of  foundation.  How  must  he  in  the  meantime 
be  suffering  in  her  opinion  ?  or  what  could  she  suppose  of 
conduct,  which  must  have  made  him  appear  to  her  regardless 
alike  of  her  peace  of  mind,  and  of  the  interests  of  their  affec- 
tion ?    The  old  man's  connection  with  the  family  at  Wood- 


GUY  MANNERING. 


bourne  seemed  to  offer  a  safe  mode  of  communication,  of 
which  he  determined  to  avail  himself. 

"Your  daughter  is  a  maid-servant  at  Woodbourne  ? — I 
knew  Miss  Mannering  in  India,  and  though  I  am  at  present  in 
an  inferior  rank  of  Hfe,  I  have  great  reason  to  hope  she  would 
interest  herself  in  my  favor.  I  had  a  quarrel  unfortunately 
with  her  father,  who  was  my  commanding-officer,  and  I  am 
sure  the  young  lady  would  endeavor  to  reconcile  him  to  me. 
Perhaps  your  daughter  could  deliver  a  letter  to  her  upon  the 
subject,  without  making  mischief  between  her  father  and 
her?'' 

The  old  man,  a  friend  to  smuggling  of  every  kind,  readily 
answered  for  the  letter's  being  faithfully  and  secretly  delivered  ; 
and,  accordingly,  as  soon  as  they  arrived  at  Allonby,  Brown 
wrote  to  Miss  Mannering,  stating  the  utmost  contrition  fof 
what  had  happened  through  his  rashness,  and  conjuring  her  to 
let  him  have  an  opportunity  of  pleading  his  own  cause,  and 
obtaining  forgiveness  for  his  indiscretion.  He  did  not  judge  it 
safe  to  go  into  any  detail  concerning  the  circumstances  by 
which  he  had  been  misled,  and  upon  the  whole  endeavored  to 
express  himself  with  such  ambiguity,  that  if  the  letter  should 
fall  into  wrong  hands,  it  would  be  difficult  either  to  understand 
its  real  purport,  or  to  trace  the  writer.  This  letter  the  old  man 
undertook  faithfully  to  deliver  to  his  daughter  at  Woodbourne  ; 
and,  as  his  trade  would  speedily  again  bring  him  or  his  boat  to 
Allonby,  he  promised  further  to  take  charge  of  any  answer 
with  which  the  young  lady  might  entrust  him. 

And  now  our  persecuted  traveler  landed  at  Allonby,  and 
sought  for  such  accomm®dations  as  might  at  once  suit  his  tem- 
porary poverty,  and  his  desire  of  remaining  as  much  unob- 
served as  possible.  With  this  view  he  assumed  the  name  and 
profession  of  his  friend  Dudley,  having  command  enough  of 
the  pencil  to  verify  his  pretended  character  to  his  host  of  Al- 
lonby. His  baggage  he  pretended  to  expect  from  Wigton*, 
and  keeping  himself  as  much  within  doors  as  possible,  awaited 
the  return  of  the  letters  which  he  had  sent  to  his  agent,  to 
Delaserre,  and  to  his  Lieutenant-Colonel.  From  the  first  he 
requested  a  supply  of  money ;  he  conjured  Delaserre,  if  pos- 
sible, to  join  him  in  Scotland ;  and  from  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  he  required  such  testimony  of  his  rank  and  conduct  in 
the  regiment,  as  should  place  his  character  as  a  gentleman  and 
officer  beyond  the  power  of  question.  The  inconvenience  of 
being  run  short  in  his  finances  struck  him  so  strongly,  that  he 
wrote  to  Dinmont  on  that  subject,  requesting  a  small  tempo- 
rary loan,  having  no  doubt  that,  being  within  sixty  or  seventj" 


Giyy  MAiSTNERlMG. 


miles  of  his  residence,  he  should  receive  a  speedy  as  well  as 
favorable  answer  to  his  request  of  pecuniary  accommodation, 
which  was  owing,  as  he  stated,  to  his  having  been  robbed  after 
their  parting.  And  then,  with  impatience  enough,  though 
without  any  serious  apprehension,  he  waited  the  answers  of 
these  various  letters. 

It  must  be  observed,  in  excuse  of  his  correspondents,  that 
the  post  was  then  much  more  tardy  than  since  Mr.  Palmer's  in- 
genious invention  has  taken  place  ;  and  with  respect  to  honest 
Dinmont  in  particular,  as  he  rarely  received  above  one  letter 
a  quarter  (unless  during  the  time  of  his  being  engaged  in  a 
lawsuit,  when  he  regularly  sent  to  the  post-town),  his  corre- 
spondence usually  remained  for  a  month  or  two  sticking  in  the 
postmaster's  window  among  pamphlets,  gingerbread,  rolls,  or 
ballads,  according  to  the  trade  which  the  said  postmaster  exer- 
cised. Besides,  there  was  then  a  custom,  not  yet  wholly  obso- 
lete, of  causing  a  letter,  from  one  town  to  another,  perhaps 
within  the  distance  of  thirty  miles,  perform  a  circuit  of  two 
hundred  miles  before  delivery  ;  which  had  the  combined  advan- 
tage of  airing  the  epistle  thoroughly,  of  adding  some  pence  to 
the  revenue  of  the  post-office,  and  of  exercising  the  patience  of 
the  correspondents.  Owing  to  these  circumstances.  Brown  re- 
mained several  days  in  Allonby  without  any  answers  whatever  ; 
and  his  stock  of  money,  though  husbanded  with  the  utmost 
economy,  began  to  wear  very  low,  when  he  received,  by  the 
hands  of  a  young  fisherman,  the  following  letter  : — 

"  You  have  acted  with  the  most  cruel  indiscretion  ;  you 
have  shown  how  little  I  can  trust  to  your  declarations  that  my 
peace  and  happiness  are  dear  to  you  ;  and  your  rashness  has 
nearly  occasioned  the  death  of  a  young  man  of  the  highest 
worth  and  honor.  Must  I  say  more  ? — must  I  add,  that  I  have 
been  myself  very  ill  in  consequence  of  your  violence  and  its 
effects  ?  And,  alas  !  need  I  say  still  further,  that  I  have  thought 
anxiously  upon  them  as  they  are  likely  to  affect  you,  although 
you  have  given  me  such  slight  cause  to  do  so  ?  The  C.  is  gone 
from  home  for  several  days  ;  Mr.  H.  is  almost  quite  recovered, 
and  I  have  reason  to  think  that  the  blame  is  laid  in  a  quarter 
different  from  that  where  it  is  deserved.  Yet  do  not  think  of 
venturing  here.  Our  fate  has  been  crossed  by  accidents  of  a 
nature  too  violent  and  terrible  to  permit  me  to  think  of  renew- 
ing a  correspondence  which  has  so  often  threatened  the  most 
dreadful  catastrophe.  Farewell,  therefore,  and  believe  that  no 
one  can  wish  your  happiness  more  sincerely  than 

"J.  M." 


252 


G17V  MANNERTNG. 


This  letter  contained  that  species  of  advice  which  is  fre- 
quently given  for  the  precise  purpose  that  it  may  lead  to  a  di- 
rectly opposite  conduct  from  that  which  it  recommends.  At 
least  so  thought  Brown,  who  immediately  asked  the  young  fish- 
erman if  he  came  from  Portanferry. 

"  Ay,"  said  the  lad ;  "  I  am  auld  Willie  Johnstone\s  son, 
and  I  got  that  letter  frae  my  sister  Peggy,  that's  laundry  maid  at 
Woodbourne." 

My  good  friend,  when  do  you  sail  ?  " 

"With  the  tide  this  evening." 

"  I'll  return  with  you  ;  but  as  I  do  not  desire  to  go  to  Port- 
anferry, I  wish  you  could  put  me  on  shore  somewhere  on  the 
coast." 

"  We  can  easily  do  that,"  said  the  lad. 

Although  the  price  of  provisions,  etc.,  was  then  very  mod- 
erate, the  discharging  his  lodgings,  and  the  expense  of  his 
living,  together  with  that  of  a  change  oi  dress,  which  safety  as 
well  as  a  proper  regard  to  his  external  appearance,  rendered 
necessary,  brought  Brown's  purse  to  a  very  low  ebb.  He  left 
directions  at  the  post-office  that  his  letters  should  be  forwarded 
to  Kippletringan,  whither  he  resolved  to  proceed,  and  reclaim 
the  treasure  which  he  had  deposited  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Mac- 
Candlish.  He  also  felt  it  would  be  his  duty  to  assume  his 
proper  character  as  soon  as  he  should  receive  the  necessary 
evidence  for  supporting  it,  and,  as  an  officer  in  the  king's  ser- 
vice, give  and  receive  every  explanation  which  might  be  neces- 
sary with  young  Hazlewood.  If  he  is  not  very  wrong-headed 
indeed,"  he  thought,  "he  must  allow  the  manner  in  which  I 
acted  to  have  been  the  necessary  consequence  of  his  own  over- 
bearing conduct." 

And  now  we  must  suppose  him  once  more  embarked  on  the 
Sol  way  Firth.  The  wind  was  adverse,  attended  by  some  rain, 
and  they  struggled  against  it  without  much  assistance  from  the 
tide.  The  boat  was  heavily  laden  with  goods  (part  of  which 
were  probably  contraband),  and  labored  deep  in  the  sea. 
Brown  who  had  been  bred  a  sailor,  and  was  indeed  skilled  in 
most  athletic  exercises,  gave  his  powerful  and  effectual  assist- 
ance in  rowing,  or  occasionally  in  steering  the  boat,  and  his  ad- 
vice in  the  management,  which  became  the  more  delicate  as 
the  wind  increased,  and,  being  opposed  to  the  very  rapid  tides 
of  that  coast,  made  the  voyage  perilous.  At  length,  after 
spending  the  whole  night  upon  the  firth,  they  were  at  morning 
within  sight  of  a  beautiful  bay  upon  the  Scottish  coast.  The 
weathvjr  was  now  more  mild.  The  snow,  which  had  been  for 
some  time  waning,  had  given  way  entirely  under  the  fresh  gale 


GUY  MANNERmC. 


of  the  preceding  night.  The  more  distant  hills,  indeed  retained 
their  snowy  mantle,  but  all  the  open  country  was  cleared,  unless 
where  a  few  white  patches  indicated  that  it  had  been  drifted  to 
an  uncommon  depth.  Even  under  its  wintry  appearance,  the 
shore  was  highly  interesting.  The  line  of  sea-coast  with  all  its 
varied  curves,  indentures,  and  embayments,  swept  away  from 
the  sight  on  either  hand,  in  that  varied,  intricate,  yet  graceful 
and  easy  line,  which  the  eye  loves  so  well  to  pursue.  And  it 
was  no  less  relieved  and  varied  in  elevation  than  in  outline,  by 
the  different  forms  of  the  shore  ;  the  beach  in  some  places  being 
edged  by  steep  rocks,  and  in  others  rising  smoothly  from  the 
sands  in  easy  and  sv.-elling  slopes. — Buildings  of  different  kinds 
caught  and  reflected  the  wintry  sunbeams  of  a  December  morn- 
ing, and  the  woods,  though  now  leafless,  gave  relief  and  variety 
to  the  landscape.  Brown  felt  that  lively  and  awakening  interest 
which  taste  and  sensibility  always  derive  from  the  beauties  of 
nature,  when  opening  suddenly  to  the  eye,  after  the  dulness 
and  gloom  of  a  night  voyage.  Perhaps — for  who  can  presume 
to  analyze  that  inexplicable  feeling  which  binds  the  person 
born  in  a  mountainous  country  to  his  native  hills.'* — perhaps 
some  early  associations,  retaining  their  effect  long  after  the 
cause  was  forgotten,  mingled  in  the  feelings  of  pleasure  with 
which  he  regarded  the  scene  before  him. 

And  what,"  said  Brown  to  the  boatman,  "  is  the  name  of 
that  fine  cape,  that  stretches  into  the  sea  with  its  sloping  banks 
and  hillocks  of  wood,  and  forms  the  right  side  of  the  bay  1  " 
"  Warroch  Point,"  answered  the  lad. 

"  And  that  old  castle,  my  friend,  with  the  modern  house 
situated  just  beneath  it }  It  seems  at  this  distance  a  very  large 
building." 

That's  the  Auld  Place,  sir ;  and  that's  the  New  Place  below 
it.    We'll  land  you  there,  if  you  like." 

I  should  like  it  of  all  things.  I  must  visit  that  ruin  before 
I  continue  my  journey." 

Ay,  it's  a  queer  auld  bit,"  said  the  fisherman ;  "  and  that 
highest  tower  is  a  gude  land-mark  as  far  as  Ramsey  in  Man, 
and  the  Point  of  Ayr  ; — there  was  muckle  fighting  about  the 
place  hmgsyne." 

Brown  would  have  inquired  into  further  particulars,  but  a 
fisherman  is  seldom  an  antiquary.  His  boatman's  local  knowl* 
edge  was  summed  up  in  the  information  already  given,  "  that 
it  was  a  grand  land-mark,  and  that  there  had  been  muckle 
fighting  about  the  bit  langsyne." 

I  shall  learn  more  of  it,"  said  Brown  to  himself,  when  I 
get  ashore." 


254 


GUY  MANNERING, 


The  boat  continued  its  course  close  under  the  point  upon 
which  the  castle  was  situated,  which  frowned  from  the  summit 
of  its  rocky  site  upon  the  still  agitated  waves  of  the  bay  beneath. 
'^^  I  believe/'  said  the  steersman,  "ye'll  get  ashore  here  as  dry 
as  ony  gate.  There's  a  place  where  their  berlins  and  galleys, 
as  they  ca'd  them,  used  to  lie  in  langsyne,  but  it's  no  used 
now,  because  it's  ill  carrying  gudes  up  the  narrow  stairs,  or 
ower  the  rocks.  Whiles  of  a  moonlight  night  I  have  landed 
articles  there,  though." 

While  he  thus  spoke,  they  pulled  round  a  point  of  rock,  and 
found  a  very  small  harbor,  partly  formed  by  nature,  partly  by 
the  indefatigable  labor  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  castle, 
who,  as  the  fisherman  observed,  had  found  it  essential  for  the 
protection  of  their  boats  and  small  craft,  though  it  could  not 
receive  vessels  of  any  burden.  The  two  points  of  rock  w^hich 
formed  the  access  approached  each  other  so  nearly,  that  only 
one  boat  could  enter  at  a  time.  On  each  side  were  still  remain- 
ing two  immense  iron  rings,  deeply  morticed  into  the  solid  rock. 
Through  these,  according  to  tradition,  there  was  nightly  drawn 
a  huge  chain,  secured  by  an  immense  padlock,  for  the  protection 
of  the  haven,  and  the  armada  which  it  contained.  A  ledge  of 
rock  had,  by  the  assistance  of  the  chisel  and  pickaxe,  been 
formed  into  a  sort  of  quay.  The  rock  was  of  extremely  hard 
consistence,  and  the  task  so  difficult,  that,  according  to  the 
fisherman,  a  laborer  who  wrought  at  the  work  might  in  the 
evening  have  carried  home  in  his  bonnet  all  the  shivers  which 
he  had  struck  from  the  mass  in  the  course  of  the  day.  This 
little  quay  communicated  with  a  rude  staircase,  already  repeat- 
edly mentioned,  which  descended  from  the  old  castle.  There 
was  also  a  communication  between  the  beach  and  the  quay,  by 
scrambling  over  the  rocks. 

"  Ye  had  better  land  here,"  said  the  lad,  "  for  the  surf's 
running  high  at  the  Shellicoat-stane,  and  there  will  no  be  a 
dry  thread  amang  us  or  we  get  the  cargo  out. — Na !  nal"  (in 
answer  to  an  offer  of  money),  "  ye  have  wrought  for  your  passage, 
and  wrought  far  better  than  ony  o'  us.  Gude-day  to  ye  :  I 
wuss  ye  week" 

So  saying,  he  pushed  off  in  order  to  land  his  cargo  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  bay  ;  and  Brown,  with  a  small  bundle  in 
his  hand,  containing  the  trifling  stock  of  necessaries  which  he 
had  been  obliged  to  purchase  at  Allonby,  was  left  on  the  rocks 
beneath  the  ruin. 

And  thus,  unconscious  as  the  most  absolute  stranger,  and 
in  circumstances  which,  if  not  destitute,  were  for  the  present 
highly  enibarrassing ;  without  the  countenance  of  a  friend 


GUY  MANNERING.  255 

within  the  circle  of  several  hundred  miles ;  accused  of  a  heavy 
crime,  and,  what  was  as  bad  as  all  the  rest,  being  nearly  penni- 
less, did  the  harassed  wanderer,  for  the  first  time  after  the 
interval  of  so  many  years,  approach  the  remains  of  the  castle 
where  his  ancestors  had  exercised  all  but  regal  dominion. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-FIRST. 

 Yes,  ye  moss-green  walls, 

Ye  towers  defenceless,  I  revisit  ye 
Shame-stricken  !    Where  are  all  your  trophies  now  ? 
Your  thronged  courts,  the  revelry,  the  tumult. 
That  spoke  the  grandeur  of  my  house,  the  homage 
Of  neighboring  Barons  ? 

Mysterious  Mother. 

Entering  the  castle  of  Ellangowan  by  a  postern  door-way, 
which  showed  symptoms  of  having  been  once  secured  with  the 
most  jealous  care.  Brown  (whom,  since  he  has  set  foot  upon  the 
property  of  his  fathers,  we  shall  hereafter  call  by  his  father's 
name  of  Bertram)  wandered  from  one  ruined  apartment  to 
another,  surprised  at  the  massive  strength  of  some  parts  of  the 
building,  the  rude  and  impressive  magnificence  of  others,  and 
the  great  extent  of  the  whole.  In  two  of  these  rooms,  close 
beside  each  other,  he  saw  signs  of  recent  habitation.  In  one 
small  apartment  were  empty  bottles,  half-gnawed  bones,  and 
'dried  fragments  of  bread.  In  the  vault  which  adjoined,  and 
which  was  defended  by  a  strong  door,  then  left  open,  he 
observed  a  considerable  quantity  of  straw  ;  and  in  both  were 
the  relics  of  recent  fires.  How  little  was  it  possible  for  Bertram 
to  conceive,  that  such  trivial  circumstances  were  closely  con- 
nected with  incidents  affecting  his  prosperity,  his  honor,  per- 
haps his  life  ! 

After  satisfying  his  curiosity  by  a  hasty  glance  through  the 
interior  of  the  castle,  Bertram  now  advanced  through  the  great 
gateway  which  opened  to  the  land,  and  paused  to  look  upon 
the  noble  landscape  which  it  commanded.  Having  in  vain 
endeavored  to  guess  the  position  of  Woodbourne,  and  having 
nearly  ascertained  that  of  Kippletringan,  he  turned  to  take  a 
parting  look  at  the  stately  ruins  which  he  had  just  traversed. 
He  admired  the  massive  and  picturesque  effect  of  the  huge 
round  towers,  which,  flanking  the  gateway,  gave  a  double 
portion  of  depth  and  majesty  to  the  high  yet  gloomy  arch 


256 


GUY  MANNERING, 


under  which  it  opened.  The  carved  stone  escutcheon  of  the 
ancient  family,  bearing  for  their  arms  three  wolves'  heads,  was 
hung  diagonally  beneath  the  helmet  and  crest,  the  latter  being 
a  wolf  couchant  pierced  with  an  arrow.  On  either  side  stood  as 
supporters,  in  full  human  size,  or  larger,  a  salvage  man  proper^ 
to  use  the  language  of  heraldry,  wreathed  and  cinctured^  and 
holding  in  his  hand  an  oak-tree  eradicated^  that  is,  torn  up  by 
the  roots. 

"  And  the  powerful  barons  who  owned  this  blazonry,"  thought 
Bertram,  pursuing  the  usual  train  of  ideas  which  flows  upon 
the  mind  at  such  scenes, — "do  their  posterity  continue  to 
possess  the  lands  which  they  had  labored  to  fortify  so  strongly  ? 
or  are  they  wanderers,  ignorant  perhaps  even  of  the  fame  or 
power  of  their  forefathers,  while  their  hereditary  possessions  are 
held  by  a  race  of  strangers  1  Why  is  it,"  he  thought,  continuing 
to  follow  out  the  succession  of  ideas  which  the  scene  prompted, 
— "  why  is  it  that  some  scenes  awaken  thoughts  which  belong 
as  it  were  to  dreams  of  early  and  shadowy  recollection,  such  as 
my  old  Brahmin  Moonshie  would  have  ascribed  to  a  state  of 
previous  existence  ?  Is  it  the  visions  of  our  sleep  that  float 
confusedly  in  our  memory,  and  are  recalled  by  the  appearance 
of  such  real  objects  as  in  any  respect  correspond  to  the  phantoms 
they  presented  to  our  imaginations  t  How  often  do  we  find 
ourselves  in  society  which  we  have  never  before  met,  and  yet 
feel  impressed  with  a  mysterious  and  ill-defined  consciousness, 
that  neither  the  scene,  the  speakers,  nor  the  subject,  are  entirely 
new  ;  nay,  feel  as  if  we  could  anticipate  that  part  of  the  conver- 
sation which  has  not  yet  taken  place  !  It  is  even  so  with  me 
while  I  gaze  upon  that  ruin  ; — nor  can  I  divest  myself  of  the 
idea,  that  these  massive  towers,  and  that  dark  gateway,  retiring 
through  its  deep-vaulted  and  ribbed  arches,  and  dimly  lighted 
by  the  court-yard  beyond,  are  not  entirely  strange  to  me.  Can 
it  be,  that  they  have  been  familiar  to  me  in  infancy,  and  that 
I  am  to  seek  in  their  vicinity  those  friends  of  whom  my  child- 
hood has  still  a  tender  though  faint  remembrance,  and  whom  I 
early  exchanged  for  such  severe  taskmasters.'*  Yet  Brown,  who 
I  think  would  not  have  deceived  me,  always  told  me  I  was 
brought  off  from  the  eastern  coast,  after  a  skirmish  in  which 
my  father  was  killed  ; — and  T  do  remember  enough  of  a  horrid 
scene  of  violence  to  strengthen  his  account." 

It  happened  that  the  spot  upon  which  young  Bertram 
chanced  to  station  himself  for  the  better  viewing  the  castle, 
was  nearly  the  same  on  which  his  father  had  died.  It  was 
marked  by  a  large  old  oak  tree,  the  only  one  on  the  esplanade, 
and  which,  having  been  used  for  executions  by  the  barons  of 


GC/y  MANNERINO. 


257 


Ellangowan,  was  called  the  Justice-Tree.  It  chanced,  and  the 
coincidence  was  remarkable,  that  Glossin  was  this  morning 
engaged  with  a  person  whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  consulting 
in  such  matters,  concerning  some  projected  repairs,  and  a  large 
addition  to  the  house  of  Ellangowan, — and  that,  having  no 
great  pleasure  n  remains  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
grandeur  of  the  former  inhabitants,  he  had  resolved  to  use  the 
stones  of  the  ruinous  castle  in  his  new  edifice.  Accordingly 
he  came  up  the  bank,  followed  by  the  land-surveyor  mentioned 
on  a  former  occasion,  who  was  also  in  the  habit  of  acting  as  a 
sort  of  architect  in  case  of  necessity.  In  drawing  the  plans, 
etc.,  Glossin  was  in  the  custom  of  relying  upon  his  own  skill, 
Bertram's  back  was  toward  them  as  they  came  up  the  ascent, 
and  he  was  quite  shrouded  by  the  branches  of  the  large  tree, 
so  that  Glossin  was  not  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  stranger 
till  he  was  close  upon  him. 

"  Yes,  sir,  as  I  have  often  said  before  to  you,  the  Old  Place 
is  a  perfect  quarry  of  hewn  stone,  and  it  would  be  better  for 
the  estate  if  it  were  all  down,  since  it  is  only  a  den  for 
smugglers." 

At  this  instant  Bertram  turned  short  round  upon  Glossin  at 
the  distance  of  two  yards  only,  and  said,  "  Would  you  destroy 
chis  fine  old  castle,  sir  1 " 

His  face,  person,  and  voice  were  so  exactly  those  of  his 
father  in  his  best  days,  that  Glossin,  hearing  his  exclamation, 
and  seeing  such  a  sudden  apparition  in  the  shape  of  his  patron, 
and  on  nearly  the  very  spot  where  he  had  expired,  almost 
thought  the  grave  had  given  up  its  dead  !  He  staggered  back 
two  or  three  paces,  as  if  he  had  received  a  sudden  and  deadly 
wound.  He  instantly  recovered,  however,  his  presence  of  mind, 
stimulated  by  the  thrilling  reflection  that  it  was  no  inhabitant 
of  the  other  world  which  stood  before  him,  but  an  injured  man, 
whom  the  slightest  want  of  dexterity  on  his  part  might  lead  to 
acquaintance  with  his  rights,  and  the  means  of  asserting  them 
to  his  utter  destruction.  Yet  his  ideas  were  so  much  confused 
by  the  shock  he  had  received,  that  his  first  question  partook  of 
the  alarm. 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  how  came  you  here  ?    said  Glossin. 

"  How  came  I  here  ?  "  repeated  Bertram,  surprised  at  the 
solemnity  of  the  address.  "  I  landed  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
since  in  the  little  harbor  beneath  the  castle,  and  was  employing 
a  moment's  leisure  in  viewing  these  fine  ruins.  I  trust  there  is 
xiO  intrusion  ?  " 

Intrusion,  sir?  No,  sir,"  said  Glossin,  in  some  degree 
recovering  his  breath,  and  then  whispered  a  few  words  uito  his 


2s8 


GUY  MANNERTNG, 


companion's  ear,  who  immediately  left  him  and  descended  to- 
ward the  house.  Intrusion,  sir  ?  No,  sir,  you  or  any  gentle- 
man are  welcome  to  satisfy  your  curiosity." 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,"  said  Bertram.  *'They  call  this  the  Old 
Place,  I  am  informed  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  in  distinction  to  the  New  Place,  my  house  there, 
below." 

Glossin,  it  must  be  remarked,  was,  during  the  following 
dialogue,  on  the  one  hand,  eager  to  learn  what  local  recollec- 
tions young  Bertram  had  retained  of  the  scenes  of  his  infancy, 
and,  on  the  other,  compelled  to  be  extremely  cautious  in  his 
replies,  lest  he  should  awaken  or  assist,  by  some  name,  phrase, 
or  anecdote  the  slumbering  train  of  association.  He  suffered, 
indeed,  during  the  whole  scene,  the  agonies  which  he  so  richly 
deserved ;  yet  his  pride  and  interest,  like  the  fortitude  of  a 
North  American  Indian,  manned  him  to  sustain  the  tortures 
inflicted  at  once  by  the  contending  stings  of  a  guilty  conscience, 
of  hatred,  of  fear,  and  of  suspicion. 

"  I  wish  to  ask  the  name,  sir,"  said  Bertram,  "  of  the  family 
to  whom  this  stately  ruin  belongs  ? " 

"  It  is  my  property,  sir — my  name  is  Glossin." 

"  Glossin  t — Glossin  ? "  repeated  Bertram,  as  if  the  answer 
were  somewhat  different  from  what  he  expected.  "  I  beg  your 
pardon,  Mr.  Glossin  ;  I  am  apt  to  be  very  absent.  May  I  ask 
if  the  castle  has  been  long  in  your  family  ?  " 

"  It  was  built,  I  believe,  long  ago,  by  a  family  called  Mac- 
Dingawaie,"  answered  Glossin  ;  suppressing,  for  obvious  reasons 
the  more  familiar  sound  of  Bertram,  which  might  have  awak- 
ened the  recollections  which  he  was  anxious  to  lull  to  rest, 
and  slurring  with  an  evasive  answer  the  question  concerning 
the  endurance  of  his  own  possession. 

And  how  do  you  read  the  half-defaced  motto,  sir,"  said 
Bertram,  "  which  is  upon  that  scroll  above  the  entablature  with 
the  arms  t  " 

"  I — I — I — really  do  not  exactly  know,"  replied  Glossin. 
"  I  should  be  apt  to  make  it  out,  Om^  Right  makes  our 
Mightr 

I  believe  it  is  something  of  that  kind,"  said  Glossin. 
"  May  I  ask,  sir,"  said  the  stranger,     if  it  is  your  family 
motto?" 

"  N — n — no — no — not  ours.  That  is,  I  believe,  the  motto 
of  the  former  people — mine  is — mine  is — in  fact  I  have  had 
some  correspodcnce  with  Mr.  Cumming  of  the  Lyon  Office 
in  Edinburgh  about  mine.  I  le  writes  me,  the  (^lossins  anciently 
bore  for  a  motto,  *  He  who  takes  it,  makes  it.'  " 


GUY  MANNERING. 


259 


^'"If  there  be  any  uncertainty,  sir,  and  the  case  were  mine," 
said  Bertram,  "  I  would  assume  the  old  motto,  which  seems  to 
me  the  better  of  the  two." 

Glossin,  whose  tongue  by  this  time  clove  to  the  roof  of  his 
mouth,  only  answered  by  a  nod. 

"  It  is  odd  enough,"  said  Bertram,  fixing  his  eye  upon  the 
arms  and  gateway,  and  partly  addressing  Glossin,  partly  as  it 
were  thinking  alo^d — "  it  is  odd  the  tricks  which  our  memory 
plays  us.  The  remnants  of  an  old  prophecy,  or  song,  or 
rhyme,  of  some  kind  or  other,  return  to  my  recollection  on 
hearing  that  motto — Stay — it  is  a  strange  jingle  of  sounds  : 

The  dark  shall  be  light, 

And  the  wrong  made  right, 

Whejp  Bertram's  right  and  Bertram's  might 

Shall  meet  on  

I  cannot  remember  the  last  line — on  some  particular  height — • 
height  is  the  rhyme,  I  am  sure  ;  but  I  cannot  hit  upon  the  pre- 
ceding word." 

Confound  your  memory,"  muttered  Glossin, — "  you  re- 
member by  far  too  much  of  it ! " 

There  are  other  rhymes  connected  with  these  early  recol- 
lections," continued  the  young  man  : — "  Pray,  sir,  is  there  any 
song  current  in  this  part  of  the  world  respecting  a  daughter  of 
the  King  of  the  Isle  of  Man  eloping  with  a  Scottish  knight  ? " 

"  I  am  the  worst  person  in  the  world  to  consult  upon  legend- 
ary antiquities,"  answered  Glossin. 

I  could  sing  such  a  ballad,"  said  Bertram,  "from  one  end 
to  another,  when  I  was  a  boy. — You  must  know  I  left  Scot- 
land, which  is  my  native  country,  very  young,  and  those  who 
brought  me  up  discouraged  all  my  attempts  to  preserve  recollec- 
ton  of  my  native  land, — on  account,  I  believe,  of  a  boyish 
wish  which  I  had  to  escape  from  their  charge." 

"Very  natural,"  said  Glossin,  but  speaking  as  if  his  utmost 
efforts  were  unable  to  unseal  his  lips  beyond  the  width  of  a 
quarter  of  an  inch,  so  that  his  whole  utterance  was  a  kind  of  com- 
pressed muttering,  very  different  from  the  round,  bold,  bully- 
ing voice  with  which  he  usually  spoke.  Indeed  his  appearance 
and  demeanor  during  all  this  conversation  seemed  to  dim- 
inish even  his  strength  and  stature  ;  so  that  he  appeared  to 
wither  into  the  shadow  of  himself,  now  advancing  one  foot, 
now  the  other,  now  stooping  and  wriggling  his  shoulders, 
now  fumbling  with  the  buttons  of  his  waistcoat,  now  clasping 
his  hands  together, — in  short,  he  was  the  picture  of  a  mean- 
spirited  shuffling  rascal  in  the  very  agonies  of  detection.  To 


26o 


GUY  MANNERING. 


these  appearances  Bertram  was  totally  inattentive,  being  drag 
ged  on  as  it  were  by  the  current  of  his  own  associations.  In- 
deed, ahhough  he  addressed  Glossin,  he  was  not  so  much 
thinking  of  him,  as  arguing  upon  the  embarrassing  state  of  his 
own  feelings  and  recollection.  "Yes,'' he  said,  I  preserved 
my  language  among  the  sailors,  most  of  whomi  spoke  English, 
and  when  I  could  get  into  a  corner  by  myself,  I  used  to  sing 
all  that  song  over  from  beginning  to  end. — I  have  forgot  it  all 
now — but  I  remember  the  tune  well,  though  I  cannot  guess 
what  should  at  present  so  strongly  recall  it  to  my  memory." 

He  took  his  flageolet  from  his  pocket,  and  played  a  simple 
melody.  Apparently  the  tune  awoke  the  corresponding  associ- 
ations of  a  damsel,  who.,  close  beside  a  fine  spring  about  half- 
way down  the  descent,  and  which  had  once  supplied  the  castle 
with  water,  was  engaged  in  bleaching  linen.  She  immediately 
took  up  the  song  : 

"  Are  these  the  Links  of  Forth,  she  said. 
Or  are  they  the  crooks  of  Dee, 
Or  the  bonny  woods  of  Warroch-Head 
That  I  so  fain  would  see  ?  " 

By  heaven  "  said  Bertram,  "  it  is  the  very  ballad  !  I  must 
learn  these  words  from  the  girl." 

"  Confusion  !  "  thought  Glossin  ;  if  I  cannot  put  a  stop  to 
this  all  will  be  out.  Oh  the  devil  take  all  ballads,  and  ballad- 
makers,  and  ballad  singers !  and  that  d — d  jade  too,  to  set  up 

her  pipe  !  You  will  have  time  enough  for  this  on  some  other 

occasion,"  he  said  aloud  ;  "  at  present," — (for  now  he  saw  his 
emissary  with  two  or  three  men  coming  up  the  bank) — "  at 
present  we  must  have  some  more  serious  conversation 
together." 

"  How  do  you  mean,  sir  ? "  said  Bertram,  turning  short  upon 
him,  and  not  liking  the  lone  which  he  made  use  of. 

"  Why,  sir,  as  to  that — I  believe  your  name  is  Brown  said 
Glossin. 

"  And  what  of  that,  sir  ?  " 

Glossin  looked  over  his  shoulder  to  see  how  near  his  party 
had  approached  ;  they  were  coming  fast  on.  "  Vanbeest  Brown  ? 
If  I  mistake  not." 

And  what  of  that,  sir  ?  "  said  Bertram,  with  increasing 
astonishment  and  displeasure. 

Why,  in  that  case,"  said  Glossin,  observing  his  friends  had 
now  got  upon  the  level  space  close  beside  them — "  in  that  case 
you  are  my  prisoner  in  the  king's  name  !  "  At  llie  same  time 
he  stretched  his  hand  toward  Bertram's  collar,  while  two  o£ 


GUY  MANNERING. 


261 


the  men  who  had  come  up  seized  upon  his  arms;  he  shook 
himself,  however,  free  of  their  grasp  by  a  violent  effort,  in 
which  he  pitched  the  most  pertinacious  down  the  bank,  and, 
drawing  his  cutlass,  stood  on  the  defensive,  while  those  who 
had  felt  his  strength  recoiled  from  his  presence,  and  gazed  at  a 
safe  distance.  Observe,''  he  called  out  at  the  same  time, 
**  that  I  have  no  purpose  to  resist  legal  authority ;  satisfy  me 
that  you  have  a  magistrate's  warrant,  and  are  authorized  to  make 
this  arrest,  and  I  will  obey  it  quietly ;  but  let  no  man  who 
loves  his  life  venture  to  approach  me,  till  I  am  satisfied  for  what 
crime,  and  by  whose  authority,  I  am  apprehended." 

Glossin  then  caused  one  of  the  officers  to  show  a  warrant  for 
the  apprehension  of  Vanbeest  Brown,  accused  of  the  crime  of 
wilfully  and  maliciously  shooting  at  Charles  Hazlewood,  younger 
of  Hazlewood,  with  an  intent  to  kill,  and  also  of  other  crimes 
and  misdemeanors,  and  which  appointed  him,  having  been  so 
apprehended,  to  be  brought  before  the  next  magistrate  for  ex- 
amination. The  warrant  being  formal,  and  the  fact  such  as  he 
could  not  deny,  Bertram  threw  down  his  weapon,  and  submitted 
himself  to  the  officers,  who,  flying  on  him  with  eagerness 
corresponding  to  their  formal  pusillanimity,  were  about  to  load 
him  with  irons,  alleging  the  strength  and  activity  which  he 
had  displayed,  as  a  justification  of  this  severity.  But  Glossin 
was  ashamed  or  afraid  to  permit  this  unnecessary  insult,  and 
directed  the  prisoner  to  be  treated  with  all  the  decency,  and 
even  respect,  that  was  consistent  with  safety.  Afraid,  however, 
to  introduce  him  into  his  own  house,  where  still  further  subjects 
of  recollection  might  have  been  suggested,  and  anxious  at  the 
same  time  to  cover  his  own  proceedings  by  the  sanction  of 
another's  authority,  he  ordered  his  carriage  (for  he  had  lately 
set  up  a  carriage)  to  be  got  ready,  and  in  the  meantime  directed 
refreshments  to  be  given  to  the  prisoner  and  the  officers,  who 
were  consigned  to  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  old  castle,  until  the 
means  of  conveyance  for  examination  before  a  magistrate  should 
be  provided 


262 


GUY  MANNERING, 


CHAPTER  FORTY-SECOND. 

 Bring  in  the  evidence  

Thou  robed  man  of  justice,  take  thy  place, 
And  thou,  his  yoke-fellow  of  equity, 
Bench  by  his  side — ^you  are  of  the  commission, 
Sit  you  too. 

King  Lear. 

While  the  carriage  was  getting  ready,  Glossin  had  a  letter  to 
compose,  about  which  he  wasted  no  small  time.  It  was  to  his 
neighbor,  as  he  was  fond  of  calling  him,  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood 
of  Hazlewood,  the  head  of  an  ancient  and  powerful  interest  in 
the  county,  which  had,  in  the  decadence  of  the  Ellangowan 
family,  gradually  succeeded  to  much  of  their  authority  and  in- 
fluence. The  present  representative  of  the  family  was  an  elderly 
man,  dotingly  fond  of  his  own  family,  which  was  limited  to  an 
only  son  and  daughter,  and  stoically  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  all 
mankind  besides.  For  the  rest,  he  was  honorable  in  his  general 
dealings,  because  he  was  afraid  to  suffer  the  censure  of  the  world, 
and  just  from  a  better  motive.  He  was  presumptuously  over- 
conceited  on  the  score  of  family  pride  and  importance — a  feeling 
considerably  enhanced  by  his  late  succession  to  the  title  of  a 
Nova  Scotia  Baronet  ;  and  he  hated  the  memory  of  the  Ellan- 
gowan family,  though  now  a  memory  only,  because  a  certain 
baron  of  that  house  was  traditionally  reported  to  have  caused 
the  founder  of  the  Hazlewood  family  hold  his  stirrup  until  he 
mounted  into  his  saddle.  In  his  general  deportment  he  was 
pompous  and  important,  affecting  a  species  of  florid  elocution 
which  often  became  ridiculous  from  his  misarranging  the  triads 
and  quarternions  with  which  he  loaded  his  sentences. 

To  this  personage  Glossin  was  now  to  write  in  such  a  con- 
ciliatory style  as  might  be  most  acceptable  to  his  vanity  and 
family  pride,  and  the  following  was  the  form  of  his  note  : — 

"  Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin  (he  longed  io  add  of  Ellangowan,  but 
prudence  prevailed,  and  he  suppressed  that  territorial  designa- 
tion)— Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin  has  the  honor  to  offer  his  most 
respectful  compliments  to  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,  and  to  inform 
him,  that  he  has  this  morning  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
the  person  who  wounded  Mr.  C.  Hazlewood.  As  Sir  Robert 
Hazlewood  may  probably  choose  to  conduct  the  examination  of 
this  criminal  himself,  Mr.  G.  Glossin  will  cause  the  man  to  be 


GUY  MANNERING, 


263 


carried  to  the  mn  at  Kippletringan,  or  to  Hazlewood-House,  as 
Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  may  be  pleased  to  direct :  And  with  Sir 
Robert  Hazlewood's  permission,  Mr.  G.  Glossin  will  attend  him 
at  either  of  these  places  with  the  proof  s  and  declarations  which 
he  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  collect  respecting  this  atrocious 
business.'' 

Addressed^ 

"  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood,  Bart. 

"  Hazlewood  House,  &c.  &c. 

ELLn.  Gn. ) 
Tuesday."  j 

This  note  he  despatched  by  a  servant  on  horseback,  and 
having  given  the  man  some  time  to  get  ahead,  and  desired  him 
to  ride  fast,  he  ordered  two  officers  of  justice  to  get  into  the 
carriage  with  Bertram ;  and  he  himself,  mounting  his  horse, 
accompanied  them  at  a  slow  pace  to  the  point  where  the  roads 
to  Kippletringan  and  Hazlewood-House  separated,  and  there 
awaited  the  return  of  his  messenger,  in  order  that  his  further 
route  might  be  determined  by  the  answer  he  should  receive  from 
the  Baronet.  In  about  half  an  hour  his  servant  returned  with 
the  following  answer,  handsomely  folded  and  sealed  with  the 
Hazlewood  arms,  having  the  Nova  Scotia  badge  depending 
from  the  shield  : — 

"  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  returns  Mr.  G.  Glos- 
sin's  compliments,  and  thanks  him  for  the  trouble  he  has  taken 
in  a  matter  affecting  the  safety  of  Sir  Robert's  family.  Sir  Ro  H. 
requests  Mr.  G.  G.  will  have  the  goodness  to  bring  the  prisoner 
to  Hazlewood-House  for  examination,  with  the  other  proofs  or 
declarations  which  he  mentions.  And  after  the  business  is 
over,  in  case  Mr.  G.  G.  is  not  otherwise  engaged,  Sir  R.  and 
Lady  Hazlewood  request  his  company  to  dinner." 
Addressed^ 

Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin,  &c. 

Hazlewood-House,  ) 
Tuesday."  ) 

"  Soh  !  "  thought  Mr.  Glossin  "  here  is  one  finger  in  at  least, 
and  that  I  will  make  the  means  of  introducing  my  whole  hand. 
But  I  must  first  get  clear  of  this  wretched  young  fellow. — I 
think  I  can  manage  Sir  Robert.  He  is  dull  and  pompous,  and 
will  be  alike  disposed  to  listen  to  my  suggestions  upon  the  law 
of  the  case,  and  to  assume  the  credit  of  acting  upon  them  as  his 
own  proper  motion.  So  I  shall  have  the  advantage  of  being 
the  real  magistrate,  without  the  odium  of  responsibility." 


264 


GC/y  MANNERING. 


As  he  cherished  these  hopes  and  expectations,  the  carriage 
approached  Hazlewood  House  through  a  noble  avenue  of  old 
oaks,  which  shrouded  the  ancient  abbey-resembling  building  so 
called.  It  was  a  large  edifice  built  at  different  periods,  part 
having  actually  been  a  priory,  upon  the  suppression  of  which, 
in  the  time  of  Queen  Mary,  the  first  of  the  family  had  obtained 
a  gift  of  the  house  and  surrounding  lands  from  the  crown^ 
It  was  pleasantly  situated  in  a  large  deer-park,  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  we  have  before  mentioned.  The  scenery  around  was 
of  a  dark,  solemn,  and  somewhat  melancholy  cast,  according 
well  with  the  architecture  of  the  house.  Everything  appeared 
to  be  kept  in  the  highest  possible  order,  and  announced  the 
opulence  and  rank  of  the  proprietor. 

As  Mr.  Glossin's  carriage  stopped  at  the  door  of  the  hall,  Sir 
Robert  reconnoitred  the  new  vehicle  from  the  windows.  Accord- 
ing to  his  aristocratic  feelings,  there  was  a  degree  of  presumption 

in  this  novus  ho77io^  this  Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin,  late  writer  in   , 

presuming  to  set  up  such  an  accommodation  at  all ;  but  his 
wrath  was  mitigated  when  he  observed  that  the  mantle  upon 
the  panels  only  bore  a  plain  cipher  of  G.  G.  This  apparent 
modesty  was  indeed  solely  owing  to  the  delay  of  Mr.  Gumming 
of  the  Lyon  Office,  who,  being  at  that  time  engaged  in  discover- 
ing and  matriculating  the  arms  of  two  commissaries  from  North 
America,  three  English-Irish  peers,  and  two  great  Jamaica 
traders,  had  been  more  slow  than  usual  in  finding  an  escutcheon 
for  the  new  laird  of  Ellangowan.  But  this  delay  told  to  the 
advantage  of  Glossin  in  the  opinion  of  the  proud  Baronet. 

While  the  officers  of  justice  detained  their  prisoner  in  a  sort 
of  steward's  room,  Mr.  Glossin  was  ushered  into  what  was  called 
the  great  oak-parlor,  a  long  room,  paneled  with  well-varnished 
wainscot,  and  adorned  with  the  grim  portraits  of  Sir  Robert 
Hazlewood's  ancestry.  The  visitor,  who  had  no  internal  con- 
sciousness of  worth  to  balance  that  of  meanness  of  birth,  felt 
his  inferiority,  and  by  the  depth  of  his  bow  and  the  obsequious- 
ness of  his  demeanor,  showed  that  the  Laird  of  Ellangowan 
was  sunk  for  the  time  in  the  old  and  submissive  habits  of  the 
quondam  retainer  of  the  law.  He  would  have  persuaded  him- 
self, indeed,  that  he  was  only  humoring  the  pride  of  the  old 
Baronet,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  it  to  his  own  advantage  ; — 
but  his  feelings  were  of  a  mingled  nature,  and  he  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  those  very  prejudices  which  he  pretended  to  flatter. 

The  l^aronet  received  his  visitor  with  that  condescending 
parade  which  was  meant  at  once  to  assert  his  own  vast  superi- 
ority, and  to  show  the  generosity  and  courtesy  with  which  lie 
could  waive  it,  and  descend  to  the  level  of  ordinary  conversa- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


26s 


tion  with  ordinary  men.  He  thanked  Glossin  for  his  attention 
to  a  matter  in  which  young  Hazlewood  "  was  so  intimately 
concerned,  and,  pointing  to  his  family  pictures,  observed,  with 
a  gracious  smile,  "  Indeed  these  venerable  gentlemen,  Mr. 
Glossin,  are  as  much  obliged  as  I  am  in  this  case,  for  the  labor, 
pains,  care,  and  trouble  which  you  have  taken  in  their  behalf  ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt,  were  they  capable  of  expressing  them- 
selves, would  join  me,  sir,  in  thanking  you  for  the  favor  you 
have  conferred  upon  the  house  of  Hazlewood,  by  taking  care, 
and  trouble,  sir,  and  interest,  in  behalf  of  the  young  gentleman 
who  is  to  continue  their  name  and  family.'' 

Thrice  bowed  Glossin,  and  each  time  more  profoundly  than 
before  ;  once  in  honor  of  the  knight  who  stood  upright  before 
him,  once  in  respect  to  the  quiet  personages  who  patiently  hung 
upon  the  wainscot,  and  a  third  time  in  deference  to  the  young 
gentleman  who  was  to  carry  on  the  name  and  family,  Roturier 
as  he  was.  Sir  Robert  was  gratified  by  the  homage  which  he 
rendered,  and  proceeded,  in  a  tone  of  gracious  familiarity — 
"  And  now,  Mr.  Glossin,  my  exceeding  good  friend,  you  must 
allow  me  to  avail  myself  of  your  knowledge  of  law  in  our  pro- 
ceedings in  this  matter.  I  am  not  much  in  the  habit  of  acting 
as  a  justice  of  the  peace ;  it  suits  better  with  other  gentlemen, 
whose  domestic  and  family  affairs  require  less  constant  super- 
intendence, attention,  and  management  than  mine." 

Of  course,  whatever  small  assistance  Mr.  Glossin  could 
render  was  entirely  at  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood's  service ;  but  as 
Sir  Robert  Hazlewood's  name  stood  high  in  the  list  of  the 
faculty,  the  said  Mr.  Glossin  could  not  presume  to  hope  it  could 
be  either  necessary  or  useful. 

"  Why,  my  good  sir,  you  will  understand  me  only  to  mean, 
that  I  am  something  deficient  in  the  practical  knowledge  of  the 
ordinary  details  of  justice-business.  I  was  indeed  educated  to 
the  bar,  and  might  boast  perhaps  at  one  time  that  I  had  made 
some  progress  in  the  speculative,  and  abstract,  and  abstruse 
doctrines  of  our  municipal  code ;  but  there  is  in  the  present 
day  so  little  opportunity  of  a  man  of  family  and  fortune  rising 
to  that:  eminence  at  the  bar  which  is  attained  by  adventurers, 
who  are  as  willing  to  plead  for  John-a-Nokes  as  for  the  first 
npble  of  the  land,  that  I  was  really  early  disgusted  with  practice. 
The  first  case,  indeed,  which  was  laid  on  my  table  quite  sick- 
ened me  ;  it  respected  a  bargain,  sir,  of  tallow,  between  a 
butcher  and  a  candlemaker ;  and  I  found  it  was  expected  that 
I  should  grease  my  mouth,  not  only  with  their  vulgar  names, 
but  with  all  the  technical  terms  and  phrases,  and  peculiar 
language  of  their  dirty  arts.    Upon  my  honor,  my  good  sir,  I 


266 


have  never  been  able  to  bear  the  smell  of  a  tallow-candle 
since." 

Pitying,  as  seemed  to  be  expected,  the  mean  use  to  which 
the  Baronet's  faculties  had  been  degraded  on  this  melancholy 
occasion,  Mr.  Glossin  offered  to  officiate  as  clerk  or  assessor, 
or  in  any  way  in  which  he  could  be  most  useful.  "  And  with  a 
view  to  possessing  you  of  the  whole  business,  and  in  the  first 
place,  there  will,  I  believe,  be  no  difficulty  in  proving  the  main 
fact  that  this  was  the  person  who  fired  the  unhappy  piece. 
Should  he  deny  it,  it  can  be  proved  by  Mr.  Hazlewood,  I  pre- 
sume ? 

"  Young  Hazlewood  is  not  at  home  to-day,  Mr.  Glossin.'' 
"  But  we  can  have  the  oath  of  the  servant  who  attended 
him,''  said  the  ready  Mr.  Glossin  ;  "  indeed  I  hardly  think  the 
fact  will  be  disputed.  I  am  more  apprehensive  that,  from  the 
too  favorable  and  indulgent  manner  in  which  I  have  understood 
that  Mr.  Hazlewood  has  been  pleased  to  represent  the  business, 
the  assault  may  be  considered  as  accidental,  and  the  injury  as 
unintentional,  so  that  the  fellow  may  be  immediately  set  at 
liberty  to  do  more  mischief." 

1  have  not  the  honor  to  know  the  gentleman  who  now 
holds  the  office  of  king's  advocate,"  replied  Sir  Robert  gravely; 
"  but  I  presume,  sir — nay,  I  am  confident,  that  he  will  consider 
the  mere  fact  of  having  wounded  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazle- 
wood, even  by  inadvertency,  to  take  the  matter  in  its  mildst 
and  gentlest,  and  in  its  most  favorable  and  improbable  light,  as 
a  crime  which  will  be  too  easily  atoned  by  imprisonment,  and 
as  more  deserving  of  deportation." 

Indeed,  Sir  Robert,"  said  his  assenting  brother  in  justice. 
"  I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion  ;  but  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  I 
have  observed  the  Edinburgh  gentlemen  of  the  bar,  and  even 
the  officers  of  the  crown,  pique  themselves  upon  an  indifferent 
administration  of  justice,  without  respect  to  rank  and  family ; 

and  I  should  fear  " 

How,  sir,  without  respect  to  rank  and  family  ?  Will  you 
tell  me  that  doctrine  can  be  held  by  men  of  birth  and  legal 
education  ?  No,  sir  ;  if  a  trifle  stolen  in  the  street  is  termed 
mere  pickery,  but  is  elevated  into  sacrilege  if  the  crime  be  com- 
mitted in  a  church,  so,  according  to  the  just  gradations  of 
society,  the  guilt  of  an  injury  is  enhanced  by  the  rank  of  the 
person  to  whom  it  is  offered,  done,  or  perpetrated,  sir." 

Glossin  bowed  low  to  this  declaration  cx  cathedra^  but 
observed,  that  in  case  of  the  very  worst,  and  of  such  unnatural 
doctrines  being  actually  held  as  lie  had  already  hinted,  "  the 
law  had  another  hold  on  Mr.  Vanbeest  Brown." 


CC^V  MANNERING. 


267 


Vanbeest  Brown  !  is  that  the  fellow's  name  ?  Good  God  / 
that  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  should  have  had  his  life 
endangered,  the  clavicle  of  his  right  shoulder  considerab}y 
lacerated  and  dislodged,  several  large  drops  or  slugs  deposited 
in  the  acromion  process,  as  the  account  of  the  family  surgeon 
expressly  bears — and  all  by  an  obscure  wretch  named  Vanbeest 
Brown !  " 

"Why,  really,  Sir  Robert,  it  is  a  thing  which  one  can  hardly 
bear  to  think  of  ;  but,  begging  ten  thousand  pardons  for  resum- 
ing what  I  was  about  to  say,  a  person  of  the  same  name  is,  as 
appears  from  these  papers "  (producing  Dirk  Hatteraick's 
pocketbook),  "  mate  to  the  smuggling  vessel  who  offered  such 
violence  at  Woodbourne,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  the 
same  individual ;  which,  however,  your  acute  discrimination 
will  easily  be  able  to  ascertain." 

"  The  same,  my  good  sir,  he  must  assuredly  be — it  would  be 
injustice  even  to  the  meanest  of  the  people,  to  suppose  there 
could  be  found  among  them  two  persons  doomed  to  bear  a 
name  so  shocking  to  one's  ears  as  this  of  Vanbeest  Brown." 

"True,  Sir  Robert ;  most  unquestionably  ;  there  cannot  be 
a  shadow  of  doubt  of  it.  But  you  see,  further,  that  this  circum- 
stance accounts  for  the  man's  desperate  conduct.  You,  Sir 
Robert,  will  discover  the  motive  for  his  crime — you,  I  say,  will 
discover  it  without  difficulty,  on  your  giving  your  mind  to  the 
examination  ;  for  my  part,  I  cannot  help  suspecting  the  moving 
spring  to  have  been  revenge  for  the  gallantry  with  which  Mr. 
Hazlewood,  with  all  the  spirit  of  his  renowned  forefathers, 
defended  the  house  at  Woodbourne  against  this  villain  and  his 
lawless  companions." 

"  I  will  inquire  into  it,  my  good  sir,"  said  the  learned  Baronet. 
"  Yet  even  now  I  venture  to  conjecture  that  I  shall  adopt  the 
solution  or  explanation  of  this  riddle,  enigma,  or  mystery,  which 
you  have  in  some  degree  thus  started.  Yes  !  revenge  it  must 
be — and,  good  Heaven  !  entertained  by  and  against  whom  ? — 
entertained,  fostered,  cherished,  against  young  Hazlewood  of 
Hazlewood,  and  in  part  carried  into  effect,  executed,  and  imple- 
mented, by  the  hand  of  Vanbeest  Brown.  These  are  dreadful 
days  indeed,  my  worthy  neighbor"  (this  epithet  indicafed  a 
rapid  advance  in  the  Baronet's  good  graces) — "  days  when  the 
bulwarks  of  society  are  shaken  to  their  mighty  base,  and  that 
rank  which  forms,  as  it  were,  its  highest  grace  and  ornament,  is 
mingled  and  confused  with  the  viler  part  of  the  architecture. 
Oh  my  good  Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin,  in  my  time,  sir,  the  use  of 
swords  and  pistols,  and  such  honorable  arms,  was  reserved  by 
the  nobility  and  gentry  to  therqselves,  and  the  disputes  of  the 


268 


GUY  MANNERING. 


vulgar  were  decided  by  the  weapons  which  nature  had  given 
them,  or  by  cudgels  cut,  broken  or  hewed  out  of  the  next  wood. 
But  now,  sir,  the  clouted  shoe  of  the  peasant  galls  the  kibe  of 
the  courtier.  The  lower  ranks  have  their  quarrels,  sir,  and 
their  points  of  honor,  and  their  revenges,  which  they  must 
bring,  forsooth,  to  fatal  arbitrament.  But  well,  well  !  it  will 
last  my  time — let  us  have  in  this  fellow,  this  Vanbeest  Brown, 
and  make  an  end  of  him  at  least  for  the  present/' 


CHAPTER  FORTY-THIRD. 

 'Twas  he 

Gave  heat  unto  the  injury,  which  returned, 
Like  a  petard  ill  lighted,  into  the  bosom 
Of  him  gave  fire  to't.     Yet  I  hope  his  hurt 
Is  not  so  dangerous  but  he  may  recover. 

Fair  Maid  of  the  Inn. 

The  prisoner  was  now  presented  before  the  two  worshipful 
magistrates.  Glossin,  partly  from  some  compunctious  visitings, 
and  partly  out  of  his  cautious  resolution  to  suffer  Sir  Robert 
Hazlewood  to  be  the  ostensible  manager  of  the  whole  examina- 
tion, looked  down  upon  the  table,  and  busied  himself  with 
reading  and  arranging  the  papers  respecting  the  business,  only 
now  and  then  throwing  in  a  skilful  catchword  as  prompter, 
when  he  saw  the  principal,  and  apparently  most  active,  magis- 
trate stand  in  need  of  a  hint.  As  for  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood, 
he  assumed,  on  his  part,  a  happy  mixture  of  the  austerity  of  the 
justice,  combined  with  the  display  of  personal  dignity  apper- 
taining to  the  Baronet  of  ancient  family. 

"  There,  constables,  let  him  stand  there  at  the  bottom  of 
the  table. — Be  so  good  as  look  me  in  the  face,  sir,  and  raise 
your  voice  as  you  answer  the  questions  v/hich  I  am  going  to 
put  to  you.'' 

May  I  beg,  in  the  first  place,  to  know  sir,  who  it  is  that 
takes  the  trouble  to  interrogate  me  ?  "  said  the  prisoner,  "  for 
the  honest  gentlemen  who  have  brought  me  here  have  not  been 
pleased  to  furnish  any  information  upon  that  point.'' 

"  And  pray,  sir,"  answered  Sir  Robert,  "  what  has  my  name 
and  quality  to  do  with  the  questions  I  am  about  to  ask  you } " 

"Nothing,  perhaps,  sir,"  replied  Bertram;  "but  it  may 
considerably  influence  my  disposition  to  answer  them." 

"  Why,  then,  sir,  you  will  please  to  be  informed  that  you 


GUY  MANNERING. 


269 


are  in  the  presence  of  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood, 
and  another  justice  of  peace  for  this  county — that's  all." 

As  this  intimation  produced  a  less  stunning  effect  upon  the 
prisoner  than  he  had  anticipated,  Sir  Robert  proceeded  in  his 
investigation  with  an  increasing  dislike  to  the  object  of  it. 

"  Is  your  name  Vanbeest  Brown,  sir  ?  " 

"  It  is/^  answered  the  prisoner. 

"  So  far  well ; — and  how  are  we  to  design  you  further,  sir? 
demanded  the  Justice. 

"  Captain  in  his  Majesty's  regiment  of  horse,"  an- 
swered Bertram. 

The  Baronet's  ears  received  this  intimation  with  astonish- 
ment ;  but  he  was  refreshed  in  courage  by  an  incredulous  look 
from  Glossin,  and  by  hearing  him  gently  utter  a  sort  of  inter- 
jectional  whistle,  in  a  note  of  surprise  and  contempt.  "  I  be- 
lieve, my  friend,"  said  Sir  Robert,  we  shall  find  for  you, 
before  we  part,  a  more  humble  title." 

If  you  do,  sir,"  replied  his  prisoner,  "  I  shall  willingly 
submit  to  any  punishment  Avhich  such  an  imposture  shall  be 
thought  to  deserve." 

Well,  sir,  we  shall  see,"  continued  Sir  Robert.  "  Do  you 
know  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  " 

I  never  saw  the  gentleman  who  I  am  informed  bears  that 
name  excepting  once,  and  I  regret  that  it  was  under  very  un- 
pleasant circumstances." 

"You  mean  to  acknowledge,  then,"  said  the  Baronet,  "that 
you  inflicted  upon  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  that  wound 
which  endangered  his  life,  considerably  lacerated  the  clavicle  of 
his  right  shoulder,  and  deposited,  as  the  family  surgeon  declares, 
several  large  drops  or  slugs  in  the  acromion  process?" 

"  Why,  sir,"  replied  Bertram,  "  I  can  only  say  I  am  equally 
ignorant  of  and  sorry  for  the  extent  of  the  damage  which  the 
young  gentleman  has  sustained.  I  met  him  in  a  narrow  path, 
walking  with  two  ladies  and  a  servant,  and  before  I  could  either 
pass  fhem  or  address  them,  this  young  Hazlewood  took  his  gun 
from  his  servant,  presented  it  against  my  body,  and  commanded 
me  in  the  most  haughty  tone  to  stand  back.  I  was  neither  in- 
clined to  submit  to  his  authority,  nor  to  leave  him  in  possession 
of  the  means  to  injure  me,  which  he  seemed  disposed  to  use 
with  such  rashness.  I  therefore  closed  with  him  for  the  purpose 
of  disarming  him  ;  and  just  as  I  had  nearly  effected  my  purpose, 
the  piece  went  off  accidentally,  and  to  my  regret  then  and  since 
inflicted  upon  the  young  gentleman  a  severer  chastisement  than 
I  desired,  though  I  am  glad  to  understand  it  is  like  to  prove  no 
more  than  his  unprovoked  folly  deserved." 


270 


GUY  MANNERING. 


And  so,  sir/'  said  the  Baronet,  every  feature  swollen  with 
offended  dignity, — "  you,  sir,  admit,  sir,  that  it  was  your  purpose, 
sir,  and  your  intention,  sir,  and  the  real  jet  and  object  of  your 
assault,  sir,  to  disarm  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  of  his 
gun,  sir,  or  his  fowling-piece,  or  his  fuzee,  or  whatever  you 
please  to  call  it,  sir,  upon  the  king's  highway,  sir  ? — I  think 
this  will  do,  my  worthy  neighbor  !  1  think  he  should  stand 
committed  ?  " 

You  are  by  far  the  best  judge,  Sir  Robert,'^  said  Glossin, 
in  his  most  insinuating  tone  ;  but  if  I  might  presume  to  hint, 
there  was  something  about  these  smugglers.'' 

"  Very  true,  good  sir. — And  besides,  sir,  you,  Vanbeest  Brown, 
who  call  yourself  a  captain  in  his  Majesty's  service,  are  no  better 
or  worse  than  a  rascally  mate  of  a  smuggler  ! " 

"  Really,  sir,"  said  Bertram,  ^'  you  are  an  old  gentleman,  and 
acting  under  some  stiange  delusion,  otherwise  1  should  be  very 
angry  with  you." 

"  Old  gentleman,  sir,  ! — strange  delusion,  sir!"  said  Sir 

Robert,  coloring  with  indignation — -"I  protest  and  declare  

Why,  sir,  have  you  any  papers  or  letters  that  can  establish  your 
pretended  rank,  and  estate,  and  commission  ? " 

None  at  present,  sir,"  answered  Bertram  ; — "  but  in  the 
return  of  a  post  or  two  "  

''And  how  do  you,  sir,"continued  the  Baronet,  "if  you  are 
a  captain  in  his  Majesty's  service,  how  do  yci  chance  to  be 
traveling  in  Scotland  without  letters  of  introduction,  credentials, 
baggage,  or  anything  belonging  to  your  pretended  rank,  estate, 
and  condition,  as  I  said  before  ? " 

"  Sir,"  replied  the  prisoner,  "  I  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
robbed  of  my  clothes  and  baggage." 

"  Oho  !  then  you  are  the  gentleman  who  took  a  post-chaise 

from  to  Kippletringan,  gave  the  boy  the  slip  on  the  road, 

and  sent  two  of  your  accomplices  to  beat  the  boy  and  bring 
away  the  baggage  ?  " 

"  I  was,  sir,  in  a  carriage  as  you  describe,  was  obliged  to 
alight  in  the  snow,  and  lost  my  way  endeavoring  to  find  the 
road  to  Kippletringan.  The  landlady  of  the  inn  will  inform 
you  that  on  my  arrival  there  the  next  day,  my  first  inquiries 
were  after  the  boy." 

"  Then  give  me  leave  to  ask  where  you  spent  the  night  1 — • 
not  in  the  snow,  I  presume  ?  you  do  not  suppose  that  will  pass, 
or  be  taken,  credited,  and  received  ?  " 

"  I  beg  leave,"  said  Bertram,  his  recollection  turning  to  the 
gypsy  female,  and  to  the  promise  he  had  given  her,  I  beg 
leave  to  decline  answering  that  q^uestion." 


1  thought  as  much,"  said  Sir  Robert. — Were  you  not, 
during  that  night,  in  the  ruins  of  Derncleugh  ? — in  the  ruins 
of  Derncleugh,  sir  ? 

I  have  told  you  that  I  do  not  intend  answering  that 
question,"  replied  Bertram. 

"Well,  sir,  then  you  will  stand  committed,  sir,"  said  Sir 
Robert,  "  and  be  sent  to  prison,  sir,  that's  all,  sir. — Have  the 
goodness  to  look  at  these  papers  :  are  you  the  Vanbeest  Brown 
who  is  there  mentioned  " 

"It  must  be  remarked  that  Glossin  had  shuffled  among  the 
papers  some  writings  which  really  did  belong  to  Bertram,  and 
which  had  been  found  by  the  officers  in  the  old  vault  where  his 
portmanteau  was  ransacked. 

"  Some  of  these  papers,"  said  Bertram,  looking  over  them, 
"  are  mine,  and  were  in  my  portfolio  when  it  was  stolen  from 
the  post-chaise.  They  are  memoranda  of  little  value  and,  I 
see,  have  been  carefully  selected  as  affording  no  evidence  of  my 
rank  or  character,  which  many  of  the  other  papers  would  have 
established  fully.  They  are  mingled  with  ship-accounts  and 
other  papers,  belonging  apparently  to  a  person  of  the  same 
name." 

And  wilt  thou  attempt  to  persuade  me,  friend,"  demanded 
Sir  Robert,  "  That  there  are  two  persons  in  this  country,  at 
the  same  time,  of  the  very  uncommon  and  awkwardly  sounding 
name  ?  " 

"  I  really  do  not  see,  sir,  as  there  is  an  old  Hazlewood  and  a 
young  Hazlewood,  why  there  should  not  be  an  old  and  a  young 
Vanbeest  Brown.  And  to  speak  seriously,  I  was  educated  in 
Holland,  and  I  know  that  this  name,  however  uncouth  it  may 
sound  in  British  ears  "  

Glossin,  conscious  that  the  prisoner  was  now  about  to  enter 
upon  dangerous  ground,  interfered,  though  the  interruption 
was  unnecessary,  for  the  purpose  of  diverting  the  attention  of 
Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,  who  was  speechless  and  motionless  with 
indignation  at  the  presumptuous  comparison  implied  in  Ber- 
tram's last  speech.  In  fact,  the  veins  of  his  throat  and  of  his 
temples  swelled  almost  to  bursting,  and  he  sat  with  the  indig- 
nant and  disconcerted  air  of  one  who  has  received  a  mortal  in- 
sult from  a  quarter  which  he  holds  it  unmeet  and  indecorous  to 
make  any  reply.  While  with  a  bent  brow  and  an  angry  eye  he 
was  drawing  in  his  breath  slowly  and  majestically,  and  puffing 
it  forth  again  with  deep  and  solemn  exertion,  Glossin  stepped 
in  to  his  assistance.  "  I  should  think,  now.  Sir  Robert,  with 
great  submission,  that  this  matter  may  be  closed.  One  of  the 
constables,  besides  the  pregnant  proof  already  produced,  offers 


1)2 


Ct/V  MANNEkim. 


to  make  oath,  that  the  sword  of  which  the  prisoner  was  this 
morning  deprived  (while  using  it,  by  the  way,  in  resistance  to  a 
legal  warrant)  was  a  cutlass  taken  from  him  in  a  fray  between 
the  officers  and  smugglers,  just  previous  to  their  attack  upon 
Woodbourne.  And  yet,"  he  added,  "  I  would  not  have  you 
form  any  rash  construction  upon  that  subject ;  perhaps  the 
young  man  can  explain  how  he  came  by  that  weapon/* 

*'That  question,  sir,"  said  Bertram,  "  I  shall  also  leave  un- 
answered." 

"  There  is  yet  another  circumstance  to  be  inquired  into,  al- 
ways under  Sir  Robert's  leave,"  insmuated  Glossin.  "  This 
prisoner  put  mto  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Mac  Candlish  of  Kipple- 
tringan,  a  parcel  containing  a  variety  of  gold  coins  and  valuable 
articles  of  different  kinds.  Perhaps,  Sir  Robert,  you  might 
think  it  right  to  ask,  how  he  came  by  property  of  a  discription 
v/hich  seldom  occurs." 

"  You,  sir — Mr.  Vanbeest  Brown,  sir, — you  hear  the  ques- 
tion, sir,  which  the  gentleman  asks  you  1  " 

"  I  have  particular  reasons  for  declining  to  answer  that 
question,"  answered  Bertram. 

"  Then  I  am  afraid,  sir,"  said  Glossin,  who  had  brought 
matters  to  the  point  he  desired  to  reach,  our  duty  must  lay  us 
under  the  necessity  to  sign  a  warrant  of  committal." 

"  As  you  please,  sir,"  answered  Bertram  :  take  care,  how- 
ever, what  you  do.  Observe,  that  I  inform  you  that  I  am  a 
captain  in  his  Majesty's  regiment,  and  that  I  am  just  re- 
turned from  India,  and  therefore  cannot  possibly  be  connected 
with  any  of  those  contraband  traders  you  talk  of ;  that  my 
Lieutenant-Colonel  is  now  at  Nottingham,  the  Major,  with  the 
officers  of  my  corps,  at  Kingston-upon-Thames.  I  offer  before 
you  both  to  submit  to  any  degree  of  ignominy,  if,  within  the  re- 
turn of  the  Kingston  and  Nottingham  posts,  I  am  not  able  to 
establish  these  points.  Or  3^ou  may  write  to  the  agent  for  the 
regiment,  if  you  please,  and  "  

"  This  is  all  very  well,  sir,"  said  Glossin,  beginning  to  fear 
lest  the  hrm  expostulation  of  Bertram  should  make  some  impres- 
sion on  Sir  Robert,  who  would  almost  have  died  of  shame  at 
comitting  such  a  solecism  as  sending  a  captain  of  horse  to  jail — 
"This  is  all  very  well,  sir  ;  but  is  there  no  person  nearer  whom 
you  could  refer  to  ?  " 

"There  are  only  two  pjrsons  in  this  country  who  know  any- 
thing of  me,"  replied  the  prisoner.  "  One  is  a  plain  Liddesdale 
sheep-farmer,  called  Dinmont  of  Charlies-hope ;  but  he  knows 
nothing  more  of  me  than  what  I  told  him.  and  what  I  now  telj 
you." 


GUY  MANNERINO, 


Why,  this  is  well  enough,  Sir  Robert !  "  said  Glossin.  "  I 
suppose  he  would  bring  forward  this  thick-skulled  fellow  to  give 
his  oath  of  credulity,  Sir  Robert,  ha !  ha !  ha  ! 

"  And  what  is  your  other  witness,  pray,  sir  ? "  said  the 
Baronet. 

"A  gentleman  whom  I  have  some  reluctance  to  mention, 
because  of  certain  private  reasons ;  but  under  whose  command 
I  served  some  time  in  India,  and  who  is  too  much  a  man  of 
honor  to  refuse  his  testimony  to  my  character  as  a  soldier  and 
gentleman." 

And  who  is  this  doughty  witness,  pray,  sir  ?  "  said  Sir 
Robert,  —  ^'  some  half-pay  quarter-master  or  sergeant,  I 
suppose  ? " 

"  Colonel  Guy  Mannering,   late  of  the  regiment,  in 

which,  as  I  told  you,  I  have  a  troop." 

"Colonel  Guy  Mannering  !  "  thought  Glossin, — "who  the 
devil  could  have  guessed  this  ? 

"  Colonel  Guy  Mannering  !  "  echoed  the  Baronet,  consider- 
ably shaken  in  his  opinion. — "  My  good  sir, — apart  to  Glossin, 
"  the  young  man  with  a  dreadfully  plebeian  name,  and  a  good 
deal  of  modest  assurance,  has  neverthelesss  something  of  the 
tone,  and  manners,  and  feeling  of  a  gentleman,  of  one  at  least 
who  has  lived  in  good  society  ; — they  do  give  commissions  very 
loosely,  and  carelessly,  and  inaccurately,  in  India  ; — I  think 
we  had  better  pause  till  Colonel  Mannering  shall  return  ;  he  is 
now,  I  believe,  at  Edinburgh." 

"  You  are  in  every  respect  the  best  judge,  Sii  Robert," 
answered  Glossin,  "  in  every  possible  respect.  I  would  only 
submit  to  you,  that  we  are  certainly  hardly  entitled  to  dismiss 
this  man  upon  an  assertion  which  cannot  be  satisfied  by  proof, 
and  that  we  shall  incur  a  heavy  responsibility  by  detaining  him 
in  private  custody,  without  committing  him  to  a  public  jail. 
Undoubtedly,  however,  you  are  the  best  judge.  Sir  Robert  ; — • 
and  I  would  only  say,  for  my  own  part,  that  I  very  lately 
incurred  severe  censure  by  detaining  a  person  in  a  place  which 
I  thought  perfectly  secure,  and  under  the  custody  of  the  proper 
officers.  The  man  made  his  escape,  and  I  have  no  doubt  my 
own  character  for  attention  and  circumspection  as  a  magistrate 
has  in  some  degree  suffered — I  only  hint  this — I  will  join  in  any 
step  you.  Sir  Robert,  think  most  advisable."  But  Mr.  Glossin 
was  well  aware  that  such  a  hint  was  of  power  sufficient  to  decide 
the  motions  of  his  self-important,  but  non  self-relying  colleague. 
So  that  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  summed  up  the  business  in  the 
following  speech  which  proceeded  partly  upon  the  supposition 


GUY  MANmRtm. 


of  the  prisoner  beir>g  really  a  gentleman,  and  partly  lipoii  the 
opposite  belief  that  he  was  a  villain  and  an  assassin. 

Sir  Mr.  Vanbeest  Brown — I  would  call  you  Captain  Brown 
if  there  was  the  least  reason,  or  cause,  or  grounds  to  suppose 
that  you  are  a  captain,  or  had  a  troop  in  the  very  respectable 
corps  you  mention,  or  indeed  in  any  other  corps  in  his  Majesty's 
service,  as  to  which  circumstance  I  beg  to  be  understood  to 
give  no  positive,  settled,  or  unalterable  judgment,  declaration, 
or  opinion.  I  say  therefore,  sir,  Mr.  Brown,  we  have  deter- 
mined, considering  the  unpleasant  predicament  in  which  you 
now  stand,  having  been  robbed,  as  you  say,  an  assertion  as  to 
which  I  suspend  my  opinion,  and  being  possessed  of  much  and 
valuable  treasure,  and  of  a  brass-handled  cutlass,  besides,  as 
to  your  obtaining  which  you  will  favor  us  with  no  explanation 
— I  say,  sir,  we  have  determined  and  resolved,  and  made  up  our 
minds,  to  commit  you  to  jail,  or  rather  to  assign  you  an  apart- 
ment therein,  in  order  that  you  may  be  forthcoming  upon 
Colonel  Mannering's  return  from  Edinburgh. 

With  humble  submission,  Sir  Robert,"  said  Glossin,  *^may 
I  inquire  if  it  is  your  purpose  to  send  this  young  gentleman  to 
the  county  jail  ? — for  if  that  were  not  your  settled  intention, 
I  would  take  the  liberty  to  hint,  that  there  would  be  less  hard- 
ship in  sending  him.  to  the  Bridewell  at  Portanferry,  where  he 
can  be  secured  without  public  exposure, — a  circumstance  which, 
on  the  mere  chance  of  his  story  being  really  true,  is  much  to  be 
avoided.'' 

Why,  there  is  a  guard  of  soldiers  at  Portanferry,  to  be 
sure,  for  protection  of  the  goods  in  the  Custom-house  ;  and 
upon  the  whole,  considering  everything,  and  that  the  place  is 
comfortable  for  such  a  place — I  say,  all  things  considered,  we 
will  commit  this  person,  I  would  rather  say  authorize  him  to  be 
detained,  in  the  workhouse  at  Portanferry.'' 

The  warrant  was  made  out  accordingly,  and  Bertram  was 
informed  he  was  next  morning  to  be  removed  to  his  place  of 
confinement,  as  Sir  Robert  had  determined  he  should  not  be 
taken  there  under  cloud  of  night,  for  fear  of  rescue.  He  was, 
during  the  interval,  to  be  detained  at  Hazlewood-House. 

It  cannot  be  so  hard  as  my  imprisonment  by  the  Looties 
in  India,"  he  thought  ;  "  nor  can  it  last  so  long.  But  the  deuce 
take  the  old  formal  dunderhead,  and  his  more  sly  associate, 
who  speaks  always  under  his  breath, — they  cannot  understand 
a  plain  man's  story  when  it  is  told  them." 

Jn  the  meanwhile  Glossin  took  leave  of  the  Baronet  with  a 
thousand  respectful  bows  and  cringing  apologies  for  not  accept- 
ing his  invitation  to  dinner,  and  venturing  to  hope  he  might  be 


GUY  MANNERING, 


27s 


pardoned  in  paying  his  respects  to  him,  Lady  Hazlewood^  and 
young  Mr.Hazlewood,  on  some  future  occasion. 

Certainly,  sir,"  said  the  Baronet  very  graciously.  "  I  hope 
our  family  was  never  at  any  time  deficient  in  civility  to  out 
neighbors  ;  and  when  I  ride  that  way,  good  Mr.  Glossin,  I 
will  convince  you  of  this  by  calling  at  your  house  as  familiarly 
as  is  consistent — that  is,  as  can  be  hoped  or  expected." 

"  And  now,"  said  Glossin  to  himself,  "  to  find  Dirk  Hatter- 
aick  and  his  people — to  get  the  guard  sent  off  from  the  Custom- 
house— and  then  for  the  grand  cast  of  the  dice.  Everything 
must  depend  upon  speed.  How  lucky  that  Mannering  has 
betaken  himself  to  Edinburgh  !  His  knowledge  of  this  young 
fellow  is  a  most  perilous  addition  to  my  dangers  " — here  he 
suffered  his  horse  to  slacken  his  pace.  "  What  if  I  should  try 
to  compound  with  the  heir  It's  likely  he  might  be  brought  to 
pay  a  round  sum  for  restitution,  and  I  could  give  up  Hatteraick. 
— But  no,  no,  no  !  there  were  too  many  eyes  on  me — Hatteraick 
himself,  and  the  gypsy  sailor,  and  that  old  hag. — No,  no  !  I 
must  stick  to  my  original  plan."  And  with  that  he  struck  his 
spurs  against  his  horse's  flanks,  and  rode  forward  at  a  hard  trot 
to  put  his  machines  in  motion. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-FOURTa 

A  prison  is  a  house  of  care, 
A  place  where  none  can  thrive, 
A  touchstone  true  to  try  a  friend, 
A  grave  for  one  alive. 
Sometimes  a  place  of  right, 
Sometimes  a  place  of  wrong, 
Sometimes  a  place  of  rogues  and  thieves, 
And  honest  men  among. 

Inscription  on  Edinburgh  Tolbooth. 

Early  on  the  following  morning,  the  carriage  which  had 
brought  Bertram  to  Hazlewood-House  was,  with  his  two  silent 
and  surly  attendants,  appointed  to  convey  him  to  his  place  of 
confinement  at  Portanferry.  This  building  adjoined  to  the 
Custom-house  established  at  that  little  seaport,  and  both  were 
situated  so  close  to  the  sea-beach,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
defend  the  back  part  with  a  large  and  strong  rampart  or 
bulwark  of  huge  stones,  disposed  in  a  slope  toward  the  surf, 
which  often  reached  and  broke  upon  them.    The  front  was 


276 


GUY  MANNERING, 


surrounded  by  a  high  wall,  enclosing  a  small  court-yard,  within 
which  the  miserable  inmates  of  the  mansion  were  occasionally 
permitted  to  take  exercise  and  air.  The  prison  was  used  as  a 
House  of  Correction,  and  sometimes  as  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the 
county  jail,  which  was  old,  and  far  from  being  conveniently 
situated  with  reference  to  the  Kippletringan  district  of  the 
county.  Mac-Gu£fog,  the  ofBcer  by  whom  Bertram  had  at  first 
been  apprehended,  and  who  was  now  in  attendance  upon  him, 
was  keeper  of  this  palace  of  little-ease.  He  caused  the  car- 
riage to  be  drawn  close  up  to  the  outer  gate,  and  got  out  him- 
self to  summon  the  warders.  The  noise  of  his  rap  alarmed 
some  twenty  or  thirty  ragged  boys,  who  left  off  sailing  their 
mimic  sloops  and  frigates  in  the  little  pools  of  salt  water  left 
by  the  receding  tide,  and  hastily  crowded  round  the  vehicle  to 
see  what  luckless  being  was  to  be  delivered  to  the  prison- 
house  out  of  "  Glossin's  braw  new  carriage.''  The  door  of  the 
court-yard,  after  the  heavy  clanking  of  many  chains  and  bars, 
was  opened  by  Mrs.  Mac-Guffog — an  awful  spectacle,  being  a 
woman  for  strength  and  resolution  capable  of  maintaining 
order  among  her  riotous  inmates,  and  of  administering  the 
discipline  of  the  house,  as  it  was  called,  during  the  absence  of 
her  husband,  or  when  he  chanced  to  have  taken  an  over-dose 
of  the  creature.  The  growling  voice  of  this  Amazon,  which 
rivaled  in  harshness  the  crashing  music  of  her  own  bolts  and 
bars,  soon  dispersed  in  every  direction  the  little  varlets  who 
had  thronged  around  her  threshold,  and  she  next  addressed 
her  amiable  helpmate  : — 

"  Be  sharp,  man,  and  get  out  the  swell,  canst  thou  not  ?  " 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  and  be  d  d,  you  ! ''  answered 

her  loving  husband,  with  two  additional  epithets  of  great 
energy,  but  which  we  beg  to  be  excused  from  repeating.  Then, 
addressing  Bertram — "  Come,  will  you  get  out,  my  handy  lad,  or 
must  we  lend  you  a  lift  ?  " 

Bertram  came  out  of  the  carriage,  and,  collared  by  the  con- 
stable as  he  put  his  foot  on  the  ground,  was  dragged,  though 
he  offered  no  resistance,  across  the  threshold,  amid  the  con- 
tinued shouts  of  the  little  sans  culottes^  who  looked  on  at  such 
distance  as  their  fear  of  Mrs.  Mac-Guffog  permitted.  The 
instant  his  foot  had  crossed  the  fatal  porch,  the  portress  again 
dropped  her  chains,  drew  her  bolts,  and  turning  with  both 
hands  an  immense  key,  took  it  from  the  lock,  and  thrust  it 
into  a  huge  side-pocket  of  red  cloth. 

I>ertram  was  now  in  the  small  court  already  mentioned, 
'i'wo  or  three  prisoners  were  sauntering  along  the  pavement, 
and  deriving,  as  it  were,  a  feeling  of  refreshment  from  the  mo- 


GUY  MANNERING. 


277 


mentary  glimpse  with  which  the  opening  door  had  extended 
their  prospect  to  the  other  side  of  a  dirty  street.  Nor  can  this 
be  thought  surprising,  when  it  is  considered  that,  unless  on 
such  occasions,  their  view  was  confined  to  the  grated  front  of 
their  prison,  the  high  and  sable  walls  of  the  court-yard,  the 
heaven  above  them,  and  the  pavement  beneath  their  feet  ;  a 
sameness  of  landscape,  which,  to  use  the  poet's  expression, 
lay  like  a  load  on  the  wearied  eye,''  and  had  fostered  in  some 
a  callous  and  dull  misanthropy,  in  others  that  sickness  of  the 
heart  which  induces  him  who  is  immured  already  in  a  living 
grave  to  wish  for  a  sepulchre  yet  more  calm  and  sequestered. 

Mac-Guffog,  when  they  entered  the  court-yard,  suffered 
Bertram  to  pause  for  a  minute,  and  look  upon  his  companions  in 
affliction.  When  he  had  cast  his  eye  around,  on  faces  on  which 
guilt,  and  despondence,  and  low  excess  had  fixed  their  stigma 
— upon  the  spendthrift,  and  the  swindler,  and  the  thief,  the 
bankrupt  debtor,  the  moping  idiot,  and  the  madman  gay," 
whom  a  paltry  spirit  of  economy  congregated  to  share  this 
dismal  habitation,  he  felt  his  heart  recoil  with  inexpressible 
loathing  from  enduring  the  contamination  of  their  society  even 
for  a  moment. 

"  I  hope,  sir,"  he  said  to  the  keeper,  "  you  intend  to  assign 
me  a  place  of  confinement  apart  1  " 

"  And  what  should  I  be  the  better  of  that  ? " 

"  Why,  sir,  I  can  but  be  detained  here  a  day  or  two,  and  it 
would  be  very  disagreeable  to  me  to  mix  in  the  sort  of  company 
this  place  affords." 

"  And  what  do  I  care  for  that  ? " 

"  Why,  then,  sir,  to  speak  to  your  feelings,"  said  Bertram, 
"  I  should  be  willing  to  make  you  a  handsome  compliment  for 
this  indulgence." 

"  Ay,  but  when,  Captain  ?  when  and  how  1  that's  the  ques- 
tion, or  rather  the  twa  questions,"  said  the  jailer. 

"  When  I  am  delivered,  and  get  my  remittances  from  Eng- 
land," answered  the  prisoner. 

Mac-Guffog  shook  his  head  incredulously. 

"  Why,  friend,  you  do  not  pretend  to  believe  that  I  am  really 
a  malefactor  ?  "  said  Bertram. 

"  Why,  I  no  ken,"  said  the  fellow  ;  "  but  if  you  are  on  the 
account,  ye're  nae  sharp  ane,  that's  the  day-light  o't." 

"  And  why  do  you  say  I  am  no  sharp  one  1  " 
Why,  wha  but  a  crack-brained  greenhorn  wad  hae  let  them 
keep  up  the  siller  that  ye  left  at  the  Gordon  Arms  ? "  said  the 
constable.    "  Deil  fetch  me,  but  I  wad  have  had  it  out  o'  their 
wames  1    Ye  had  nae  right  to  be  stripped  o'  your  money  and 


278 


GUY  MANNERING. 


sent  to  jail  without  a  mark  to  pay  your  fees;  they  might  have 
keepit  the  rest  o'  the  articles  for  evidence.  But  why,  for  a  blind 
bottle-head,  did  not  ye  ask  the  guineas  ?  and  I  kept  winking 
and  nodding  a'  the  time,  and  the  donnert  deevil  wad  never  ance 
look  my  way  1 

"  Well,  sir,''  replied  Bertram,  "  if  I  have  a  title  to  have  that 
property  delivered  up  to  me,  I  shall  apply  for  it ;  and  there  is 
a  good  deal  more  than  enough  to  pay  any  demand  you  can 
set  up." 

"  I  dinna  ken  a  bit  about  that,"  said  Mac-Guffog ;  "  ye  may 
be  here  lang  eneugh.  And  then  the  gieing  credit  maun  be 
considered  in  the  fees.  But,  however,  as  ye  do  seem  to  be  a 
chap  by  common,  though  my  wife  says  I  lose  by  my  good 
nature,  if  ye  gie  me  an  order  for  my  fees  upon  that  money — I 
dare  say  Glossin  will  make  it  forthcoming — I  ken  something 
about  an  escape  from  Ellangowan — ay,  ay,  he'll  be  glad  to  carry 
me  through,  and  be  neighbor-like." 

Well,  sir,"  replied  Bertram,  "  if  I  am  not  furnished  in  a 
day  or  two  otherwise,  you  shall  have  such  an  order." 

Weel,  weel,  then  ye  shall  be  put  up  like  a  prince,"  said 
Mac-Guff og.  "  But  mark  ye  me,  friend,  that  we  may  have  nae 
colly-shangie  afterhend,  these  are  the  fees  that  I  always  charge 
a  swell  that  must  have  his  lib-ken  to  himsell — Thirty  shillings 
a-week  for  lodgings,  and  a  guinea  for  garnish  ;  half-a-guinea 
a-week  for  a  single  bed,  and  I  dinna  get  the  whole  of  it,  for  I 
must  gie  half-a-crown  out  of  it  to  Donald  Laider  that's  in  for 
sheep-stealing,  that  should  sleep  with  you  by  rule,  and  he'll 
expect  clean  strae,  and  maybe  some  whisky  beside.  So  I  make 
.little  upon  that." 

"  Well,  sir,  go  on." 

"  Then  for  meat  and  liquor,  ye  may  have  the  best,  and  I 
never  charge  abune  twenty  per  cent  ower  tavern  price  for 
pleasing  a  gentleman  that  way — and  that's  little  enough  for 
sending  in  and  sending  out,  and  wearing  the  lassie's  shoon  out. 
And  then  if  ye're  dowie,  I  will  sit  wi'  you  a  gliff  in  the  evening 
mysell,  man,  and  help  ye  out  wi'  your  bottle; — I  have  drank 
mony  a  glass  wi'  Glossin,  man,  that  did  you  up,  though  he's  a 
Justice  now.  And  then  I'se  warrant  ye'll  be  for  fire  thir  cauld 
nights,  or  if  ye  want  candle,  that's  an  expensive  article,  for  it  s 
against  the  rules.  And  now  I've  tell'd  ye  the  head  articles  of 
the  charge,  and  I  dinna  think  there's  muckle  mair,  though 
there  will  aye  be  some  odd  expenses  ower  and  abune." 

Well,  sir,  I  must  trust  to  your  conscience,  if  ever  you 
happened  to  hear  of  such  a  thing — T  cannot  help  myself." 

Na,  na,  sir,"  answered  the  cautious  jailor,  "  I'll  no  permit 


GUY  MANNERING. 


you  to  be  saying  that — I^m  forcing  naething  upon  ye  ; — an  ye 
dinna  like  the  price,  ye  needna  take  the  articles — I  force  no 
man  ;  I  was  only  explaining  what  civility  was  :  but  if  ye  like 
to  take  the  common  run  of  the  house,  it's  a*  ane  to  me — I'll  be 
saved  trouble,  that's  a'." 

Nay,  my  friend,  I  have,  as  I  suppose  you  may  easily  guess, 
no  inclination  to  dispute  your  terms  upon  such  a  penalty/' 
^answered  Bertram.  "  Come,  show  me  where  I  am  ;o  be,  for  I 
would  fain  be  alone  for  a  little  while." 

"  Ay,  ay,  come  along  then.  Captain,"  said  the  fellow,  with  a 
contortion  of  visage  which  he  intended  to  be  a  smile.  "  And 
I'll  tell  you  now, — to  show  you  that  I  have  a  conscience,  as  ye 
ca't,  d — n  me  if  I  charge  ye  abune  sixpence  a-day  for  the  free- 
dom o'  the  court,  and  ye  may  walk  in't  very  near  three  hours 
a-day,  and  play  at  pitch-and-toss,  and  handba,'  and  what  not." 

With  this  gracious  promise,  he  ushered  Bertram  into  the 
house,  and  showed  him  up  a  steep  and  narrow  stone  staircase, 
at  the  top  of  which  was  a  strong  door,  clenched  with  iron  and 
studded  with  nails.  Beyond  this  door  was  a  narrow  passage  or 
gallery,  having  three  cells  on  each  side,  wretched  vaults,  with 
iron  bed-frames  and  straw  mattresses.  But  at  the  further  end 
was  a  small  apartment,  of  rather  a  more  decent  appearance, — 
that  is,  having  less  the  air  of  a  place  of  confinement,  since, 
unless  for  the  large  lock  and  chain  upon  the  door,  and  the  crossed 
and  ponderous  stanchions  upon  the  window,  it  rather  assembled 
the  "  worst  inn's  worst  room."  It  was  designed  as  a  sort  of 
infirmary  for  prisoners  whose  state  of  health  required  some 
indulgence  ;  and,  in  fact,  Donald  Laider,  Bertram's  destined 
chum,  had  been  just  dragged  out  of  one  of  the  two  beds  which 
it  contained,  to  try  whether  clean  straw  and  whisky  might  not 
have  a  better  chance  to  cure  his  intermitting  fever.  This 
process  of  ejection  had  been  carried  into  force  by  Mrs.  Mac- 
Guff  og  while  her  husband  parleyed  with  Bertram  in  the  court- 
yard, that  good  lady  having  a  distinct  presentiment  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  treaty  must  necessarily  terminate.  Ap- 
parently the  expulsion  had  not  taken  place  without  some 
application  of  the  strong  hand,  for  one  of  the  bed-posts  of  a 
sort  of  tent-bed  was  broken  down,  so  that  the  tester  and  curtains 
hung  forward  into  the  middle  of  the  narrow  chamber,  like  the 
banner  of  a  chieftain,  half  sinking  amid  the  confusion  of  a 
combat. 

Never  mind  that  being  out  o'  sorts,  Captain,"  said  Mrs. 
Mac-Guffog,  who  now  followed  them  into  the  room  ;  then  turning 
her  back  to  the  prisoner,  with  as  much  delicacy  as  the  action 
admitted,  she  whipped  from  her  knee  her  ferret  garter,  and 


28o 


GUY  MANNERmG. 


applied  it  to  splicing  and  fastening  the  broken  bed-post — then 
used  more  pins  than  her  apparel  could  well  spare  to  fasten  up 
the  bed-curtains  in  festoons — then  shook  the  bed-clothes  into 
something  like  form — then  flung  over  all  a  tattered  patch-work 
quilt,  and  pronounced  that  things  were  now  "  something  pur- 
pose-like." "  And  there's  your  bed,  Captain,"  pointing  to  a 
massy  four-posted  hulk,  which,  owing  to  the  inequality  of  the 
floor,  that  had  sunk  considerably  (the  house,  though  new, 
having  been  built  by  contract),  stood  on  three  legs,  and  held 
the  fourth  aloft  as  if  pawing  the  air,  and  in  the  attitude  of 
advancing  like  an  elephant  passant  upon  the  panel  of  a  coach 
— "  There's  your  bed  and  the  blankets  ;  but  if  ye  want  sheets, 
or  bowster,  or  pillow,  or  ony  sort  o'  napery  for  the  table,  or 
for  your  hands,  ye'll  hae  to  speak  to  me  about  it,  for  that's  out 
o'  the  gudeman'sjine  "  (Mac-Guff og  had  by  this  time  left  the 
room,  to  avoid,  probably,  any  appeal  which  might  be  made  to 
him  upon  this  new  exaction),  "  and  he  never  engages  for  ony- 
thing  like  that." 

In  God's  name,"  said  Bertram,  "  let  me  have  what  is  decent, 
and  make  any  charge  you  please." 

"  Aweel,  aweel,  that's  sune  settled  ;  we'll  no  excise  you  neither, 
though  we  live  sae  near  the  Custom-hou^e.  And  I  maun  see 
to  get  you  some  fire  and  some  dinner  too,  Pse  warrant ;  but 
your  dinner  will  be  but  a  puir  ane  the  day,  no  expecting  com- 
pany that  would  be  nice  and  fashions." — So  saying,  and  in  all 
haste,  Mrs.  Mac-Guffog  fetched  a  scuttle  of  live  coals,  and  having 
replenished  "  the  rusty  grate,  unconscious  of  a  fire  "  for  months 
before,  she  proceeded  with  unwashed  hands  to  arrange  the 
stipulated  bed-linen  (alas,  how  different  from  Ailie  Dinmont's !) 
and,  muttering  to  herself  as  she  discharged  her  task,  seemed, 
in  inveterate  spleen  of  temper,  to  grudge  even  those  accommo- 
dations for  which  she  was  to  receive  payment.  At  length, 
however,  she  departed,  grumbling  between  her  teeth,  that  "  she 
wad  rather  lock  up  a  hail  ward  than  be  fiking  about  thae  niff- 
naffy  gentles  that  gae  sae  muckle  fash  wi'  their  fancies." 

When  she  was  gone,  Bertram  found  himself  reduced  to  the 
alternative  of  pacing  his  little  apartment  for  exercise,  or  gazing 
out  upon  the  sea  in  such  proportions  as  could  be  seen  from  the 
narrow  panes  of  his  window,  obscured  by  dirt  and  by  close  iron- 
bars,  or  reading  over  the  records  of  brutal  wit  and  blackguardism 
which  despair  had  scrawled  upon  the  half-whitened  walls.  The 
sounds  were  as  uncomfortable  as  the  objects  of  sight  ;  the  sullen 
dash  of  the  tide,  which  was  now  retreating,  and  the  occasional 
opening  and  shutting  of  a  door,  with  all  its  accompaniments  of 
jarring  bolts  and  creaking  hinges,  mingling  occasionally  with 


GUV  MANNER  ma. 


the  dull  monotony  of  the  retiring  ocean.  Sometimes  too,  he 
could  hear  the  hoarse  growl  of  the  keeper,  or  the  shriller  strain 
of  his  helpmate,  almost  always  in  the  tone  of  discontent,  anger, 
or  insolence.  At  other  times  the  large  mastiff,  chained  in  the 
court-yard,  answered  with  furious  bark  the  insults  of  the  idle 
loiterers  who  made  a  sport  of  incensing  him. 

At  length  the  tedium  of  this  weary  space  was  broken  by  the 
entrance  of  a  dirty-looking  serving  wench,  who  made  some  prep- 
arations for  dinner  by  laying  a  half-dirty  cloth  upon  a  whole- 
dirty  deal  table.  A  knife  and  fork,  which  had  not  been  worn 
out  by  overcleaning,  flanked  a  cracked  delf-plate ;  a  nearly- 
empty  mustard-pot  placed  on  one  side  of  the  table,  balanced  a 
salt-cellar,  containing  an  article  of  a  grayish,  or  rather  a  black- 
ish mixture,  upon  the  other,  both  of  stone-ware,  and  bearing  too 
obvious  marks  of  recent  service.  Shortly  after,  the  same  Hebe 
brought  up  a  plate  of  beef-collops,  done  in  the  frying-pan,  with 
a  huge  allowance  of  grease  floating  in  an  ocean  of  lukewarm 
water ;  and  having  added  a  coarse  loaf  to  these  savory  viands, 
she  requested  to  know  what  liquors  the  gentleman  chose  to 
order.  The  appearance  of  this  fare  was  not  very  inviting  ;  but 
Bertram  endeavored  to  mend  his  commo-ns  by  ordering  wine, 
which  he  found  tolerably  good,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  some 
indifferent  cheese,  made  his  dinner  chiefly  off  the  brown  loaf. 
When  his  meal  was  over,  the  girl  presented  her  master's  com- 
pliments, and,  if  agreeable  to  the  gentleman,  he  would  help  him 
to  spend  the  evening.  Bertram  desired  to  be  excused,  and 
begged,  instead  of  this  gracious  society,  that  he  might  be 
furnished  with  paper,  pen,  ink,  and  candles.  The  light  appeared 
in  the  shape  of  one  long  broken  tallow-candle,  inclining  over 
a  tin  candlestick  coated  with  grease  ;  as  for  the  writing  mate- 
rials, the  prisoner  was  informed  that  he  might  have  them  the  next 
day  if  he  chose  to  send  out  to  buy  them.  Bertram  next  desired 
the  maid  to  procure  him  a  book,  and  enforced  his  request  with 
a  shilling  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  after  long  absence,  she 
reappeared  with  two  odd  volumes  of  the  Newgate  Calendar, 
which  she  had  borrowed  from  Sam  Silverquill,  an  idle  appren- 
tice, who  was  imprisoned  under  a  charge  of  forgery.  Having 
laid  the  books  on  the  table,  she  retired,  and  left  Bertram  to 
studies  which  were  not  ill  adapted  to  his  present  melancholy 
situation. 


282 


GZ/Y  MANNMRim. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-FIFTH. 

But  if  thou  shouldst  be  dragged  in  scorn 

To  yonder  ignominious  tree, 
Thou  shall  not  want  one  faithful  friend 

To  share  the  cruel  fate's  decree. 

S  HEN  STONE. 

Plunged  in  the  gloomy  reflections  which  were  naturally 
excited  by  his  dismal  reading  and  disconsolate  situation,  Ber- 
tram, for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  felt  himself  affected  with  a 
disposition  to  low  spirits.  "  I  have  been  in  worse  situations 
than  this  too,"  he  said ; — "  more  dangerous,  for  here  is  no 
danger — more  dismal  in  prospect,  for  my  present  confinement 
must  necessarily  be  short — more  intolerable  for  the  time,  for 
here  at  least  I  have  fire,  food,  and  shelter.  Yet  with  read- 
ing these  bloody  tales  of  crime  and  misery,  in  a  place  so  cor- 
responding to  the  ideas  which  they  excite,  and  in  listening  to 
these  sad  sounds,  I  feel  a  stronger  disposition  to  melancholy 
than  in  my  life  I  ever  experienced.  But  I  will  not  give  way  to 
it — Begone,  thou  record  of  guilt  and  infamy  !  "  he  said,  flinging 
the  book  upon  the  spare  bed ;  "  a  Scottish  jail  shall  not  break, 
on  the  very  first  day,  the  spirits  which  have  resisted  climate, 
and  want,  and  penury,  and  disease,  and  imprisonment,  in  a 
foreign  land.  I  have  fought  many  a  hard  battle  with  dame 
Fortune,  and  she  shall  not  beat  me  now  if  I  can  help  it." 

Then  bending  his  mind  to  a  strong  effort,  he  endeavored  to 
view  his  situation  in  the  most  favorable  light.  Delaserre  must 
soon  be  in  Scotland ;  the  certificates  from  his  commanding- 
officer  must  soon  arrive ;  nay,  if  Mannering  were  first  applied 
to,  who  could  say  but  the  effect  might  be  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween them  ?  He  had  often  observed,  and  now  remembered,  that 
when  his  former  colonel  took  the  part  of  any  one,  it  was  never 
by  halves,  and  that  he  seemed  to  love  those  persons  most  who 
had  lain  under  obligation  to  him.  In  the  present  case,  a  favor, 
which  could  be  asked  with  honor  and  granted  with  readiness, 
might  be  the  means  of  reconciling  them  to  each  other.  From 
this  his  feelings  naturally  turned  toward  Julia  ;  and  without 
very  nicely  measuring  the  distance  between  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
who  expected  that  her  father's  attestation  would  deliver  him 
from  confinement,  and  the  heiress  of  that  father's  wealth  and 
expectations,  he  was  building  the  gayest  castle  in  the  clouds, 
and  varnishing  it  with  all  the  tints  of  a  summer-evening  sky. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


283 


when  his  labor  was  interrupted  by  a  loud  knocking  at  the  outer- 
gate,  answered  by  the  barking  of  the  gaunt  half-starved  mastiff 
which  was  quartered  in  the  court-yard  as  an  addition  to  the 
garrison.  After  much  scrupulous  precaution  the  gate  was 
opened,  and  some  person  admitted.  The  house-door  was  next 
unbarred,  unlocked,  and  unchained,  a  dog's  feet  pattered  up- 
stairs in  great  haste,  and  the  animal  was  heard  scratching  and 
whining  at  the  door  of  the  room.  Next  a  heavy  step  was  heard 
lumbering  up,  and  Mac-Guffog's  voice  in  the  character  of  pilot 
— "  This  way,  this  way  ;  take  care  of  the  step  ; — that's  the  room." 
— Bertram's  door  was  then  unbolted,  and  to  his  great  surprise 
and  joy,  his  terrier  Wasp  rushed  into  the  apartment,  and  al- 
most devoured  him  with  caresses,  followed  by  the  massy  form 
of  his  friend  from  Charlies-hope. 

"  Eh  whow  !  Eh  whow !  "  ejaculated  the  honest  farmer,  as 
he  looked  round  upon  his  friend's  miserable  apartment  and 
wretched  accommodation — *'  What's  this  o't !  what's  this  o't !  '^ 

"Just  a  trick  of  fortune,  my  good  friend,"  said  Bertram, 
rising  and  shaking  him  heartily  by  the  hand,  "  that's  all." 

"  But  what  will  be  done  about  it  ? — or  what  can  be  done 
about  it  ? "  said  honest  Dandie  :  "  is't  for  debt,  or  what  is't  for  t " 

"  Why,  it  is  not  for  debt,"  answered  Bertram ;  "  and  if  you 
have  time  to  sit  down,  I'll  tell  you  all  I  know  of  the  matter 
myself." 

"  If  I  hae  time  ? "  said  Dandie,  with  an  accent  on  the  word 
that  sounded  like  a  howl  of  derision — ^'  Ou,  what  the  deevilam  I 
come  here  for,  man,  but  just  ance  errand  to  see  about  it  ?  But 
ye'U  no  be  the  waur  o'  something  to  eat,  I  trow : — it's  getting 
late  at  e'en — I  telled  the  folk  at  the  Change,  where  I  put  up 
Dumple,  to  send  ower  my  supper  here,  and  the  chield  Mac- 
Guffog  is  agreeable  to  let  it  in — I  hae  settled  a'  that. — And  now 
Jet's  hear  your  story — Whisht,  Wasp,  man  !  wow  but  he's  glad  to 
see  you,  poor  thing  !  " 

Bertram's  story  being  confined  to  the  accident  of  Hazlewood, 
and  the  confusion  made  between  his  own  identity  and  that  of 
one  of  the  smugglers  who  had  been  active  in  the  assault  of 
Woodbourne,  and  chanced  to  bear  the  same  name,  was  soon 
told.  Dinmont  listened  very  attentively.  "  Aweel,"  he  said, 
"  thissuld  be  nae  sic  dooms-desperate  business  surely — the  lad's 
doing  weel  again  that  was  hurt,  and  what  signifies  two  or  three 
]ead  draps  in  his  shouther  ?  if  ye  had  putten  out  his  ee  it 
would  hae  been  another  case.  But  eh,  as  I  wuss  auld  Sherra 
Pleydell  was  to  the  fore  here  ! — Od,  he  was  the  man  for  sorting 
them,  and  the  queerest  rough-spoken  deevil  too  that  ever  ye 
heard ! " 


284 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  But  now  tell  me,  my  excellent  friend,  how  did  you  find  out 
I  was  here  ? " 

"Od,  lad,  queerly  eneugh,"  said  Dandie  ;  "but  I'll  tell  ye 
that  after  we  are  done  wi'  our  supper,  for  it  will  maybe  no  be 
sae  weel  to  speak  about  it  while  that  lang-lugged  limmer  o'  a 
lass  is  gaun  flisking  in  and  out  o'  the  room." 

Bertram's  curiosity  was  in  some  degree  put  to  rest  by  the 
appearance  of  the  supper  which  his  friend  had  ordered,  which, 
although  homely  enough,  had  the  appetizing  cleanliness  in  which 
Mrs.  Mac-Guffog's  cookery  was  so  eminently  deficient.  Din- 
mont  also,  premising  he  had  ridden  the  whole  day  since 
breakfast-time  without  tasting  anything  "  to  speak  of,"  which 
qualifying  phrase  related  to  about  three  pounds  of  cold  roast 
mutton  which  he  had  discussed  at  his  mid-day  stage — Dinmont, 
I  say,  fell  stoutly  upon  the  good  cheer,  and,  like  one  of  Homer's 
heroes,  said  little,  either  good  or  bad,  till  the  rage  of  thirst  and 
hunger  was  appeased.  At  length,  after  a  draught  of  home- 
brewed ale,  he  began  by  observing,  "  Aweel,  aweel,  that  hen," 
looking  upon  the  lamentable  relics  of  what  had  been  once  a 
large  fowl,  wasna  a  bad  ane  to  be  bred  at  a  town  end,  though 
it's  no  like  our  barn-door  chuckies  at  Charlies-hope — and  I  am 
glad  to  see  that  this  vexing  job  hasna  taen  awa  your  appetite, 
Captain." 

"Why  really,  my  dinner  was  not  so  excellent,  Mr.  Dinmont, 
as  to  spoil  my  supper." 

"  I  daur  say  no — I  daur  say  no,"  said  Dandie. — "  But  now, 
hinny,  that  ye  hae  brought  us  the  brandy,  and  the  mug  wi'  the 
het  water,  and  the  sugar,  and  a'  right,  ye  may  steek  the  door, 
ye  see,  for  we  wad  hae  some  o'  our  ain  cracks."  The  damsel 
accordingly  retired,  and  shut  the  door  of  the  apartment,  to 
which  she  added  the  precaution  of  drawing  a  large  bolt  on  the 
outside. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone,  Dandie  reconnoitred  the  premises, 
listened  at  the  key-hole  as  if  he  had  been  listening  for  the 
blowing  of  an  otter, — and  having  satisfied  himself  that  there 
were  no  eavesdroppers,  returned  to  the  table  ;  and  making 
himself  what  he  called  a  gey  stiff  cheerer,  poked  the  fire,  and 
began  his  story  in  an  under  tone  of  gravity  and  importance  not 
very  usual  with  him. 

"Ye  see,  Captain,  I  had  been  in  Edinbro'  for  twa  or  three 
days,  looking  after  the  burio'l  of  a  friend  that  we  hae  lost,  and 
maybe  I  suld  hae  had  something  for  my  ride  ;  but  there's  dis- 
appointments in  a'  things,  and  wha  can  help  the  like  o'  that? 
And  I  had  a  wee  bit  law  business  besides,  but  that's  neither 
here  nor  there.    In  short,  I  had  got  my  matters  settled,  and  hame 


GUY  MANNERING. 


285 


I  cam ;  and  the  morn  awa  to  the  muirs  to  see  what  the  herds 
had  been  about,  and  I  thought  I  might  as  weel  gie  a  look  to 
the  Tout-hope  head,  where  Jock  o'  Dawston  and  me  has  the 
outcast  about  a  march.  Weel,  just  as  I  was  coming  upon  the 
bit,  I  saw  a  man  afore  me  that  I  kenn'd  was  nane  o'  our  herds, 
and  it's  a  wild  bit  to  meet  ony  other  body,  so  when  I  cam  up 
to  him,  it  was  Tod  Gabriel  the  fox-hunter.  So  I  says  to  him, 
rather  surprised  like,  'What  are  ye  doing  up  amang  the  craws 
here,  without  your  hounds,  man  ?  are  ye  seeking  the  fox  with- 
out the  dogs  1 '  So  he  said,  *  Na,  gudeman,  but  I  wanted  to 
see  yoursell.' 

"  *  Ay,'  said  I,  *  and  ye'll  be  wanting  eilding  now,  or  some- 
thing to  pit  ower  the  winter  ? ' 

"*Na,  na,'  quo'  he,  it's  no  that  I'm  seeking;  but  ye  tak  an 
unco  concern  in  that  Captain  Brown  that  was  staying  wi'  you, 
d'ye  no  ? ' 

"  *  Troth  do  I,  Gabriel,'  says  I  ;  *  and  what  about  him,  lad  ?  ' 

"  Says  he,  •  There's  mair  tak  an  interest  in  him  than  you, 
and  some  that  I  am  bound  to  obey ;  and  it's  no  just  on  my  ain 
will  that  I'm  here  to  tell  you  something  about  him  that  will  no 
please  you.' 

" '  Faith,  naething  will  please  me,'  quo'  I,  *  that's  no  pleasing 
to  him.' 

'  And  then,  quo'  he,  ye'll  be  ill-sorted  to  hear  that  he's  like 
to  be  in  the  prison  at  Portanferry,  if  he  disna  tak  a'  the  better 
care  o'  himsell,  for  there's  been  warrants  out  to  tak  him  as  soon 
as  he  comes  ower  the  water  frae  Allonby.  And  now,  gudeman, 
an  ever  ye  wish  him  weel,  ye  maun  ride  down  to  Portanferry 
and  let  nae  grass  grow  at  the  nag's  heels  ;  and  if  ye  find  him 
in  confinement,  ye  maun  stay  beside  him  night  and  day,  for  a 
day  or  twa,  for  he'll  want  friends  that  hae  baith  heart  and 
hand  ;  and  if  ye  neglect  this,  ye'll  never  rue  but  ance,  for  it  will 
be  for  a'  your  life.' 

"  *  But,  safe  us,  man,'  quo'  I,  '  how  did  ye  learn  a'  this  ? — 
it's  an  unco  way  between  this  and  Portanferry.' 

"  *  Never  ye  mind  that,'  quo'  he  ;  *  them  that  brought  us  the 
news  rade  night  and  day,  and  ye  maun  be  o£E  instantly  if  ye 
wad  do  ony  gude — and  sae  I  have  naething  mair  to  tell  ye/ 
Sae  he  sat  himsell  doun  and  hirseled  doun  into  the  glen,  where 
it  wad  hae  been  ill  following  him  wi'  the  beast,  and  I  cam  back 
to  Charlies-hope  to  tell  the  gudewife,  for  I  was  uncertain  what 
to  do.  It  wad  look  unco-like,  I  thought,  just  to  be  sent  out  on 
a  hunt-the-gowk  errand  wi'  a  land-louper  like  that.  But,  Lord  ! 
as  the  gudewife  set  up  her  throat  about  it,  and  said  what  a 
shame  it  wad  be  if  ye  was  to  come  to  ony  wrang,  an  I  could 


286 


GUY  MANNERING, 


help  ye  ; — and  then  in  cam  your  letter  that  confirmed  it.  So  I 
took  to  the  kist,  and  out  wi'  the  pickle  notes  in  case  they  should 
be  needed,  and  a'  the  bairns  ran  to  saddle  Dumple.  By  great 
luck  I  had  taen  the  other  beast  to  Edinbro',  sae  Dumple  was  as 
fresh  as  a  rose.  Sae  aff  I  set,  and  Wasp  wi'  me,  for  ye  wad 
really  hae  thought  he  kenn'd  where  I  was  gaun,  puir  beast ; 
and  here  I  am  after  a  trot  o'  sixty  mile,  or  near  by.  But  Wasp 
rade  thirty  o'  them  afore  me  on  the  saddle,  and  the  puir  doggie 
balanced  itsell  as  ane  of  the  weans  wad  hae  dune,  whether  I 
trotted  or  cantered." 

In  this  strange  story  Bertram  obviously  saw,  supposing  the 
warning  to  be  true,  some  intimation  of  danger  more  violent  and 
imminent  than  could  be  likely  to  arise  from  a  few  days'  im- 
prisonment. At  the  same  time  it  was  equally  evident  that 
some  unknown  friend  was  working  in  his  behalf.  Did  you 
not  say,"  he  asked  Dinmont,  "  that  this  man  Gabriel  was  of 
gypsy  blood  ? " 

"  It  was  e'en  judged  sae,"  said  Dinmont,  "  and  I  think  this 
maks  it  likely  ;  for  they  aye  ken  where  the  gangs  o'  ilk  ither 
are  to  be  found,  and  they  can  gar  news  flee  like  a  foot-ba' 
through  the  country  an  they  like.  An'  I  forgat  to  tell  ye, 
there's  been  an  unco  inquiry  after  the  auld  wife  that  we  saw  in 
Bewcastle  ;  the  sheriff's  had  folk  ower  the  Limestane  Edge  after 
her,  and  down  the  Hermitage  and  Liddel,  and  a'  gates,  and  a 
reward  offered  for  her  to  appear,  o'  fifty  pounds  sterling,  nae 
less ;  and  Justice  Forster,  he's  had  out  warrants,  as  I  am  tell'd, 
in  Cumberland,  and  an  unco  ranging  and  riping  they  have  had 
a'  gates  seeking  for  her — but  she'll  no  be  taen  wi'  them  unless 
she  likes,  for  a'  that. 

"  And  how  comes  that  ?  "  said  Bertram. 

"  Ou  I  dinna  ken  ;  I  daur  say  it's  nonsense,  but  they  say  she 
has  gathered  the  fern  seed,  and  can  gang  ony  gate  she  likes, 
like  Jock-the-Giant-killer  in  the  ballant,  wi'  his  coat  o'  darkness 
and  his  shoon  o'  swiftness.  Ony  way  she's  a  kind  o'  queen 
amang  the  gypsies :  she  is  mair  than  a  hundred  year  auld,  folk 
say,  and  minds  the  coming  in  o'  the  moss-troopers  in  the  trouble- 
some times  when  the  Stuarts  were  put  awa.  Sae,  if  she  canna 
hide  hersell,  she  kens  them  that  can  hide  her  weel  eneugh,  ye 
needna  doubt  that.  Od,  an  I  had  kenn'd  it  had  been  Meg 
Merrilies  yon  night  at  Tibb  Mumps's,  I  wad  taen  care  how  I 
crossed  her." 

Bertram  listened  with  great  attention  to  this  account,  which 
tallied  so  well  in  many  points  with  what  he  had  himself  seen 
of  this  gypsy  sibyl.  After  a  moment's  consideration,  he  con- 
cluded it  would  be  no  breach  of  faith  to  mention  what  he  had 


287 


seen  at  Derncleugh  to  a  person  who  held  Meg  in  such  rever- 
ence as  Dinmont  obviously  did.  He  told  his  story  accordingly, 
often  interrupted  by  ejaculations,  such  as,  "  Weel  the  like  o' 
that  now ! or,  "  Na,  deil  an  that's  no  something  now ! " 

When  our  Liddesdale  friend  had  heard  the  whole  to  an  end, 
he  shook  his  great  black  head — ''Weel,  I'll  uphaud  there's 
baith  gude  and  ill  amang  the  gypsies,  and  if  they  deal  wi'  the 
Enemy,  it's  a'  their  ain  business,  and  no  ours.  I  ken  what  the 
streeking  the  corpse  wad  be,  weel  eneugh.  Thae  smuggler 
deevils,  when  ony  o'  them's  killed  in  a  fray,  they'll  send  for  a 
wife  like  Meg  far  eneugh  to  dress  the  corpse — od,  it's  a'  the 
burial  they  ever  think  o' !  and  then  to  be  put  into  the  ground 
without  ony  decency,  just  like  dogs.  But  they  stick  to  it  that 
they'll  be  streekit,  and  hae  an  anld  wife  when  they're  dying,  to 
rhyme  ower  pra3^ers  and  ballants,  and  charms,  as  they  ca'  them, 
rather  than  they'll  hae  a  minister  to  come  and  pray  wi'  them 
— that's  an  auld  threep  o'  theirs ;  and  I  am  thinking  the  man 
that  died  will  hae  been  ane  o'  the  folk  that  was  shot  when  they 
burnt  Woodbourne." 

But  my  good  friend,  Woodbourne  is  not  burnt,"  said 
Bertram. 

"  Weel,  the  better  for  them  that  bides  in't " — answered  the 
store-farmer.  "  Od,  we  had  it  up  the  water  wi'  us,  that  there 
wasna  a  stane  on  the  tap  o'  anither.  But  there  was  fighting, 
ony  way ;  I  daur  to  say,  it  would  be  fine  fun  !  And,  as  I  said, 
ye  may  take  it  on  trust,  that  that's  been  ane  o'  the  men  killed 
there,  and  that  it's  been  the  gypsies  that  took  your  pockmanky 
when  they  fand  the  chaise  stickin'  in  the  snaw — they  wadna 
pass  the  like  o'  that — it  wad  just  come  to  their  hand  like  the 
bowl  o'  a  pint  stoup.'"* 

"  But  if  this  woman  is  a  sovereign  among  them,  why  was 
she  not  able  to  afford  me  open  protection,  and  to  get  me  back 
my  property  ? '' 

"  Ou,  wha  kens  ?  she  has  muckle  to  say  wi'  them,  but  whiles 
they'll  tak  their  ain  way  for  a'  that,  when  they're  under  temp- 
tation. And  then  there's  the  smugglers  that  they're  aye 
leagued  wi' ;  she  maybe  couldna  manage  them  sae  weel — they're 
aye  banded  thegither.  I've  heard  that  the  gypsies  ken  when 
the  smugglers  will  come  aff,  and  where  they're  to  land,  better 
than  the  very  merchants  that  deal  wi'  them.  And  then,  to  the 
boot  o'  that,  she's  whiles  crack-brained,  and  has  a  bee  in  her 
head ;  they  say  that  whether  her  spaeings  and  fortune-tellings 
be  true  or  no,  for  certain  she  believes  in  them  a'  hersell,  and  is 


*  The  handle  of  a  stoup  of  liquor  ;  than  which,  our  proverb  seems  to 
Infer,  there  is  nothing  comes  more  readily  to  the  grasp. 


288 


GUY  MANNERING, 


aye  guiding  hersell  by  some  queer  prophecy  or  anither.  So  she 
disna  aye  gang  the  straight  road  to  the  well.  But  deil  o'  sic  a 
story  as  yours,  wi'  glamour  and  dead  folk  and  losing  ane^s  gate, 
I  ever  heard  out  o'  the  tale  books ! — but  whisht,  I  hear  the 
keeper  coming.'' 

Mac-Guffog  accordingly  interrupted  their  discourse  by  the 
harsh  harmony  of  the  bolts  and  bars,  and  showed  his  bloated 
visage  at  the  opening  door.  "  Come,  Mr.  Dinmont,  we  have  put 
off  locking  up  for  an  hour  to  oblige  ye  ;  ye  must  go  to  your 
quarters." 

"  Quarters,  man  ?  I  intend  to  sleep  here  the  night.  There's 
a  spare  bed  in  the  Captain's  room." 

It's  impossible !  "  answered  the  keeper. 

"  But  I  say  it  is  possible  and  that  I  winna  stir — and  there's 
a  dram  t'ye." 

Mac-Guffog  drank  off  the  spirits,  and  resumed  his  objec- 
tion. "  But  it's  against  rule,  sir  ;  ye  have  committed  nae  male- 
faction." 

"  I'll  break  your  head,"  said  the  sturdy  Liddesdale  man,  "  if 
ye  say  ony  mair  about  it,  and  that  will  be  malefaction  eneugh 
to  entitle  me  to  ae  night's  lodging  wi'  you,  ony  way." 

"  But  I  tell  ye,  Mr.  Dinmont,"  reiterated  the  keeper,  "  it's 
against  rule,  and  I  behoved  to  lose  my  post." 

"  Weel,  Mac-Guffog,"  said  Dandie,  I  hae  just  twa  things 
to  say.  Ye  ken  wha  I  am  weel  eneugh,  and  that  I  wadna  loose 
a  prisoner." 

"  And  how  do  I  ken  that  ?"  answered  the  jailer. 

"  Weel,  if  ye  dinna  ken  that,"  said  the  resolute  farmer,  "  ye 
ken  this  ; — ye  ken  ye're  whiles  obliged  to  be  up  our  water  in 
the  way  o'  your  business  ;  now,  if  ye  let  me  stay  quietly  here 
the  night  wi'  the  Captain,  I'se  pay  ye  double  fees  for  the  room, 
and  if  ye  say  no,  ye  shall  hae  the  best  sark-fu'  o'  sair  banes  that 
ever  ye  had  in  your  life,  the  first  time  ye  set  a  foot  by  Liddel- 
moat !  " 

"  Aweel,  aweel,  gudeman,"  said  Mac-Guffog,  "  a  wilfu'  man 
maun  hae  his  way  ;  but  if  I  am  challenged  for  it  by  the  justices, 
I  ken  wha  sail  bear  the  wyte ;  "  and  having  sealed  this  obser- 
vation with  a  deep  oath  or  two,  he  retired  to  bed,  after  care- 
fully securing  all  the  doors  of  the  Bridewell.  The  bell  from 
the  town  steeple  tolled  nine  just  as  the  ceremony  was  con- 
cluded. 

"  Although  it's  but  early  hours,"  said  the  farmer,  who  had 
observed  that  his  friend  looked  somewhat  pale  and  fatigued, 
"  1  think  we  had  better  lie  down.  Captain,  if  ye're  no  agreeable 
another  chcerer.    But  troth,  ye're  nae  glass-breaker;  and 


GUY  MANNERING. 


289 


neither  am  I,  unless  it  be  a  screed  wi'  the  neighbors,  or  when 
Tm  on  a  ramble.'* 

Bertram  readily  assented  to  the  motion  of  his  faithful  friend, 
but,  looking  on  at  the  bed,  felt  repugnance  to  trust  himself  un- 
dressed to  Mrs.  Mac-Guffog's  clean  sheets, 

I'm  muckle  o'  your  opinion,  Captain,"  said  Dandie.  "  Od, 
this  bed  looks  as  if  a'  the  colliers  in  Sanquhar  had  been  in't 
thegither.  But  it'll  no  win  through  my  muckle  coat."  So  say- 
ing, he  flung  himself  upon  the  frail  bed  with  a  force  that  made 
all  its  timbers  crack,  and  in  a  few  moments  gave  audible  signal 
that  he  was  fast  asleep.  Bertram  slipped  off  his  coat  and 
boots,  and  occupied  the  other  dormitory.  The  strangeness  of 
his  destiny,  and  the  mysteries  which  appeared  to  thicken 
around  him,  while  he  seemed  alike  to  be  persecuted  and  pro- 
tected by  secret  enemies  and  friends,  arising  out  of  a  class  of 
people  with  whom  he  had  no  previous  connection,  for  some 
time  occupied  his  thoughts.  Fatigue,  however,  gradually  com- 
posed his  mind,  and  in  a  short  time  he  was  as  fast  asleep  as 
his  companion.  And  in  this  comfortable  state  of  oblivion  we 
must  leave  them,  until  we  acquaint  the  reader  with  some  other 
circumstances  which  occurred  about  the  same  period. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-SIXTH. 

■  Say  from  whence 

You  owe  this  strange  intelligence  }  or  why 
Upon  this  blasted  heath  you  stop  our  way 
With  such  prophetic  greeting  — 
Speak,  I  charge  you. 

Macbeth. 

Upon  the  evening  of  the  day  when  Bertram's  examination 
had  taken  place.  Colonel  Mannering  arrived  at  Woodbourne 
from  Edinburgh.  He  found  his  family  in  their  usual  state, 
which  probably,  so  far  as  Julia  was  concerned,  would  not  have 
been  the  case  had  she  learned  the  news  of  Bertram's  arrest. 
But  as,  during  the  Colonel's  absence,  the  two  young  ladies 
lived  much  retired,  this  circumstance  fortunately  had  not 
reached  Woodbourne.  A  letter  had  already  made  Miss  Ber- 
tram acquainted  with  the  downfall  of  the  expectations  which 
had  been  formed  upon  the  bequest  of  her  kinswoman.  What- 
ever hopes  that  news  might  have  dispelled,  the  disappointment 
did  not  prevent  her  from  joining  her  friend  in  affording  a  cheer- 


290 


GUY  MANNERING. 


ful  reception  to  the  Colonel,  to  whom  she  thus  endeavored  to 
express  the  deep  sense  she  entertained  of  his  paternal  kind- 
ness. She  touched  on  her  regret,  that  at  such  a  season  of  the 
year  he  should  have  made,  upon  her  account,  a  journey  so 
fruitless. 

"  That  it  was  fruitless  to  you,  my  dear,"  said  the  Colonel. 
*^  I  do  most  deeply  lament ;  but  for  my  own  share,  I  have  made 
some  valuable  acquaintances,  and  have  spent  the  time  I  have 
been  absent  in  Edinburgh  with  peculiar  satisfaction  ;  so  that, 
on  that  score,  there  is  nothing  to  be  regretted.  Even  our  friend 
the  Dominie  is  returned  thrice  the  man  he  was,  from  having 
sharpened  his  wits  in  controversy  with  the  geniuses  of  the 
northern  metropolis." 

"  Of  a  surety,"  said  the  Dominie,  with  great  complacency, 
"  I  did  wrestle,  and  was  not  overcome,  though  my  adversary 
was  cunning  in  his  art." 

I  presume,"  said  Miss  Mannering,  "the  contest  was  some- 
what fatiguing,  Mr.  Sampson  t  " 

Very  much,  young  lady — howbeit,  I  girded  up  my  loins 
and  strove  against  him." 

"  I  can  bear  witness,"  said  the  Colonel,  I  never  saw  an 
affair  better  contested.  The  enemy  was  like  the  Mahratta 
cavalry  ;  he  assailed  on  all  sides,  and  presented  no  fair  mark 
for  artillery ;  but  Mr.  Sampson  stood  to  his  guns,  notwith- 
standing, and  fired  away,  now  upon  the  enemy,  and  now  upon 
the  dust  which  he  had  raised.  But  we  must  not  fight  our 
battles  over  again  to-night — to-morrow  we  shall  have  the  whole 
at  breakfast.'' 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast,  however,  the  Dominie  did 
not  make  his  appearance.  He  had  walked  out,  a  servant  said, 
early  in  the  morning ;  it  was  so  common  for  him  to  forget  his 
meals,  that  his  absence  never  deranged  the  family.  The  house- 
keeper, a  decent  old-fashioned  Presbyterian  matron,  having,  as 
such,  the  highest  respect  for  Sampson's  theological  acquisitions, 
had  it  in  charge  on  these  occasions  to  take  care  that  he  was  no 
sufferer  by  his  absence  of  mind,  and  therefore  usually  wayliid 
him  on  his  return,  to  remind  him  of  his  sublunary  wants,  and 
to  minister  to  their  relief.  It  seldom,  however,  happened  that 
he  was  absent  from  two  meals  together,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
present  instance.  We  must  explain  the  cause  of  this  unusual 
occurrence. 

The  conversation  which  Mr.  Plcydcll  had  held  with  Mr. 
Mannering  on  the  subject  of  the  loss  of  Harry  Bertram,  had 
awakened  all  the  painful  sensations  which  that  event  had 
inflicted  upon  Sampson.    The  affectionate  heart  of  the  poor 


GUY  MANNERING. 


291 


Dominie  had  always  reproached  him,  that  his  negligence  in 
leaving  the  child  in  the  care  of  Frank  Kennedy  had  been  the 
proximate  cause  of  the  murder  of  the  one,  the  loss  of  the  other, 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Bertram,  and  the  ruin  of  the  family  of  his 
patron.  It  was  a  subject  which  he  never  conversed  upon, — if 
indeed  his  mode  of  speech  could  be  called  conversation  at  any 
time, — but  it  was  often  present  to  his  imagination.  The  sort 
of  hope  so  strongly  affirmed  and  asserted  in  Mrs.  Bertram's 
last  settlement,  had  excited  a  corresponding  feeling  in  the 
Dominie's  bosom,  which  was  exasperated  into  a  sort  of  sicken- 
ing anxiety,  by  the  discredit  with  which  Pleydell  had  treated 
it. — "  Assuredly,"  thought  Sampson  to  himself,  "he  is  a  man 
of- erudition,  and  well  skilled  in  the  weighty  matters  of  the 
law;  but  he  is  also  a  man  of  humorous  levity  and  inconsistency 
of  speech ;  and  wherefore  should  he  pronounce  ex  cathedra^  a:s 
it  were,  on  the  hope  expressed  by  worthy  Madam  Margaret 
Bertram  of  Singleside  1  " 

All  this,  I  say,  the  Dominie  thought  to  himself  ;  for  had  he 
uttered  half  the  sentences,  his  jaws  would  have  ached  for  a 
month  under  the  unusual  fatigue  of  such  a  continued  exertion. 
The  result  of  these  cogitations  was  a  resolution  to  go  and  visit 
the  scene  of  the  tragedy  at  Warroch  Point,  where  he  had  not 
been  for  many  years — not,  indeed,  since  the  fatal  accident 
had  happened.  The  walk  was  a  long  one,  for  the  Point  of 
Warroch  lay  on  the  further  side  of  the  Ellangowan  property, 
which  was  interposed  betv/een  it  and  Woodbourne.  Besides, 
the.  Dominie  went  astray  more  than  once,  and  met  with 
brooks  swollen  into  torrents  by  the  melting  of  the  snow,  where 
he,  honest  man,  had  only  the  summer-recollection  of  little 
trickling  rills. 

At  length,  however,  he  reached  the  woods  which  he  had 
made  the  object  of  his  excursion,  and  traversed  them  with  care, 
muddling  his  disturbed  br^tins  with  vague  efforts  to  recall  every 
circumstance  of  the  catastrophe.  It  will  readily  be  supposed 
that  the  influence  of  local  situation  and  association  was  inade- 
quate to  produce  conclusions  different  from  those  which  he 
had  formed  under  the  immediate  pressure  of  the  occurrences 
themselves.  "With  many  a  weary  sigh,  therefore,  and  many 
a  groan,'*  the  poor  Dominie  returned  from  his  hopeless  pil 
grimage,  and  weariedly  plodded  his  way  toward  Woodbourne. 
debating  at  times  in  his  altered  mind  a  question  which  was 
forced  upon  him  by  the  cravings  of  an  appetite  rather  of  the 
keenest,  namely,  whether  he  had  breakfasted  that  morning  or 
no  ? — It  was  in  this  twilight  humor,  now  thinking  of  the  loss  of 
the  child  then  involuntarily  compelled  to  meditate  upon  the 


292 


GUY  MANNERTNG. 


somewhat  incongruous  subject  of  hung- beef,  rolls,  and  butter, 
that  his  route,  which  was  different  from  that  which  he  had 
taken  in  the  morning,  conducted  him  past  the  small  ruined 
tower,  or  rather  vestige  of  a  tower,  called  by  the  country  people 
the  Kaim  of  Derncleugh. 

The  reader  may  recollect  the  description  of  this  ruin  in  the 
twenty-seventh  chapter  of  this  narrative,  as  the  vault  in  which 
young  Bertram,  under  the  auspices  of  Meg  Merrilies,  witnessed 
the  death  of  Hatteraick's  lieutenant.  The  tradition  of  the 
country  added  ghostly  terrors  to  the  natural  awe  inspired  by 
the  situation  of  this  place — which  terrors  the  gypsies,  who 
so  long  inhabited  the  vicinity,  had  probably  invented,  or  at 
least  propagated,  for  their  own  advantage.  It  was  said,  that 
during  the  times  of  the  Galwegian  independence,  one  Hanlon 
Mac-Dingawaie,  brother  to  the  reigning  chief,  Knarth  Mac- 
Dingawaie,  murdered  his  brother  and  sovereign,  in  order  to 
usurp  the  principality  from  his  infant  nephew,  and  that  being 
pursued  for  vengeance  by  the  faithful  allies  and  retainers  of 
the  house,  who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  lawful  heir,  he  was 
compelled  to  retreat  with  a  few  followers  whom  he  had  involved 
in  his  crime,  to  this  impregnable  tower  called  the  Kaim  of 
Derncleugh,  where  he  defended  himself  until  nearly  reduced 
by  famine,  when,  setting  fire  to  the  place,  he  and  the  small 
remaining  garrison  desperately  perished  by  their  own  swords, 
rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  exasperated  enemies. 
This  tragedy,  which,  considering  the  wild  times  wherein  it  was 
placed,  might  have  some  foundation  in  truth,  was  larded  with 
many  legends  of  superstition  and  diablerie,  so  that  most  of 
the  peasants  of  the  neighborhood,  if  benighted,  would  rather 
have  chosen  to  make  a  considerable  circuit,  than  pass  these 
haunted  walls.  The  lights,  often  seen  around  the  tower  when 
used  as  the  rendezvous  of  the  lawless  characters  by  whom  it  was 
occasionally  frequented,  were  accounted  for,  under  authority  of 
these  tales  of  witchery,  in  a  manner  at  once  convenient  for  the 
private  parties  concerned,  and  satisfactory  to  the  public. 

Now  it  must  be  confessed  that  our  friend  Sampson,  although 
a  profound  scholar  and  mathematician,  had  not  traveled  so  far 
in  philosophy  as  to  doubt  the  reality  of  witchcraft  or  apparitions. 
Born  indeed  at  a  time  when  a  doubt  in  the  existence  of 
witches  was  interpreted  as  equivalent  to  a  justification  of 
their  infernal  practices,  a  belief  of  such  legends  had  been 
impressed  upon  the  Dominie  as  an  article  indivisible  from 
his  religious  faith  :  and  perhaps  it  would  have  been  equally 
difficult  to  have  induced  him  to  doubt  the  one  as  the  c  iher. 
With  these  feelings,  and  in  a  thick  misty  day,  which  was  already 


GUY  MANNERING. 


drawing  to  its  close,  Dominie  Sampson  did  not  pass  the  Kaim 
of  Derncleugh  without  some  feelings  of  tacit  horror. 

What,  then,  was  his  astonishment,  when,  on  passing  the 
door — that  door  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  placed  there 
by  one  of  the  latter  Lairds  of  EUangowan  to  prevent  pre- 
sumptuous strangers  from  incurring  the  dangers  of  the  haunted 
vault — that  door,  supposed  to  be  always  locked,  and  the  key 
of  which  was  popularly  said  to  be  deposited  with  the  pres- 
bytery— that  door,  that  very  door,  opened  suddenly,  and  the 
figure  of  Meg  Merrilies,  well  known,  though  not  seen  for  many 
a  revolving  year,  was  placed  at  once  before  the  eyes  of  the 
startled  Dominie  !  She  stood  immediately  before  him  in  the 
footpath,  confronting  him  so  absolutely,  that  he  could  not  avoid 
her  except  by  fairly  turning  back,  which  his  manhood  prevented 
him  from  thinking  of. 

"  I  kenn'd  ye  wad  be  here,"  she  said,  with  her  harsh  and 
hollow  voice  :  "  I  ken  wha  ye  seek  ;  but  ye  maun  do  my 
bidding." 

"  Get  thee  behind  me  !  "  said  the  alarmed  Dominie — "  Avoid 
ye  ! — Conjuro  te,  scelestissima — nequissima — spiircissima — miquis- 
sima — at  que  miserrima — conjuro  te  !  !  !  " — 

Meg  stood  her  ground  against  this  tremendous  volley  of 
superlatives,  which  Sampson  hawked  up  from  the  pit  of  his 
stomach,  and  hurled  at  her  in  thunder.  Is  the  carl  daft,"  she 
said,  "  wi'  his  glamour  ?  " 

Conjuro,''^  continued  the  Dominie,  "  abjuro^  contesto^  atque 
virliter  impero  tibi  I  " — 

"  What,  in  the  name  of  Sathan,  are  ye  feared  for  wi'  your 
French  gibberish,  that  would  make  a  dog  sick  Listen,  ye 
stickit  stibbler,  to  what  I  tell  ye,  or  ye  sail  rue  it  while  there's 
a  limb  o'  ye  hings  to  anither !  Tell  Colonel  Mannering  that  I 
ken  he's  seeking  me.  He  kens,  and  I  ken,  that  the  blood  will 
be  wiped  out,  and  the  lost  will  be  found. 

And  Bertram's  right  and  Bertram's  might 
Shall  meet  on  EUangowan  height. 

Hae,  there's  a  letter  to  him  ;  I  was  gaun  to  send  it  in 
another  way. — I  canna  write  mysell  ;  but  I  hae  them  that  will 
baith  write  and  read,  and  ride  and  rin  for  me.  Tell  him  the 
time's  coming  now,  and  the  weird's  dreed,  and  the  wheel's 
turning.  Bid  him  look  at  the  stars  as  he  has  looked  at  them 
before. — Will  ye  mind  a'  this  ?  " 

"  Assuredly,"  said  the  Dominie,  I  am  dubious — for,  woman, 
I  am  perturbed  at  thy  words,  and  my  flesh  quakes  to  hear 
thee." 


GUY  MANNER  mo. 


"  They'll  do  you  nae  ill  though,  and  maybe  muckle  gude/' 
"  Avoid  ye !   I  desire  no  good  that  comes  by  unlawful 
means." 

"  Fule-body  that  thou  art !  "  said  Meg,  stepping  up  to  hira 
with  a  frown  of  indignation  that  made  her  dark  eyes  flash  like 
lamps  from  under  her  bent  brows — "  Fule-body  !  if  I  meant  ye 
wrang,  couldna  I  clod  ye  ower  that  craig,  and  wad  man  ken 
how  ye  cam  by  your  end  mair  than  Frank  Kennedy  ?  Hear  ye 
that,  ye  worricow  ? 

"  In  the  name  of  all  that  is  good,"  said  the  Dominie,  recoil- 
ing, and  pointing  his  long  pewter-headed  walking-cane  like  a 
javelin  at  the  supposed  sorceress, — "  in  the  name  of  all  that  is 
good,  bide  off  hands  !  I  will  not  be  handled — woman,  stand  off, 
upon  thine  own  proper  peril ! — desist,  I  say — I  am  strong — lo, 
I  will  resist !  "  Here  his  speech  was  cut  short ;  for  Meg,  armed 
with  supernatural  strength  (as  the  Dominie  asserted),  broke  in 
upon  his  guard,  put  by  a  thrust  which  he  made  at  her  with  his 
cane,  and  lifted  him  into  the  vault,  "  as  easily,"  said  he,  "  as  I 
could  sway  a  Kitchen's  Atlas." 

Sit  down  there,"  she  said,  pushing  the  half-throttled 
preacher  with  some  violence  against  a  broken  chair — "  sit  down 
there,  and  gather  your  wind  and  your  senses,  ye  black  barrow- 
tram  o'  the  kirk  that  ye  are  ! — Are  ye  fou  or  fasting  ?  " 

"  Fasting — from  all  but  sin,"  answered  the  Dominie,  who, 
recovering  his  voice,  and  finding  his  exorcisms  only  served  to 
exasperate  the  intractable  sorceress,  thought  it  best  to  affect 
complaisance  and  submission,  inwardly  conning  over,  however, 
the  wholesome  conjurations  which  he  durst  no  longer  utter 
aloud.  But  as  the  Dominie's  brain  was  by  no  means  equal  to 
carry  on  two  trains  of  ideas  at  the  same  time,  a  word  or  two  of 
his  mental  exercise  sometimes  escaped,  and  mingled  with  his 
uttered  speech  in  a  manner  ludicrous  enough,  especially  as  the 
poor  man  shrunk  himself  together  after  every  escape  of  the 
kind,  from  terror  of  the  effect  it  might  produce  upon  the  irri« 
table  feelings  of  the  witch. 

Meg,  in  the  meanwhile,  went  to  a  great  black  cauldron  that 
was  boiling  on  a  fire  on  the  floor,  and  lifting  the  lid,  an  odor 
was  diffused  through  the  vault  which,  if  the  vapors  of  a  witch's 
cauldron  could  in  aught  be  trusted,  promised  better  things  than 
the  hell-broth  which  such  vessels  are  usually  supposed  to  con- 
tain. It  was  in  fact  the  savor  of  a  goodly  stew,  composed  of 
fowls,  hares,  partridges,  and  moorgame,  boiled  in  a  large  mess 
with  potatoes,  onions,  and  leeks,  and  from  the  size  of  the  caul- 
dron, appeared  to  be  prepared  for  half-a-dozen  of  people  at 
least. 


GUY  MANNERING.  295 

"  Soyehae  eat  naething  a'  day  ? "  said  Meg,  heaving  a  large 
portion  of  this  mess  into  a  brown  dish,  and  strewing  it  savorily 
with  salt  and  pepper.* 

"  Nothing,"  answered  the  Dominie — scelestissima  ! — that  is 
— gudewife." 

Hae,  then/'  said  she,  placing  the  dish  before  him,  there's 
what  will  warm  your  heart." 

"  I  do  not  hunger — 7nalcfica — that  is  to  say — Mrs.  Merri- 
lies  !  "  for  he  said  unto  himself,  "  the  savor  is  sweet,  but  it  hath 
been  cooked  by  a  Canidia  or  an  Ericthoe." 

If  ye  dinna  eat  instantly,  and  put  some  saul  in  ye,  by  the 
bread  and  the  salt,  I'll  put  it  down  your  throat  wi'  the  cutty 
spoon,  scaulding  as  it  is,  and  whether  ye  will  or  no.  Gape, 
sinner,  and  swallow  !  " 

Sampson,  afraid  of  eye  of  newt,  and  toe  of  frog,  tigers' 
chaudrons,  and  so  forth,  had  determined  not  to  venture ;  but 
the  smell  of  the  stew  was  fast  melting  his  obstinacy,  which 
flowed  from  his  chops,  as  it  were,  in  streams  of  water,  and  the 
witch's  threats  decided  him  to  feed.  Hunger  and  fear  are 
excellent  casuists. 

"  Saul,"  said  Hunger,    feasted  with  the  witch  of  Endor." — 
And,"  quoth  Fear,    the  salt  which  she  sprinkled  upon  the 
food  showeth  plainly  it  is  not  a  necromantic  banquet,  in  which 
that  seasoning  never  occurs." — "  And  besides,"  says  Hunger, 
after  the  first  spoonful,    it  is  savory  and  refreshing  viands." 

"  So  ye  like  the  meat  ?  "  said  the  hostess. 

"Yea,"  answered  the  Dominie,  "and  I  give  thee  thanks — 
sceleratissima ! — which  means — Mrs.  Margaret." 

"  Aweel,  eat  your  fill ;  but  an  ye  kenn'd  how  it  was  gotten, 
ye  maybe  wadna  like  it  sae  weel."  Sampson's  spoon  dropped 
in  the  act  of  conveying  its  load  to  his  mouth.  "  There's  been 
mony  a  moonlight  watch  to  bring  a'  that  trade  thegither," 
continued  Meg — "the  folk  that  are  to  eat  that  dinner  thought 
little  o'  your  game  laws." 

"Is  that  all?  "  thought  Sampson,  resuming  his  spoon^  and 
shoveling  away  manfully ;  "  I  will  not  lack  my  food  upon  that 
argument." 

"  Now,  ye  maun  tak  a  dram." 

"  I  will,"  quoth  Sampson — "  conjuro  te — that  is^  I  thank 
you  heartily,"  for  he  thought  to  himself,  in  for  a  penny  in  for  a 
pound  ;  and  he  fairly  drank  the  witch's  health  in  a  cupful  of 
brandy.  When  he  had  put  this  cope-stone  upon  Meg's  good 
cheer,  he  felt,  as  he  said,  "  mightily  elevated,  and  afraid  of  no 
evil  which  could  befall  unto  him." 

*  Note  K.    Gypsy  Cookery. 


296  GUY  MANNERING. 

"  Will  ye  remember  my  errand  now  ?  said  Meg  Merrilies; 
"  I  ken  by  the  cast  o'  your  ee  that  ye're  anither  man  than  when 
you  cam  in.'* 

"  I  will,  Mrs.  Margaret,"  repeated  Sampson  stoutly  ;  "  I  will 
deliver  unto  him  the  sealed  yepistle,  and  will  add  what  you 
please  to  send  by  word  of  mouth." 

"  Then  I'll  make  it  short,"  says  Meg.  "Tell  him  to  look  at 
the  stars  without  fail  this  night,  and  to  do  what  I  desire  him  in 
that  letter,  as  he  would  wish 

That  Bertram's  right  and  Bertram's  might 
Should  meet  on  EUangowan  height. 

I  have  seen  him  twice  when  he  saw  na  me ;  I  ken  when  he  was 
in  this  country  first,  and  I  ken  what's  brought  him  back  again. 
Up,  an'  to  the  gate !  ye're  ower  lang  here — follow  me." 

Sampson  followed  the  sibyl  accordingly,  who  guided  him 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  through  the  woods,  by  a  shorter  cut 
than  he  could  have  found  for  himself;  they  then  entered  upon 
the  common,  Meg  still  marching  before  him  at  a  great  pace, 
until  she  gained  the  top  of  a  small  hillock  which  overhung  the 
road. 

"  Here,"  she  said,  "stand  still  here.  Look  how  the  setting 
sun  breaks  through  yon  cloud  that's  been  darkening  the  lift  a' 
day.  See  where  the  first  stream  o'  light  fa's — it's  upon  Dona- 
gild's  round  tower — the  auldest  tower  in  the  Castle  o'  EUangowan 
— that's  no  for  naething  ! — See  as  it's  glooming  to  seaward  abune 
yon  sloop  in  the  bay — that's  no  for  naething  neither. — Here  I 
stood  on  this  very  spot,"  said  she,  drawing  herself  up  so  as  not 
to  lose  one  hair-breadth  of  her  uncommon  height,  and  stretching 
out  her  long  sinewy  arm  and  clenched  hand — "  here  I  stood 
when  I  tauld  the  last  Laird  o'  EUangowan  what  was  coming  on 
his  house  ; — and  did  that  fa'  to  the  ground  ?  Na — it  hit  even 
ower  sair  !  And  here,  where  I  brake  the  wand  of  peace  ower 
him — here  I  stand  again — to  bid  God  bless  and  prosper  the  just 
heir  of  EUangowan  that  will  sune  be  brought  to  his  ain  ;  and 
the  best  laird  he  shall  be  that  EUangowan  has  seen  for  three 
hundred  years.  I'll  no  live  to  see  it,  maybe  ;  but  there  will  be 
mony  a  blithe  ee  see  it  though  mine  be  closed.  And  now,  Abel 
Sampson,  as  ever  ye  lo'ed  the  house  of  EUangowan,  away  wi' 
my  message  to  the  P^nglish  Colonel,  as  if  life  and  death  were 
upon  your  haste  !  " 

So  saying,  she  turned  suddenly  from  the  amazed  Dominie, 
and  regained  with  swift  and  long  strides  the  shelter  of  the 
wood  from  which  she  had  issued,  at  the  point  where  it  most 


GUY  MANNERING.  297 

encroached  upon  the  common.  Sampson  gazed  after  her 
for  a  moment  in  utter  astonishment,  and  then  obeyed  her 
directions,  hurrying  to  Woodbourne  at  a  pace  very  unusual 
for  him,  exclaiming  three  times,  "  Prodigious  !  prodigious  ! 
pro-di-gi-ous  !  " 


CHAPTER  FORTY-SEVENTH, 

•  It  is  not  madness 

That  I  have  uttered  ;  bring  me  to  the  test, 
And  I  the  matter  will  re-word  ;  which  madness 
Would  gambol  from. 

Hamlet. 

As  Mr.  Sampson  crossed  the  hall  with  a  bewildered  look,  Mrs. 
Allan,  the  good  housekeeper,  who,  with  the  reverent  attention 
which  is  usually  rendered  to  the  clergy  in  Scotland,  was  on  the 
watch  for  his  return,  sallied  forth  to  meet  him — "  What^s  this  ^ 
o't  now,  Mr.  Sampson  ;  this  is  waur  than  ever  ! — ye'll  really 
do  yourself  some  injury  wi'  these  lang  fasts — naething's  sae 
hurtful  to  the  stamach,  Mr.  Sampson  ; — if  ye  would  but  put 
some  peppermint  draps  in  your  pocket;  or  let  Barnes  cut  ye  a 
sandwich." 

"Avoid  thee  !  "  quoth  the  Dominie,  his  mind  running  still 
upon  his  interview  with  Meg  Merrilies,  and  making  for  the 
dining-parlor. 

"  Na,  ye  needna  gang  in  there — the  cloth's  been  removed  an 
hour  syne,  and  the  Colonel's  at  his  wine  ;  but  just  step  into 
my  room — I  have  a  nice  steak  that  the  cook  will  do  in  a 
moment." 

ExorcisQ  te !  "  said  Sampson, — "that  is,  I  have  dined." 

"  Dined  !  it's  impossible — wha  can  ye  hae  dined  wi',  you 
that  gangs  out  nae  gate  " 

"  With  Beelzebub,  I  believe,"  said  the  minister. 

"  Na,  then  he's  bewitched  for  certain,"  said  the  house- 
keeper, letting  go  her  hold  ;  "  he's  bewitched,  or  he's  daft,  and 
ony  way  the  Colonel  maun  just  guide  him  his  ain  gate.  Wae's 
me  !  Hech,  sirs!  It's  a  sair  thing  to  see  learning  bring  folk  to 
this  !  "  And  with  this  compassionate  ejaculation  she  retreated 
into  her  own  premises. 

The  object  of  her  commiseration  had  by  this  time  entered 
the  dining-parlor,  where  his  appearance  gave  great  surprise. 
He  was  mud  up  to  the  shoulders,  and  the  natural  paleness  of 


298 


GUY  MANNERING. 


his  hue  was  twice  as  cadaverous  as  usual,  through  terror, 
fatigue,  and  perturbation  of  mind.  What  on  earth  is  the 
meaning  of  this,  Mr.  Sampson  ?  "  said  Mannering,  who  ob* 
served  Miss  Bertram  looking  much  alarmed  for  her  simple  but 
attached  friend. 

Exorciso,'' — said  the  Dominie. 

"How,  sir?''  replied  the  astonished  Colonel. 

"  I  crave  pardon,  honorable  sir  !  but  my  wits" — 

"  Are  gone  a  wool-gathering,  I  think.  Pray,  Mr.  Sampson, 
collect  yourself,  and  let  me  know  the  meaning  of  all  this.*' 

Sampson  was  about  to  reply,  but  finding  his  Latin  formula 
of  exorcism  still  came  most  readily  to  his  tongue,  he  prudently 
desisted  from  the  attempt,  and  put  the  scrap  of  paper  which  he 
had  received  from  the  gypsy  into  Mannering's  hand,  who 
broke  the  seal  and  read  it  with  surprise.  "  This  seems  to  be 
some  jest,"  he  said,  "  and  a  very  dull  one.'' 

"  It  came  from  no  jesting  person,"  said  Mr.  Sampson. 

"  From  whom  then  did  it  come  ?  "  demanded  Mannering. 

The  Dominie,  who  often  displayed  some  delicacy  of  recol- 
lection in  cases  where  Miss  Bertram  had  an  interest,  remem- 
bered the  painful  circumstances  connected  with  Meg  Mer- 
rilies,  looked  at  the  young  ladies,  and  remained  silent.  '*We 
will  join  you  at  the  tea-table  in  an  instant,  Julia,"  said  the 
Colonel ;  I  see  that  Mr.  Sampson  wishes  to  speak  to  me 
alone. — And  now  they  are  gone,  what,  in  Heaven's  name,  Mr 
Sampson,  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ? " 

"It  may  be  a  message  from  Heaven,"  said  the  Dominie, 
"  but  it  came  by  Beelzebub's  postmistress.  It  was  that  witch, 
Meg  Merrilies,  who  should  have  been  burned  with  a  tar-barrel 
twenty  years  since,  for  a  harlot,  thief,  witch,  and  gypsy," 

"Are  you  sure  it  was  she?"  said  the  Colonel  with  greal 
interest. 

"  Sure,  honored  sir  ?  Of  a  truth  she  is  one  not  to  be 
forgotten — the  like  o'  Meg  Merrilies  is  not  to  be  seen  in  any 
land." 

The  Colonel  paced  the  room  rapidly,  cogitating  with  himself. 
"  To  send  out  to  apprehend  her — but  it  is  too  distant  to  send 
to  Mac-Morlan,  and  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  is  a  pompous  cox- 
comb ;  besides  the  chance  of  not  finding  her  upon  the  spot,  or 
that  the  humor  of  silence  that  seized  her  before  may  again 
return  ;  no,  I  will  not,  to  save  being  thought  a  fool,  neglect 
the  course  she  points  out.  Many  of  her  class  set  out  by  being 
impostors,  and  end  by  becoming  enthusiasts,  or  hold  a  kind  of 
darkling  conduct  between  both  lines,  unconscious  almost  when 
they  are  cheating  themselves,  or  when  imposing  on  others, 


GITY  MANNERWG, 


Well,  my  course  is  a  plain  one  at  any  rate ;  and  if  my  efforts 
are  fruitless,  it  shall  not  be  owing  to  over-jealousy  of  my  own 
character  for  wisdom." 

With  this  he  rang  the  bell,  and  ordering  Barnes  into  his 
private  sitting-room,  gave  him  some  orders,  with  the  result  of 
which  the  reader  may  be  made  hereafter  acquainted.  We  must 
now  take  up  another  adventure,  which  is  also  to  be  woven  into 
the  story  of  this  remarkable  day. 

Charles  Hazlewood  had  not  ventured  to  make  a  visit  at  Wood- 
bourne  during  the  absence  of  the  Colonel.  Indeed  Mannering's 
wvhole  behavior  had  impressed  upon  him  an  opinion  that  this 
would  be  disagreeable  ;  and  such  was  the  ascendency  which  the 
successful  soldier  and  accomplished  gentleman  had  attained 
over  the  young  man's  conduct,  that  in  no  respect  would  he  have 
ventured  to  offend  him.  He  saw^,  or  thought  he  saw,  in  Colonel 
Mannering's  general  conduct,  an  approbation  of  his  attachment 
to  Miss  Bertram.  But  then  he  saw  still  more  plainly  the 
impropriety  of  any  attempt  at  a  private  correspondence,  of  which 
his  parents  could  not  be  supposed  to  approve,  and  he  respected 
this  barrier  interposed  betwixt  them,  both  on  Mannering's 
account,  and  as  he  was  the  liberal  and  zealous  protector  of  Miss 
Bertram.  "  No,"  said  he  to  himself,  I  v/ill  not  endanger  the 
comfort  of  my  Lucy's  present  retreat,  until  1  can  offer  her  a 
home  of  her  own." 

With  this  valorous  resolution,  which  he  maintained,  although 
his  horse,  from  constant  habit,  turned  his  head  down  the  avenue 
of  Woodbourne,  and  although  he  himself  passed  the  lodge  twice 
every  day,  Charles  Hazlewood  withstood  a  strong  inclination  to 
ride  down,  just  to  ask  how  the  young  ladies  were,  and  whether 
he  could  be  of  any  service  to  them  during  Colonel  Mannering's 
absence.  But  on  the  second  occasion  he  felt  the  temptation  so 
severe,  that  he  resolved  not  to  expose  himself  to  it  a  third 
time  ;  and  contenting  himself  with  sending  hopes  and  inquiries, 
and  so  forth,  to  Woodbourne,  he  resolved  to  make  a  visit  long- 
promised  to  a  family  at  some  distance,  and  to  return  in  such 
time  as  to  be  one  of  the  earliest. among  Mannering's  visitors 
who  should  congratulate  his  safe  arrival  from  his  distant  and 
hazardous  expedition  to  Edinburgh.  Accordingly,  he  made  out 
his  visit,  and  having  arranged  matters  so  as  to  be  informed 
within  a  few  hours  after  Colonel  Mannering  reached  home,  he 
finally  resolved  to  take  leave  of  the  friends  with  whom  he  had 
spent  the  interviewing  time,  with  the  intention  of  dining  at 
Woodbourne,  where  he  was  in  great  measure  domesticated  ;  and 
this  (for  he  thought  much  more  deeply  on  the  subject  than  was 


300 


CUV  MANmktm. 


necessary)  would,  he  flattered  himself,  appear  a  simple,  natural, 
and  easy  mode  of  conducting  himself. 

Fate,  however,  of  which  lovers  make  so  many  complaints, 
was  in  this  case  unfavorable  to  Charles  Hazlewood.  Hishorse^s 
shoes  required  an  alteration,  in  consequence  of  the  fresh 
weather  having  decidedly  commenced.  The  lady  of  the  house 
where  he  was  a  visitor,  chose  to  indulge  in  her  own  room  till  a 
very  late  breakfast  hour.  His  friend  also  insisted  on  showing 
him  a  litter  of  puppies,  which  his  favorite  pointer  bitch  had 
produced  that  morning.  The  colors  had  occasioned  some 
doubts  about  the  paternity, — a  weighty  question  of  legitimacy, 
to  the  decision  of  which  Hazlewood's  opinion  was  called  in  as 
arbiter  between  his  friend  and  his  groom,  and  which  inferred 
in  its  consequences  which  of  the  litter  should  be  drowned,  which 
saved.  Besides,  the  Laird  himself  delayed  our  young  lover's 
departure  for  a  considerable  time,  endeavoring,  with  long  and 
superfluous  rhetoric,  to  insinuate  to  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood, 
through  the  medium  of  his  son,  his  own  particular  ideas  respect- 
ing the  line  of  a  meditated  turnpike  road.  It  is  greatly  to  the 
shame  of  our  young  lover's  apprehension,  that  after  the  tenth 
reiterated  account  of  the  matter,  he  could  not  see  the  advantage 
to  be  obtained  by  the  proposed  road  passing  over  the  Lang-hirst, 
Windy-knowe,  the  Goodhouse-park,  Hailziecroft,  and  then  cross- 
ing the  river  at  Simon's  Pool,  and  so  by  the  road  to  Kippletrin- 
gan — and  the  less  eligible  line  pointed  out  by  the  English 
surveyor,  which  would  go  clear  through  the  main  enclosures  at 
Hazlewood,  and  cut  within  a  mile,  or  nearly  so,  of  the  house 
itself,  destroying  the  privacy  and  pleasure,  as  his  informer  con- 
tended, of  the  grounds. 

In  short,  the  adviser  (whose  actual  interest  was  to  have  the 
bridge  built  as  near  as  possible  to  a  farm  of  his  own)  failed  in 
every  effort  to  attract  young  Hazlewood's  attention,  until  he 
mentioned  by  chance  that  the  proposed  line  was  favored  by 
"  that  fellow  Glossin,"  who  pretended  to  take  a  lead  in  the 
county.  On  a  sudden,  young  Hazlewood  became  attentive  and 
interested  ;  and  having  satisiied  himself  which  was  the  line  that 
Glossin  patronized,  assured  his  friend  it  should  not  be  his  fault 
if  his  father  did  not  countenance  any  other  instead  of  that. 
But  these  various  interruptions  consumed  the  morning.  Hazle- 
wood got  on  horseback  at  least  three  hours  later  than  he  in- 
tended, and  cursing  fine  ladies,  pointers,  puppies,  and  turnpike 
acts  of  parliament,  saw  himself  detained  beyond  the  time  when 
he  could,  with  propriety,  intrude  upon  the  family  at  Wood- 
bourne. 

He  had  passed,  therefore,  the  turn  of  the  road  which  led  to 


GC/y  MANNERING, 


301 


that  mansion,  only  edified  by  the  distant  appearance  of  the  blue 
smoke  curUng  against  the  pale  sky  of  the  winter  evening,  when 
he  thought  he  beheld  the  Dominie  taking  a  footpath  for  the 
house  through  the  woods.  He  called  after  him — but  in  vain  ; 
for  that  honest  gentleman,  never  the  most  susceptible  of  extran- 
eous impressions,  had  just  that  moment  parted  from  Meg 
Merrilies,  and  was  too  deeply  wrapped  up  in  pondering  upon 
her  vaccinations  to  make  any  answer  to  Hazlewood's  call.  He 
was  therefore  obliged  to  let  him  proceed  without  inquiry  after 
the  health  of  the  young  ladies,  or  any  other  fishing  question,  to 
which  he  might,  by  good  chance,  have  had  an  answer  returned 
wherein  Miss  Bertram's  name  might  have  been  mentioned.  All 
cause  for  haste  was  now  over — and  slackening  the  reins  upon 
his  horse's  neck,  he  permitted  the  animal  to  ascend  at  his  own 
leisure  the  steep  sandy  track  between  two  high  banks,  which, 
rising  to  a  considerable  height,  commanded,  at  length,  an  exten- 
sive view  of  the  neighboring  country. 

Hazlewood  was,  however,  so  far  from  eagerly  looking  for- 
ward to  this  prospect,  though  it  had  the  recommendation  that 
great  part  of  the  land  was  his  father's,  and  must  necessarily  be 
his  own,  that  his  head  still  turned  backward  toward  the  chim- 
neys of  Woodbourne,  although  at  every  step  his  horse  made  the 
difficulty  of  employing  his  eyes  in  that  direction  become  greater. 
From  the  reverie  in  which  he  was  sunk,  he  was  suddenly  roused 
by  a  voice  too  harsh  to  be  called  female,  yet  too  shrill  for  a 
man  : — "  What  kept  you  on  the  road  sae  lang  ? — maun  ither 
folk  do  your  wark  ? '' 

He  looked  up  ;  the  spokeswoman  was  very  tall,  had  a  volu- 
minous handkerchief  rolled  round  her  head,  grizzled  hair  flow- 
ing in  elf-locks  from  beneath  it,  a  long  red  cloak,  and  a  staff  in 
her  hand,  headed  with  a  sort  of  spear-point — it  was,  in  short, 
Meg  Merrilies.  Hazlewood  had  never  seen  this  remarkable 
figure  before  ;  he  drew  up  his  reins  in  astonishment  at  her 
appearance,  and  made  a  full  stop.  "  I  think,"  continued  she, 
"  they  that  hae  taen  interest  in  the  house  of  Ellangowan  suld 
sleep  nane  this  night ;  three  men  hae  been  seeking  ye,  and 
you  are  gaun  hame  to  sleep  in  your  bed. — D'ye  think  if  the  lad- 
bairn  fa's  the  sister  will  do  weel  ?    Na,  na  ! " 

**  I  don't  understand  you,  good  woman,"  said  Hazlewood. 
"  If  you  speak  of  Miss  ,  I  mean  of  any  of  the  late  Ellan- 
gowan family,  tell  me  what  I  can  do  for  them." 

"Of  the  late  Ellangowan  family  !  "  she  answered  with  great 
vehemence — **of  the  late  Ellangowan  family  ! — and  when  was 
there  ever,  or  when  will  there  ever  be,  a  family  of  Ellangowan 
but  bearing  the  gallant  name  of  the  bauld  Bertrams  ?  " 


CVY  MANNERINO, 


But  what  do  you  mean,  good  woman  ?  " 

"  I  am  nae  good  woman — a'  the  country  kens  I  am  bad 
eneugh,  and  baith  they  and  I  may  be  sorry  eneugh  that  I  am 
nae  better.  But  I  can  do  what  good  women  canna  and  daurna 
do — I  can  do  what  would  freeze  the  blood  o'  them  that  is  bred 
in  biggit  wa's  for  naething  but  to  bind  bairns'  heads,  and  to 
hap  them  in  the  cradle.  Hear  me  !  The  guard's  drawn  off  at 
the  Custom-house  at  Portanferry,  and  it's  brought  up  to  Hazle- 
wood-House  by  your  father's  orders,  because  he  thinks  his 
house  is  to  be  attacked  this  night  by  the  smugglers  ;  there's 
naebody  means  to  touch  his  house  ;  he  has  gude  blood  and 
gentle  blood — I  say  little  o'  him  for  himsell,  but  there's  nae- 
body thinks  him  worth  meddling  wi'.  Send  the  horsemen  back 
to  their  post  cannily  and  quietly — see  an  they  winna  hae  wark 
the  night — ay  will  they — the  guns  will  flash  and  the  swords 
will  glitter  in  the  braw  moon." 

Good  God  !  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  young  Hazlewood  ; 
"  your  words  and  manner  would  persuade  me  you  are  mad,  and 
yet  there  is  a  strange  combination  in  what  you  say." 

I  am  not  mad  !  "  exclaimed  the  gypsy  ;  "  I  have  been  im- 
prisoned for  mad — scourged  for  mad — banished  for  mad — but 
mad  I  am  not.  Hear  ye,  Charles  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  : 
d'ye  bear  malice  against  him  that  wounded  you  1  " 

No,  dame,  God  forbid  !  My  arm  is  quite  well,  and  I  have 
always  said  the  shot  was  discharged  by  accident.  I  should  be 
glad  to  tell  the  young  man  so  himself." 

**Then  do  what  I  bid  ye,"  answered  Meg  Merrilies,  "and 
ye'll  do  him  mair  gude  than  ever  he  did  you  ill ;  for  if  he  was 
left  to  his  ill-wishers  he  would  be  a  bloody  corpse  ere  morn,  or 
a  banished  man — but  there's  ane  abune  a'. — Do  as  I  bid  you  ; 
send  back  the  soldiers  to  Portanferry.  There's  nae  mair  fear 
o'  Hazlewood-House  than  there's  o'  Cruffelfell.  And  she 
vanished  with  her  usual  celerity  of  pace. 

It  would  seem  that  the  appearance  of  this  female,  and  the 
mixture  of  frenzy  and  enthusiasm  in  her  manner,  seldom  failed 
to  produce  the  strongest  impression  upon  those  whom  she 
addressed.  Her  words,  though  wild,  were  too  plain  and  intelli- 
gible for  actual  madness,  and  yet  too  vehement  and  extrava- 
gant for  sober-minded  communication.  She  seemed  acting 
under  the  influence  of  an  imagination  rather  strongly  excited 
than  deranged ;  and  it  is  wonderful  how  palpably  the  differ- 
ence, in  such  cases,  is  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  auditor. 
This  may  account  for  the  attention  with  which  her  strange  and 
mysterious  hints  were  heard  and  acted  upon.  It  is  certain,  at 
least,  that  young  Hazlewood  was  strongly  impressed  by  her 


GUY  MANNERING. 


sudden  appearance  and  imperative  tone.  He  rode  to  Hazle- 
wood  at  a  brisk  pace.  It  had  been  dark  for  some  time  before 
he  reached  the  house,  and  on  his  arrival  there  he  saw  a  confir- 
mation of  what  the  sibyl  had  hinted. 

Thirty  dragoon  horses  stood  under  a  shed  n^.ar  the  offices 
with  their  bridles  linked  together ; — three  or  four  soldiers 
attended  as  a  guard,  while  others  stamped  up  and  down  with 
their  long  broadswords  and  heavy  boots  in  front  of  the  house. 
Hazlewood  asked  a  non-commissioned  officer  "  from  whence 
they  came  ?  " 

From  Portanferry." 

Had  they  left  any  guard  there  ! ' 

"  No ; — they  had  been  drawn  off  by  order  of  Sir  Robert 
Hazlewood  for  defence  of  his  house,  against  an  attack  which 
was  threatened  by  the  smugglers." 

Charles  Hazlewood  instantly  went  in  quest  of  his  father, 
and  having  paid  his  respects  to  him  upon  his  return,  requested 
to  know  upon  what  account  he  had  thought  it  necessary  to  send 
for  a  military  escort.  Sir  Robert  assured  his  son  in  reply, 
"  that  from  the  information,  intelligence,  and  tidings  which 
had  been  communicated  to  and  laid  before  him,  he  had  the 
deepest  reason  to  believe,  credit,  and  be  convinced,  that  a  riot- 
ous assault  would  that  night  be  attempted  and  perpetrated 
against  Hazlewood-House,  by  a  set  of  smugglers,  gypsies,  and 
other  desperadoes." 

"  And  what,  my  dear  sir,''  said  his  son,  "  should  direct  the 
fury  of  such  persons  against  ours  rather  than  any  other  house 
in  the  country  1  " 

"I  should  rather  think,  suppose,  and  be  of  opinion,  sir,'' 
answered  Sir  Robert,  "  with  deference  to  your  wisdom  and  ex- 
perience, that  on  these  occasions  and  times,  the  vengeance  of 
such  persons  is  directed  or  leveled  against  the  most  important 
and  distinguished  in  point  of  rank,  talent,  birth,  and  situation, 
who  have  checked,  interfered  with,  and  discountenanced  their 
unlawful  and  illegal  and  criminal  actions  or  deeds." 

Young  Hazlewood,  who  knew  his  father's  foible,  answered, 
"  that  the  cause  of  his  surprise  did  not  lie  where  Sir  Robert 
apprehended,  but  that  he  only  wondered  they  should  think  of 
attacking  a  house  where  there  were  so  many  servants,  and 
where  a  signal  to  the  neighboring  tenants  could  call  in  such 
strong  assistance  ;  "  and  added,  that  he  doubted  much  whether 
the  reputation  of  the  family  would  not  in  some  degree  suffer 
from  calling  soldiers  from  their  duty  at  the  Custom  house  to 
protect  them,  as  if  they  were  not  sufficiently  strong  to  defend 
themselves  upon  any  ordinary  occasion."    He  even  hinted, 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  that  in  case  their  house's  enemies  should  observe  that  this 
precaution  had  been  taken  unnecessarily,  there  would  be  no 
end  of  their  sarcasms." 

Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  was  rather  puzzled  ac  this  intima- 
tion, for  like  most  dull  men,  he  heartily  hated  and  feared  ridi- 
cule. He  gathered  himself  up,  and  looked  with  a  sort  of  pom- 
pous embarrassment,  as  if  he  wished  to  be  thought  to  despise 
the  opinion  of  the  public,  which  in  reality  he  dreaded. 

"  I  really  should  have  thought,  "  he  said,  that  the  injury 
which  had  already  been  aimed  at  my  house  in  your  person, 
being  the  next  heir  and  representative  of  the  Hazlewood  family, 
failing  me — I  should  have  thought  and  believed,  I  say,  that 
this  would  have  justified  me  sufficiently  in  the  eyes  of  the  most 
respectable  and  the  greater  part  of  the  people,  for  taking  such 
precautions  as  are  calculated  to  prevent  and  impede  a  repeti- 
tion of  outrage." 

"  Really,  sir,"  said  Charles,  "  I  must  remind  you  of  what  I 
have  often  said  before,  that  I  am  positive  the  discharge  of  the 
piece  was  accidental." 

"  Sir,  it  was  not  accidental,"  said  his  father,  angrily : — 
"  but  you  will  be  wiser  than  your  elders." 

"  Really,  sir,"  replied  Hazlewood,    in  what  so  intimately 

concerns  myself "  

Sir,  it  does  not  concern  you  but  in  a  very  secondary  de- 
gree— that  is,  it  does  not  concern  you,  as  a  giddy  young  fellow, 
who  takes  pleasure  in  contradicting  his  father  ;  but  it  concerns 
the  country,  sir ;  and  the  county,  sir ;  and  the  public,  sir ;  and 
the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  in  so  far  as  the  interest  of  the  Ha- 
zlewood family,  sir,  is  committed,  and  interested,  and  put  in 
peril,  in,  by,  and  through  you,  sir.  And  the  fellow  is  in  safe 
custody,  and  Mr.  Glossin  thinks  "  

"Mr.  Glossin,  sir.?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  the  gentleman  who  has  purchased  Ellangowan — 
you  know  who  I  mean,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  young  man  ;  but  I  should  hardly 
have  expected  to  hear  you  quote  such  authority.  Why,  this 
fellow — all  the  world  knows  him  to  be  sordid,  mean,  tricking ; 
and  I  suspect  him  to  be  worse.  And  you,  yourself,  my  dear 
sir,  when  did  you  call  such  a  person  a  gentleman  in  your  life 
before " 

"  Why,  Charles,  I  did  not  mean  gentleman  in  the  precise 
sense  and  meaning,  and  restricted  and  proper  use,  to  which,  no 
doubt,  the  phrase  ought  legitimately  to  be  confined ;  but  I 
meant  to  use  it  relatively,  as  marking  something  of  that  state 


GUY  MANNERING. 


to  which  he  has  elevated  and  raised  himself — as  designing,  in 
short  a  decent  and  wealthy  and  estimable  sort  of  a  person/' 

"  Allow  me  to  ask,  sir/'  said  Charles,  "  if  it  was  by  this 
man's  orders  that  the  guard  was  drawn  from  Portanferry  ? " 

"  Sir,"  replied  the  Baronet,  I  do  apprehend  that  Mr. 
Glossin  would  not  presume  to  give  orders,  or  even  an  opinion, 
unless  asked,  in  a  matter  in  which  Hazlewood-House,  and  the 
House  of  Hazlewood — meaning  by  the  one  this  mansion-house 
of  my  family,  and  by  the  other,  typically,  metaphorically,  and 
parabolically,  the  family  itself — I  say,  then,  where  the  House 
of  Hazlewood,  or  Hazlewood-House,  was  so  immediately  con- 
cerned." 

1  presume,  however,  sir,"  said  the  son,  "  this  Glossin  ap- 
proved of  the  proposal  ?  " 

"  Sir,"  replied  his  father,  "  I  thought  it  decent  and  right  and 
proper  to  consult  him  as  the  nearest  magistrate,  as  soon  as 
report  of  the  intended  outrage  reached  my  ears ;  and  although 
he  declined,  out  of  deference  and  respect,  as  became  our  relative 
situations,  to  concur  in  the  order,  yet,  he  did  entirely  approve 
of  my  arrangement." 

At  this  moment  a  horse's  feet  were  heard  coming  very  fast 
up  the  avenue.  In  a  few  minutes  the  door  opened,  and  Mr. 
Mac-Morlan  presented  himself — "  I  am  under  great  concern  to 
intrude.  Sir  Robert,  but  "  

"  Give  me  leave,  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,"  said  Sir  Robert,  with  a 
gracious  flourish  of  welcome  ;  "  this  is  no  intrusion,  sir ; — for 
your  situation  as  Sheriff-substitute  calling  upon  you  to  attend 
to  the  peace  of  the  county  (and  you,  doubtless,  feeling  yourself 
particularly  called  upon  to  protect  Hazlewood-House),  you  have 
an  acknowledged,  and  admitted,  and  undeniable  right,  sir,  to 
enter  the  house  of  the  first  gentleman  in  Scotland,  uninvited 
— always  presuming  you  to  be  called  there  by  the  duty  of  your 
office." 

It  is,  indeed,  the  duty  of  my  office,"  said  Mac-Morlan,  who 
waited  with  impatience  an  opportunity  to  speak,  "  that  makes 
me  an  intruder." 

"  No  intrusion  !  "  reiterated  the  Baronet,  gracefully  waving 
his  hand. 

"  But  permit  me  to  say.  Sir  Robert,"  said  the  Sheriff-substi- 
tute, "  I  do  not  come  with  the  purpose  of  remaining  here,  but 
to  recall  these  soldiers  to  Portanferry,  and  to  assure  you  that  I 
will  answer  for  the  safety  of  your  house." 

"  To  withdraw  the  guard  from  Hazlewood-House  !  "  ex- 
claimed the  proprietor  in  mingled  displeasure  and  surprise  ;  and 
you  will  be  answerable  for  it !    And  pray,  who  are  you,  sir,  that 


3o6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


I  should  take  your  security,  and  caution,  and  pledge,  official  oi 
personal,  for  the  safety  of  Hazlewood-House  ? — I  think,  sir, 
and  believe,  sir,  and  am  of  opinion,  sir,  that  if  any  one  of  these 
family  pictures  were  deranged  or  destroyed,  or  injured,  it  would 
be  difficult  for  me  to  make  up  the  loss  upon  the  guarantee 
which  you  so  obligingly  offer  me/' 

"  In  that  case  I  shall  be  sorry  for  it.  Sir  Robert,"  answered 
the  downright  Mac-Morlan  ;  *^but  I  presume  I  may  escape  the 
pain  of  feeling  my  conduct  the  cause  of  such  irreparable  loss, 
as  I  can  assure  you  there  will  be  no  attempt  upon  Hazlewood- 
House  whatever,  and  I  have  received  information  which  induces 
me  to  suspect  that  the  rumor  was  put  afloat  merely  in  order 
to  occasion  the  removal  of  the  soldiers  from  Portanferry.  And 
under  this  strong  belief  and  conviction,  I  must  exert  my  authority 
as  sheriff  and  chief  magistrate  of  police,  to  order  the  whole,  or 
greater  part  of  them,  back  again.  I  regret  much,  that  by  my 
accidental  absence  a  good  deal  of  delay  has  already  taken  place, 
and  we  shall  not  now  reach  Portanferry  until  it  is  late." 

As  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  was  the  superior  magistrate,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  peremptory  in  the  purpose  of  acting  as  such, 
the  Baronet,  though  highly  offended,  could  only  say,  Very  well, 
sir,  it  is  very  well.  Nay,  sir,  take  them  all  with  you — I  am  far 
from  desiring  any  to  be  left  here,  sir.  We,  sir,  can  protect  our- 
selves, sir.  But  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  observe,  sir,  that 
you  are  acting  on  your  own  proper  risk,  sir,  and  peril,  sir,  and 
responsibility,  sir,  if  anything  shall  happen  or  befall  to  Hazle- 
wood-House, sir,  or  the  inhabitants,  sir,  or  to  the  furniture  and 
paintings,  sir." 

I  am  acting  to  the  best  of  my  judgment  and  information, 
Sir  Robert,"  said  Mac-Morlan,  "  and  I  must  pray  of  you  to 
believe  so,  and  to  pardon  me  accordingly.  I  beg  you  to  observe 
it  is  no  time  for  ceremony — it  is  already  very  late." 

But  Sir  Robert,  without  deigning  to  listen  to  his  apologies, 
immediately  employed  himself  with  much  parade  in  arming 
and  arraying  his  domestics.  Charles  Hazlewood  longed  to 
accompany  the  military,  which  were  about  to  depart  for  Port- 
anferry, and  which  were  now  drawn  up  and  mounted  by 
direction,  and  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  as  the 
civil  magistrate.  But  it  would  have  given  just  pain  and  offence 
to  his  father  to  have  left  him  at  a  moment  when  he  conceived 
himself  and  his  mansion-house  in  danger.  Young  Hazlewood 
therefore  gazed  from  a  window  with  suppressed  regret  and 
displeasure,  until  he  heard  the  officer  give  the  word  of 
command.  "  From  the  right  to  the  front,  by  files,  m-a-rch. 
Leading  file,  to  the  right  wheel — Trot." — The  whole  party  o£ 


Ctry  MANMERING, 


soldiers  then  getting  into  a  sharp  and  uniform  pace,  were  soon 
lost  among  the  trees,  and  the  noise  of  the  hoofs  died  speedily 
away  in  the  distance. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-EIGHTH. 

Wi'  coulters  and  wi'  forehammers 

We  garr'd  the  bars  bang  merrily, 
Until  we  came  to  the  inner  prison, 

Where  Willie  o'  Kinmont  he  did  lie. 

Old  Border  Ballad. 

He  returned  to  Portanferry  and  to  Bertram  and  his  honest- 
hearted  friend,  whom  we  left  most  innocent  inhabitants  of  a 
place  built  for  the  guilty.  The  slumbers  of  the  farmer  were  as 
sound  as  it  was  possible. 

But  Bertram's  first  heavy  sleep  passed  away  long  before  mid- 
night, nor  could  he  again  recover  that  state  of  oblivion.  Added 
to  the  uncertain  and  uncomfortable  state  of  his  mind,  his  body 
felt  feverish  and  oppressed.  This  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  close 
and  confined  air  of  the  small  apartment  in  which  they  slept. 
After  enduring  for  some  time,  the  broiling  suffocating  feeling 
attendant  upon  such  an  atmosphere,  he  rose  to  endeavor  to 
open  the  window  of  the  apartment,  and  thus  to  procure  a  change 
of  air.  Alas  !  the  first  trial  reminded  him  that  he  was  in  jail, 
and  that  the  building  being  contrived  for  security,  not  comfort, 
the  means  of  procuring  fresh  air  were  not  left  at  the  disposal 
of  the  wretched  inhabitants. 

Disappointed  in  this  attempt,  he  stood  by  the  unmanageable 
window  for  some  time.  Little  Wasp,  though  oppressed  with 
the  fatigue  of  his  journey  on  the  preceding  day,  crept  out  of 
bed  after  his  master,  and  stood  by  him  rubbing  his  shaggy 
coat  against  his  legs,  and  expressing,  by  a  murmuring  sound, 
the  delight  which  he  felt  at  being  restored  to  him.  Thus  accom- 
panied, and  waiting  until  the  feverish  feeling  which  at  present 
agitated  his  blood  should  subside  into  a  desire  for  warmth  and 
slumber,  Bertram  remained  for  some  time  looking  out  upon  the 
sea. 

The  tide  was  now  nearly  full,  and  dashed  hoarse  and  near, 
below  the  base  of  the  building.  Now  and  then  a  large  wave 
reached  even  the  barrier  or  bulwark  which  defended  the  founda- 
tion of  the  house,  and  was  flung  upon  it  with  greater  force  and 
noise  than  those  which  only  broke  upon  the  sand.    Far  in  the 


3o8 


GUY  MANNERtNO. 


distance,  under  the  indistinct  light  of  a  hazy  and  often  over- 
clouded moon,  the  ocean  rolled  its  multitudinous  complication 
of  waves,  crossing,  bursting,  and  mingling  with  each  other. 

"  A  wild  and  dim  spectacle,"  said  Bertram  to  himself,  "  like 
those  crossing  tides  of  fate  which  have  tossed  me  about  the 
world  from  my  infancy  upward  !  When  will  this  uncertainty 
cease,  and  how  soon  shall  I  be  permitted  to  look  out  for  a  tran- 
quil home,  where  I  may  cultivate  in  quiet,  and  without  dread 
and  perplexity,  those  arts  of  peace  from  which  my  cares  have 
been  hitherto  so  forcibly  diverted  ?  The  ear  of  Fancy,  it  is  said, 
can  discover  the  voice  of  sea-nymphs  and  tritons  amid  the  burst- 
ing murmurs  of  the  ocean  ;  would  that  I  could  do  so,  and  that 
some  siren  or  Proteus  would  arise  from  these  billows,  to  unriddle 
for  me  the  strange  maze  of  fate  in  which  I  am  so  deeply  en- 
tangled ! — Happy  friend  !  he  said,  looking  at  the  bed  where 
Dinmont  had  deposited  his  bulky  person,  "  thy  cares  are  confined 
to  the  narrow  round  of  a  healthy  and  thriving  occupation  ! — thou 
canst  lay  them  aside  at  pleasure,  and  enjoy  the  deep  repose  of 
body  and  mind  which  wholesome  labor  has  prepared  for  thee  ! 

At  this  moment  his  reflections  were  broken  by  little  Wasp, 
who,  attempting  to  spring  up  against  the  window,  began  to  yelp 
and  bark  most  furiously.  The  sounds  reached  Dinmont's  ears, 
but  without  dissipating  the  illusion  which  had  transported  him 
from  his  wretched  apartment  to  the  free  air  of  his  own  green 
hills.  ''Hoy,  Yarrow,  man  ! — far  yaud — far  yaud  !  "  he  mutter- 
ed between  his  teeth,  imagining  doubtless  that  he  was  calling  to 
his  sheep-dog,  and  hounding  him  in  shepherd's  phrase  against 
some  intruders  on  the  grazing.  The  continued  barking  of  the 
terrier  within  was  answered  by  the  angry  challenge  of  the  mastiff 
in  the  court-yard,  which  had  for  a  long  time  been  silent,  ex- 
cepting only  an  occasional  short  and  deep  note,  uttered  when 
the  moon  shone  suddenly  from  among  the  clouds.  Now,  his 
clamor  was  continued  and  furious,  and  seemed  to  be  excited 
by  some  disturbance  distinct  from  the  barking  of  Wasp,  which 
had  first  given  him  the  alarm,  and  which,  with  much  trouble, 
his  master  had  contrived  to  still  into  an  angry  note  of  low 
growling. 

At  last  Bertram,  whose  attention  was  now  fully  awakened, 
conceived  that  he  saw  a  boat  upon  the  sea,  and  heard  in  good 
earnest  the  sound  of  oars  and  of  human  voices  mingling  with 
the  dash  of  the  billows.  Some  benighted  fishermen,"  he 
thought,  "  or  perhaps  some  of  the  desperate  traders  from  the 
Isle  of  Man.  They  are  very  hardy,  however,  to  approach  so 
near  to  the  Custom-house,  where  there  must  be  sentinels.  It 
is  a  large  boat,  like  a  long-boat,  and  full  of  people  ;  perhaps  it 


GUY  MANNERWG. 


belongs  to  the  revenue  service."  Bertram  was  confirmed  in 
this  last  opinion  by  observing  that  the  boat  made  for  a  little  quay 
which  ran  into  the  sea  behind  the  Custom-house,  and,  jumping 
ashore  one  after  another,  the  crew,  to  the  number  of  twenty 
hands,  glided  secretly  up  a  small  lane  which  divided  the  Custom- 
house from  the  Bridewell,  and  disappeared  from  his  sight,  leav- 
ing only  two  persons  to  take  care  of  the  boat. 

The  dash  of  these  men's  oars  at  first,  and  latterly  the  sup- 
pressed sounds  of  their  voices,  had  excited  the  wrath  of  the 
wakeful  sentinel  in  the  court-yard,  who  rK)w  exalted  his  deep 
voice  into  such  a  horrid  and  continuous  din,  that  it  awakened 
his  brute  master,  as  savage  a  ban-dog  as  himself.  His  cry 
from  a  window  of  ^'  How  now,  Tearum,  what's  the  matter,  sir 
— down,  d — n  ye  !  down  !  "  produced  no  abatement  of  Tearum's 
vociferation,  which  in  part  prevented  his  master  from  hearing 
sounds  of  alarm  which  his  ferocious  vigilance  was  in  the  act  of 
challenging.  But  the  mate  of  the  two-legged  Cerberus  was 
gifted  with  sharper  ears  than  her  husband.  She  also  was  now 
at  the  window — "  B — t  ye,  gae  down  and  let  loose  the  dog," 
she  said  ;  "  they're  sporting  the  door  of  the  Custom-house,  and 
the  auld  sap  at  Hazelwood  House  has  ordered  off  the  guard. 
But  ye  hae  nae  mair  heart  than  a  cat."  And  down  the  amazon 
sallied  to  perform  the  task  herself,  while  her  helpmate,  more 
jealous  of  insurrection  within  doors,  than  of  storm  from  with- 
out, went  from  cell  to  cell  to  see  that  the  inhabitants  of  each 
were  carefully  secured. 

These  latter  sounds,  with  which  we  have  made  the  reader 
acquainted,  had  their  origin  in  front  of  the  house,  and  were 
consequently  imperfectly  heard  by  Bertram,  whose  apartment, 
as  we  have  already  noticed,  looked  from  the  back  part  of  the 
building  upon  the  sea.  He  heard,  however,  a  stir  and  tumult 
in  the  house,  which  did  not  seem  to  accord  with  the  stern 
seclusion  of  a  prison  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  and,  connecting 
them  with  the  arrival  of  an  armed  boat  at  that  dead  hour, 
could  not  but  suppose  that  something  extraordinary  was 
about  to  take  place.  In  this  belief  he  shook  Dinmont  by  the 
shoulder — "  Eh  ! — Ay  ! — Oh  ! — Ailie,  woman,  it's  no  time  to 
get  up  yet,"  groaned  the  sleeping  man  of  the  mountains. 
More  roughly  shaken,  however,  he  gathered  himself  up,  shook 
his  ears,  and  asked,  "  In  the  name  of  Providence,  what's  the 
matter  ?  " 

"  That  I  can't  tell  you,"  replied  Bertram  ;  but  either  the 
place  is  on  fire,  or  some  extraordinary  thing  is  about  to  happen. 
Are  you  not  sensible  of  a  smell  of  fire  ?  Do  you  not  hear  what 
a  noise  there  is  of  clashing  doors  within  the  house,  and  of 


316 


hoarse  voices,  murmurs,  and  distant  shcuts  on  the  Outside  J 
Upon  my  word,  I  belie v^e  something  very  extraordinary  has 
taken  place. — Get  up,  for  the  love  of  Heaven,  and  let  us  be  on 
our  guard." 

Dinmont  rose  at  the  idea  of  danger,  as  intrepid  and  un- 
dismayed as  any  of  his  ancestors  when  the  beacon-light  was 
kindled.  Od,  Captain,  this  is  a  queer  place  ! — they  winna 
let  ye  out  in  the  day,  and  they  winna  let  you  sleep  in  the  night. 
Deil,  but  it  wad  break  my  heart  in  a  fortnight.  But,  Lordsake, 
what  a  racket  tbeyVe  making  now ! — Od,  I  wish  we  had 
some  light. — Wasp — Wasp,  whisht,  hinny — whisht,  my  bonnie 
man,  and  let's  hear  what  they're  doing. — Deil's  in  ye,  will  ye 
whisht  1  " 

They  sought  in  vain  among  the  embers  the  means  of  light^ 
ing  their  candle,  and  the  noise  without  still  continued.  Dinmont 
in  his  turn  had  recourse  to  the  window — "  Lordsake,  Captain  ! 
come  here.    Od,  they  hae  broken  the  Custom-house  !  " 

Bertram  hastened  to  the  window,  and  plainly  saw  a  mis- 
cellaneous crowd  of  smugglers,  and  blackguards  of  different 
descriptions,  some  carrying  lighted  torches,  others  bearing 
packages  and  barrels  down  the  lane  to  the  boat  that  was  lying 
at  the  quay,  to  which  two  or  three  other  fisher-boats  were  now 
brought  round.  They  were  loading  each  of  these  in  their  turn, 
and  one  or  two  had  already  put  oif  to  seaward.  "  This  speaks 
for  itself,''  said  Bertram  ;  but  I  fear  something  worse  has  hap- 
pened. Do  you  perceive  a  strong  smell  of  smoke,  or  is  it  my 
fancy  ? " 

"  Fancy  ?  "  answered  Dinmont — "  there's  a  reek  like  a  kil- 
logie.  Od,  if  they  burn  the  Custom-house,  it  will  catch  here^ 
and  we'll  lunt  like  a  tar-barrel  a'  thegither. —  Eh!  it  wad  be 
fearsome  to  be  burnt  alive  for  naething,  like  as  if  ane  had  been 
a  warlock  ! — Mac-Cjuffog,  hear  ye  !  " — roaring  at  the  top  of  his 
voice  ; — "  and  ye  wad  ever  hae  a  haill  bane  in  your  skin,  let's 
out,  man  !  let's  out !  " 

The  fire  began  now  to  rise  high,  and  thick  clouds  of  smoke 
Tolled  past  the  window  at  which  Bertram  and  Dinmont  were 
stationed.  Sometimes,  as  the  wind  pleased,  the  dim  shroud  of 
vapor  hid  everything  from  their  sight :  sometimes,  a  red  glare 
illuminated  both  land  and  sea,  and  shone  full  on  the  stern  and 
fierce  figures,  who,  wild  with  ferocious  activity,  were  engaged 
in  loading  the  boats.  The  fire  was  at  length  triumphant,  and 
spouted  in  jets  of  flame  out  at  each  window  of  the  burning 
building,  while  huge  flakes  of  flaming  materials  came  driving 
on  the  wind  against  the  adjoining  ])rison,  and  rolling  a  dark 
canopy  of  smoke  over  all  the  neighborhood.    'J'he  shouts  of  a 


GUY  MANNERING. 


furious  mob  resounded  far  and  wide  ;  for  the  smugglers,  in 
their  triumph,  were  joined  by  all  the  rabble  of  the  little  town 
and  neighborhood,  now  aroused,  and  in  complete  agitation, 
nothwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  hour  ; — some  from  inter- 
est in  the  free-trade,  and  most  from  the  general  love  of  mis- 
chief and  tumult,  natural  to  a  vulgar  populace. 

Bertram  began  to  be  seriously  anxious  for  their  fate.  There 
was  no  stir  in  the  house  ;  it  seemed  as  if  the  jailer  had  deserted 
his  charge,  and  left  the  prison  with  its  wretched  inhabitants  to 
the  mercy  of  the  conflagration  which  was  spreading  toward 
them.  In  the  meantime  a  new  and  fierce  attack  was  heard 
upon  the  outer  gate  of  the  correction-house,  which,  battered 
with  sledge-hammers  and  crows,  was  soon  forced.  The  keeper, 
as  great  a  coward  as  a  bully,  with  his  more  ferocious  wife,  had 
fled;  their  servants  readily  surrendered  the  keys.  The  liberated 
prisoners,  celebrating  their  deliverance  with  the  wildest  yells  of 
joy,  mingled  among  the  mob  which  had  given  them  freedom. 

In  the  midst  of  tiie  confusion  that  ensued,  three  or  four  of 
the  principal  smugglers  hurried  to  the  apartment  of  Bertram 
with  lighted  torches,  and  armed  with  cutlasses  and  pistols. — 
"  Der  Deyvil,"  said  the  leader,  "  here^s  our  mark  ! and  two  of 
them  seized  on  Bertram  ;  but  one  whispered  in  his  ear,  Make 
no  resistance  till  you  are  in  the  street.'^  The  same  individual 
found  an  instant  to  say  to  Dinmont — Follow  your  friend,  and 
help  when  you  see  the  time  come.'^ 

In  the  hurry  of  the  moment,  Dinmont  obeyed  and  followed 
close.  The  two  smugglers  dragged  Bertram  along  the  passage, 
down  stairs,  through  the  court-yard,  now  illuminated  by  the 
glare  of  fire,  and  into  the  narrow  street  to  which  the  gate 
opened,  where,  in  the  confusion,  the  gang  were  necessarily  in 
some  degree  separated  from  each  other.  A  rapid  noise,  as  of 
a  body  of  horse  advancing,  seemed  to  add  to  the  disturbance. 
"Hagel  and  wetter!  what  is  that? "said  the  leader;  "keep 
together,  kinder — look  to  the  prisoner."  But  in  spite  of  his 
charge,  the  two  who  held  Bertram  were  the  last  of  the  party. 

The  sounds  and  signs  of  violence  were  heard  in  front.  The 
press  became  furiously  agitated,  while  some  endeavored  to  de- 
fend themselves,  others  to  escape ;  shots  were  fired,  and  the 
glittering  broadswords  of  the  dragoons  began  to  appear  flash- 
ing above  the  heads  of  the  rioters.  "  Now,"  said  the  warning 
whisper  of  the  man  who  held  Bertram's  left  arm,  the  same 
who  had  spoken  before,  "  shake  off  that  fellow,  and  follow  me." 

Bertram,  exerting  his  strength  suddenly  and  effectually, 
easily  burst  from  the  grasp  of  the  man  who  held  his  collar  on 
the  right  side.    The  fellow  attempted  to  draw  a  pistol,  but  was 


$12 


GUY  MANNERING. 


prostrated  by  a  blow  of  Dinmont's  fist,  which  an  ox  could  hardlj 
have  received  without  the  same  humiliation.  "  Follow  me 
quick,"  said  the  friendly  partisan,  and  dived  through  a  very 
narrow  and  dirty  lane  which  led  from  the  main  street. 

No  pursuit  took  place.  The  attention  of  the  smugglers  had 
been  otherwise  and  very  disagreeably  engaged  by  the  sudden 
appearance  of  Mac-Morlan  and  the  party  of  horse.  The  loud 
manly  voice  of  the  provincial  magistrate  was  heard  proclaiming 
the  riot  act,  and  charging  "  all  those  unlawfully  assembled  to 
disperse  at  their  own  proper  peril.''  This  interruption  would 
indeed  have  happened  in  time  sufficient  to  have  prevented  the 
attempt,  had  not  the  magistrate  received  upon  the  road  some 
false  information,  which  led  him  to  think  that  the  smugglers 
were  to  land  at  the  Bay  of  Ellangowan.  Nearly  two  hours  were 
lost  in  consequence  of  this  false  intelligence,  which  it  may  be  no 
lack  of  charity  to  suppose  that  Glossin,  so  deeply  interested  in 
the  issue  of  that  night's  daring  attempt,  had  contrived  to  throw 
in  Mac-Morlan's  way,  availing  himself  of  the  knowledge  that  the 
soldiers  had  left  Hazlewood-House,  which  would  soon  reach  an 
ear  so  anxious  as  his. 

In  the  mean  time,  Bertram  followed  his  guide,  and  was  in  his 
turn  followed  by  Dinmont.  The  shouts  of  the  mob,  the  tram- 
pling of  the  horses,  the  dropping  pistol-shots,  sunk  more  and  more 
faintly  upon  their  ears;  when  at  the  end  of  the  dark  lane  they 
found  a  post-chaise  with  four  horses.  "Are  you  here,  in  God's 
name?"  said  the  guide  to  the  postilion  who  drove  the  leaders. 

"  Ay,  troth  am  I,"  answered  Jock  Jabos,  "  and  I  wish  I  were 
ony  gate  else." 

"  Open  the  carriage,  then — You  gentlemen  get  into  it ; — in  a 
short  time  you'll  be  in  a  place  of  safety — and  "  (to  Bertram) 
"  remember  your  promise  to  the  gypsy  wife  !  " 

Bertram,  resolving  to  be  passive  in  the  hands  of  a  person  who 
had  just  rendered  him  such  a  distinguished  piece  of  service,  got 
into  the  chaise  as  directed.  Dinmont  followed;  Wasp,  who  had 
kept  close  by  them,  sprung  in  at  the  same  time,  and  the  carriage 
drove  off  very  fast.  Have  a  care  o'  me,"  said  Dinmont,  "  but 
this  is  the  queerest  thing  yet ! — Od,  I  trust  they'll  no  coup  us — - 
and  then  what's  to  come  o'  Dumplc  !  I  would  rather  be  on  his 
back  than  in  the  Deuke's  coach,  God  bless  him." 

Bertram  observed,  that  they  could  not  go  at  that  rapid  rate  to 
any  very  great  distance  without  changing  horses,  and  that  they 
might  insist  upon  remaining  till  day-light  at  the  first  inn  they 
stopped  at,  or  at  least  upon  being  made  acquainted  with  the  pur- 
pose and  termination  of  their  journey,  and  Mr.  Dinmont  might 
there  give  directions  about  his  faithful  horse,  which  would  prob 


LIBRARV 
.  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
L'RBANA 


GUY  MANNERING. 


ably  be  safe  at  the  stables  where  he  had  left  him. — "  Aweel, 
aweel,  e'en  sae  be  it  for  Dandie — Od,  if  we  were  ance  out  o'this 
trindling  kisto'  a  thing,  I  am  thinking  they  wad  find  it  hard  wark 
to  gar  us  gang  ony  gate  but  where  we  liked  oursells." 

While  he  thus  spoke,  the  carriage  making  a  sudden  turn, 
showed  them,  through  the  left  window,  the  village  at  some  dis* 
tance,  still  widely  beaconed  by  the  fire,  which,  having  reached  a 
storehouse  wherein  spirits  were  deposited,  now  rose  high  into  the 
air,  a  wavering  column  of  brilliant  light.  They  had  not  long  time 
to  admire  this  spectacle,  for  another  turn  of  the  road  carried  them 
into  a  close  lane  between  plantations,  through  which  the  chaise 
proceeded  in  nearly  total  darkness,  but  with  unabated  speed. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-NINTH. 

The  night  drave  on  wi'  sangs  and  clatter. 
And  aye  the  ale  was  growing  better. 

Tam  o'  Shanter. 

We  must  now  return  to  Woodbourne,  which,  it  may  be  remem- 
bered, we  left  just  after  the  Colonel  had  given  some  directions 
to  his  confidential  servant.  When  he  returned,  his  absence  of 
mind,  and  an  unusual  expression  of  thought  and  anxiety  upon 
his  features,  struck  the  ladies  whom  he  joined  in  the  drawing- 
room.  Mannering  was  not,  however,  a  man  to  be  questioned, 
even  by  those  whom  he  most  loved,  upon  the  cause  of  the  mental 
agitation  which  these  signs  expressed.  The  hour  of  tea  arrived, 
and  the  party  were  partaking  of  that  refreshment  in  silence, 
when  a  carriage  drove  up  to  the  door,  and  the  bell  announced 
the  arrival  of  a  visitor.  Surely,"  said  Mannering,  it  is  too 
soon  by  some  hours." — 

There  was  a  short  pause,  when  Barnes,  opening  the  door  of 
the  saloon,  announced  Mr.  Pleydell.  In  marched  the  lawyer, 
whose  well-brushed  black  coat,  and  well-powdered  wig,  together 
with  his  point  ruffies,  brown  silk  stockings,  highly  varnished 
shoes,  and  gold  buckles,  exhibited  the  pains  which  the  old  gentle- 
man had  taken  to  prepare  his  person  for  the  ladies'  society.  He 
was  welcomed  Mannering  with  a  hearty  shake  by  the  hand — 
"The  very  man  I  wished  to  see  at  this  moment !  " 

Yes,"  said  the  counselor,  "  I  told  you  I  would  take  the  first 
opportunity;  so  I  have  ventured  to  leave  the  Court  for  a  week 
in  session  time — no  common  sacrifice — but  I  had  a  notion  I  could 


314 


GUY  MAl^NERING. 


be  useful,  and  I  was  to  attend  a  proof  here  about  the  same  time 
But  will  you  not  introduce  me  to  the  young  ladies  ? — Ah  !  there 
is  one  I  should  have  known  at  once,  from  her  family  likeness ! 
Miss  Lucy  Bertram,  my  love,  I  am  most  happy  to  see  you." — ■ 
And  he  folded  her  in  his  arms,  and  gave  her  a  hearty  kiss  on 
each  side  of  the  face,  to  which  Lucy  submitted  in  blushing 
resignation. 

On  n^arrete pas  dans  un  si  beau  chemm,^^  continued  the  gay 
old  gentleman,  and  as  the  Colonel  presented  him  to  Julia,  took 
the  same  liberty  with  that  fair  lady's  cheek.  Julia  laughed, 
colored,  and  disengaged  herself.  "  I  beg  a  thousand  pardons,'* 
said  the  lawyer,  with  a  bow  which  was  not  at  all  professionally 
awkward ; — "  age  and  old  fashions  give  privileges,  and  I  can 
hardly  say  whether  I  am  most  sorry  just  now  at  being  too  well 
entitled  to  claim  them  at  all,  or  happy  in  having  such  an  oppor- 
tunity to  exercise  them  so  agreeably." 

Upon  my  word,  sir,"  said  Miss  Mannering,  laughing,  "if 
you  make  such  flattering  apologies,  we  shall  begin  to  doubt 
whether  we  can  admit  you  to  shelter  yourself  under  your  alleged 
qualifications. 

I  can  assure  you,  Julia,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  you  are  per- 
fectly right ;  my  friend  the  counselor  is  a  dangerous  person  ;  the 
last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him,  he  was  closeted  with 
a  fair  lady,  who  had  granted  him  a  tete-a-tete  at  eight  in  the 
morning." 

Ay,  but  Colonel,"  said  the  counselor,  "  you  should  add,  I 
was  more  indebted  to  my  chocolate  than  my  charms  for  so  dis- 
tinguished a  favor,  from  a  person  of  such  propriety  of  de- 
meanor as  Mrs.  Rebecca." 

"  And  that  should  remind  me,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  said  Julia,  "to 
offer  you  tea — that  is,  supposing  you  have  dined." 

"Anything,  Miss  Mannering,  from  your  hands,"  answered 
the  gallant  jurisconsult ;  "  yes,  I  have  dined — that  is  to  say,  as 
people  dine  at  a  Scotch  inn." 

"  And  that  is  indifferently  enough,"  said  the  Colonel,  with  his 
hand  upon  the  bell-handle ; — "  give  me  leave  to  order  some- 
thing." 

"  Why,  to  say  truth,"  replied  Mr.  Pleydell,  "  I  had  rather 
not ;  I  have  been  inquiring  into  that  matter,  for  you  must  know 
I  stopped  an  instant  below  to  pull  off  my  boot  hose,  *a  world 
too  wide  for  my  shrunk  shanks,'  "  glancing  down  with  some 
complacency  upon  limbs  which  looked  very  well  for  his  time  of 
life,  **and  I  had  some  conversation  with  your  Barnes,  and  a 
very  intelligent  person  whom  I  presume  to  be  the  housekeeper; 
?ind  it  was  settled  among  us — tota  re  perspeda — I  beg^  Miss 


GC/y  MANNERING, 


Mannering's  pardon  for  my  Latin— that  the  lady  should  add  to 
your  light  family-supper  the  more  substantial  refreshment  of  a 
brace  of  wild-ducks.  I  told  her  (always  under  deep  submission) 
my  poor  thoughts  about  the  sauce,  which  concurred  exactly  with 
her  own  ;  and,  if  you  please,  I  would  rather  wait  till  they  are 
ready  before  eating  anything  solid/' 

"  And  we  will  anticipate  our  usual  hour  of  supper,"  said  the 
Colonel. 

**With  all  my  heart,"  said  Pleydell,  "providing  I  do  not 
lose  the  ladies'  company  a  moment  the  sooner.  I  am  of  counsel 
with  my  old  friend  Burnet,^  I  love  the  cxna^  the  supper  of  the 
ancients,  the  pleasant  meal  and  social  glass  that  wash  out  of 
one's  mind  the  cobwebs  that  business  or  gloom  have  been  spin- 
ning in  our  brains  all  day." 

The  vivacity  of  Mr.  Pleydell's  look  and  manner,  and  the 
quietness  with  which  he  made  himself  at  home  on  the  subject 
of  his  little  epicurean  comforts,  amused  the  ladies,  but  particu- 
larly Miss  Mannering,  who  immediately  gave  the  counselor  a 
great  deal  of  flattering  attention  ;  and  more  pretty  things  were 
said  on  both  sides  during  the  service  of  the  tea-table  than  we 
have  leisure  to  repeat. 

As  soon  as  this  was  over,  Mannering  led  the  counselor  by 
the  arm  into  a  small  study  which  opened  from  the  saloon,  and 
where,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  family,  there  were  always 
lights  and  a  good  fire  in  the  evening. 

"  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell,  you  have  got  something  to  tell 
me  about  the  Ellangowan  business — Is  it  terrestrial  or  celestial  ? 
What  says  my  military  Albumazar  ?  Have  you  calculated  the 
course  of  futurity  ?  have  you  consulted  your  Ephemerides,  your 
Almochoden,  your  Almuten  ?  " 

"  No,  truly,  counselor,"  replied  Mannering — "  you  are  the 
only  Ptolemy  I  intend  to  resort  to  upon  the  present  occasion. 
A  second  Prospero,  I  have  broken  my  staff,  and  drowned  my 
book  far  beyond  plummet  depth.  But  I  have  great  news  not- 
withstanding. Meg  Merrilies,  our  Egyptian  sibyl,  has  ap- 
peared to  the  Dominie  this  very  day,  and,  as  I  conjecture,  has 
frightened  the  honest  man  not  a  little." 

"  Indeed?" 

"  Ay,  and  she  has  done  me  the  honor  to  open  a  correspond- 
ence with  me,  supposing  me  to  be  as  deep  in  astrological  mys- 
teries as  when  we  first  met.  Here  is  her  scroll,  delivered  to 
me  by  the  Dominie." 

Pleydell  put  on  his  spectacles. — "  A  vile  greasy  scrawl,  in- 


*  Note  L.    Lord  Monboddo. 


3i6 


GUY  MANNERING. 


deed — ana  the  letters  are  uncial  or  semi-uncial,  as  somebody 
calls  your  large  text  hand,  and  in  size  and  perpendicularity 
resemble  the  ribs  of  a  roasted  pig — I  can  hardly  make  it  out." 
"  Read  aloud,"  said  Mannering. 

"  I  will  try,"  answered  the  lawyer.  "  *  You  are  a  good 
seeker^  but  a  bad  finder  ;  you  set  yourself  to  prop  a  falling  house^ 
but  had  a  gey  guess  it  would  rise  agai?t.  Lend  your  hand  to  the 
wark  thafs  near^  as  you  lent  your  ee  to  the  weird  that  was  far. 
Have  a  carriage  this  night  by  ten  o^lock^  at  the  end  of  the 
Crooked  Dykes  at  Portanferry^  and  let  it  bring  the  folk  to  Wood- 
bourjie  that  shall  ask  them,  if  they  be  there  in  god's  name.' 
Stay,  here  follows  some  poetry — 

*  Dark  shall  be  lights 
And  wrong  done  to  right y 
Whe7i  Be7^train'*s  right  and  Bertram's  might 
Shall  meet  07t  Ellangowan^s  height.^ 

A  most  mystic  epistle  truly,  and  closes  in  a  vein  of  poetry 
worthy  of  the  Cumaean  sibyl. — And  what  have  you  done  ? " 

"Why,"  said  Mannering,  rather  reluctantly,  "  I  was  loth  to 
risk  any  opportunity  of  throwing  light  on  this  business.  The 
woman  is  perhaps  crazed,  and  these  effusions  may  arise  only 
from  visions  of  her  imagination  ; — but  you  were  of  opinion  that 
she  knew  more  of  that  strange  story  than  she  ever  told." 

"  And  so,"  said  Pleydell,  "  you  sent  a  carriage  to  the  place 
named  t " 

You  will  laugh  at  me  if  I  own  I  did,"  replied  the  Colonel. 

"  Who,  I  ?  "  replied  the  advocate — "  No,  truly ;  I  think  it 
was  the  wisest  thing  you  could  do." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mannering,  well  pleased  to  have  escaped 
the  ridicule  he  apprehended ;  "  you  know  the  worst  is  paying 
the  chaise-hire ; — I  sent  a  post-chaise  and  four  from  Kipple- 
tringan,  with  instructions  corresponding  to  the  letter.  The 
horses  will  have  a  long  and  cold  station  on  the  out-posts  to- 
night if  our  intelligence  be  false." 

"  Ay,  but  I  think  it  will  prove  otherwise,"  said  the  lawyer. 
"  This  woman  has  played  a  part  till  she  believes  it ;  or,  if  she 
be  a  thorough-paced  impostor,  without  a  single  grain  of  self- 
delusion  to  qualify  her  knavery,  still  she  may  think  herself 
bound  to  act  in  character.  This  I  know,  that  I  could  get  noth- 
ing out  of  her  by  the  common  modes  of  interrogation,  and  the 
wisest  thing  we  can  do  is  to  give  her  an  opportunity  of  making 
the  discovery  her  own  way.  And  now  have  you  more  to  say, 
or  shall  we  go  to  the  ladies  ?  " 

Why,  my  mind  is  uncommonly  agitated,"  answered  the 


GUV  MANNERING. 


3^7 


Colonel,  *^  and — but  I  have  really  no  more  to  say — only  I  shall 
count  the  minutes  till  the  carriage  returns  ;  but  you  cannot  be 
expected  to  be  so  anxious." 

Why,  no — use  is  all  in  all,"  said  the  more  experienced 
lawyer.  "  I  am  much  interested,  certainly,  but  I  think  I  shall 
be  able  to  survive  the  interval,  if  the  ladies  will  afford  us  some 
music." 

"  And  with  the  assistance  of  the  wild-ducks  by  and  by  ?  " 
suggested  Mannering. 

"  True,  Colonel  ;  a  lawyer's  anxiety  about  the  fate  of  the 
most  interesting  cause  has  seldom  spoiled  either  his  sleep  or 
digestion.^  And  yet  I  shall  be  very  eager  to  hear  the  rattle  of 
these  wheels  on  their  return,  notwithstanding.*' 

So  saying,  he  rose  and  led  the  way  into  the  next  room,  where 
Miss  Mannering,  at  his  request,  took  her  seat  at  the  harpsi- 
chord. Lucy  Bertram,  who  sung  her  native  melodies  very 
sweetly,  was  accompanied  by  her  friend  upon  the  instrument, 
and  Julia  afterward  performed  some  of  Scarlatti^s  sonatas  with 
great  brilliancy.  The  old  lawyer,  scraping  a  little  upon  the 
violoncello,  and  being  a  member  of  the  gentlemen's  concert  in 
Edinburgh,  was  so  greatly  delighted  with  this  mode  of  spend- 
ing the  evening,  that  I  doubt  if  he  once  thought  of  the  wild- 
ducks  until  Barnes  informed  the  company  that  supper  was 
ready. 

"  Tell  Mrs.  Allen  to  have  something  in  readiness,"  said  the 
Colonel — "  I  expect — that  is,  I  hope — perhaps  some  company 
may  be  here  to-night  ;  and  let  the  men  sit  up,  and  do- not  lock 
the  upper  gate  on  the  lawn  until  I  desire  you." 

Lord,  sir,"  said  Julia,  "  whom  can  you  possibly  expect  to- 
night ?  " 

"  Why,  some  persons,  strangers  to  me,  talked  of  calling  in 
the  evening  on  business,"  answered  her  father,  not  without  em- 
barrassment, for  he  would  little  have  brooked  a  disappoint- 
ment which  might  have  thrown  ridicule  on  his  judgment ;  "  it 
is  quite  uncertain." 

"  Well,  we  shall  not  pardon  them  for  disturbing  our  party,*' 
said  Julia,  "  unless  they  bring  as  much  good  humor,  and  as 
susceptible  hearts,  as  my  friend  and  admirer — for  so  he  has 
dubbed  himself— Mr.  Pleydell." 

"  Ah,  Miss  Julia,"  said  Pleydell,  offering  his  arm  with  an  air 
of  gallantry  to  conduct  her  into  the  eating-room,  "  the  time 
has  been — when  I  returned  from  Utrecht  in  the  year  1738  " — 

"  Pray,  don't  talk  of  it,"  answered  the  young  lady — we  like 


*  Note  M.    Lawyers'  Sleepless  Nights. 


3 18  GUY  MANNERTNG. 

you  much  better  as  you  are.  Utrecht,  in  Heaven^s  name  !— 
I  dare  say  you  have  spent  all  the  intervening  years  in  getting 
rid  so  completely  of  the  effects  of  your  Dutch  education." 

"  O  forgive  me,  Miss  Mannering,"  said  the  lawyer  :  the 
Dutch  are  a  much  more  accomplished  people  in  point  of  gal- 
lantry than  their  volatile  neighbors  are  willing  to  admit.  They 
are  constant  as  clock-work  in  their  attentions.'' 

"  I  should  tire  of  that,"  said  Julia. 

"  Imperturbable  in  their  good  temper,"  continued  Pleydell. 

"  Worse  and  worse,"  said  the  young  lady. 

"  And  then,"  said  the  old  beau-garf07i,  "  although  for  six 
times  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  your  swain  has  placed 
the  capuchin  round  your  neck,  and  the  stove  under  your  feet, 
and  driven  your  little  sledge  upon  the  ice  in  winter,  and  your 
cariole  through  the  dust  in  summer,  you  may  dismiss  him  at 
once,  without  reason  or  apology,  upon  the  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  ninetieth  day,  which,  according  to  my  hasty  cal- 
culation, and  without  reckoning  leap-years,  will  complete  the 
cycle  of  the  supposed  adoration,  and  that  without  your  amiable 
feelings  having  the  slightest  occasion  to  be  alarmed  for  the 
consequences  to  those  of  Mynheer. 

"  Well,"  replied  Julia,  "  that  last  is  truly  a  Dutch  recom- 
mendation, Mr.  Pleydell — crystal  and  hearts  would  lose  all  their 
merit  in  the  world,  if  it  were  not  for  their  fragility." 

"  Why,  upon  that  point  of  the  argument.  Miss  Mannering,  it 
is  as  difficult  to  find  a  heart  that  will  break,  as  a  glass  that  will 
not  ;  and  for  that  reason  I  would  press  the  value  of  mine  own- 
were  it  not  that  I  see  Mr.  Sampson's  eyes  have  been  closed,  and 
his  hands  clasped  for  some  time,  attending  the  end  of  our  con- 
ference to  begin  the  grace — And,  to  say  the  truth,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  wild-ducks  is  very  appetizing."  So  saying,  the 
worthy  counselor  sat  himself  to  table,  and  laid  aside  his  gallantry 
for  awhile,  to  do  honor  to  the  good  things  placed  before  him. 
Nothing  further  is  recorded  of  him  for  some  time,  excepting  an 
observation  that  the  ducks  were  roasted  to  a  single  turn,  and 
that  Mrs.  Allan's  sauce,  of  claret,  lemon,  and  cayenne,  was 
beyond  praise. 

"  I  see,"  said  Miss  Mannering,  "  I  have  a  formidable  rival 
in  Mr.  Pleydell's  favor,  even  on  the  very  first  night  of  his  avowed 
admiration." 

"  Pardon  me,  my  fair  lady,"  answered  the  counselor, — "  your 
avowed  rigor  alone  has  induced  me  to  commit  the  solecism  of 
eating  a  good  supper  in  your  presence  ;  how  shall  I  support 
your  frowns  without  reinforcing  my  strength  ?    Upon  the  same 


GC/V  MANNERING, 


3^9 


principle,  and  no  other,  I  will  ask  permission  to  diink  wine 
with  you.'' 

"  This  is  the  fashion  of  Utrecht  also,  I  suppose,  Mr. 
Pleydell  ? " 

"  Forgive  me,  madam,"  answered  the  counselor  ;  "  the 
French  themselves,  the  patterns  of  all  that  is  gallant,  term  their 
tavernkeepers  restaurateurs^  alluding,  doubtless,  to  the  relief 
they  afford  to  the  disconsolate  lover,  when  bowed  down  to  the 
earth  by  the  mistress's  severity.  My  own  case  requires  so  much 
relief,  that  I  must  trouble  you  for  that  other  wing,  Mr.  Sampson, 
without  prejudice  to  my  afterward  applying  to  Miss  Bertram  for 
a  tart  ; — be  pleased  to  tear  the  wing,  sir,  instead  of  cutting  it 
off — Mr.  Barnes  will  assist  you,  Mr.  Sampson, — thank  you,  sir, 
— and,  Mr.  Barnes,  a  glass  of  ale,  if  you  please." 

While  the  old  gentleman,  pleased  with  Miss  Mannering's 
liveliness  and  attention,  rattled  away  for  her  amusement  and 
his  own,  the  impatience  of  Colonel  Mannering  began  to  exceed 
all  bounds.  He  declined  sitting  down  at  table,  under  pretence 
that  he  never  ate  supper  ;  and  traversed  the  parlor,  in  which 
they  were,  with  hasty  and  impatient  steps,  now  throwing  up 
the  window  to  gaze  upon  the  dark  lawn,  now  listening  for  the 
remote  sound  of  the  carriage  advancing  up  the  avenue.  At 
length,  in  a  feeling  of  uncontrolable  impatience,  he  left  the 
room,  took  his  hat  and  cloak,  and  pursued  his  walk  up  the 
avenue,  as  if  his  so  doing  would  hasten  the  approach  of  those 
whom  he  desired  to  see. 

"  I  really  wish,"  said  Miss  Bertram,  "  Colonel  Mannering 
would  not  venture  out  after  night-fall.  You  must  have  heard, 
Mr.  Pleydell,  what  a  cruel  fright  we  had  }  " 

Oh,  with  the  smugglers  ?  "  replied  the  advocate.  *•  They 
are  old  friends  of  mine  ; — I  was  the  means  of  bringing  some  of 
them  to  justice  a  long  time  since,  when  sheriff  of  this  county." 

"  And  then  the  alarm  we  had  immediately  afterward,'* 
added  Miss  Bertram,  from  the  vengeance  of  one  of  these 
wretches." 

"  When  young  Hazlewood  was  hurt — I  heard  of  that 
too." 

"  Imagine,  my  dear  Mr.  Pleydell,"  continued  Lucy,  "  how 
much  Miss  Mannering  and  I  were  alarmed,  when  a  ruffian, 
equally  dreadful  for  his  great  strength,  and  the  sternness  of  his 
features,  rushed  out  upon  us  !  " 

You  must  know,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  said  Julia,  unable  to  sup- 
press her  resentment  at  this  undesigned  aspersion  of  her 
admirer,  "  that  young  Hazlewood  is  so  handsome  in  the  eyes 


320 


GUY  MANNERING. 


of  the  young  ladies  of  this  country,  that  they  think  every  person 
shocking  who  comes  near  him." 

Oho ! "  thought  Pleydell,  who  was  by  profession  an  ob- 
server of  tones  and  gestures,  "  there's  something  wrong  here 

between  my  young  friends.  Well,  Miss  Mannering,  I  have 

not  seen  young  Hazlewood  since  he  was  a  boy,  so  the  ladies 
may  be  perfectly  right  ;  but  I  can  assure  you,  in  spite  of  your 
scorn,  that  if  you  want  to  see  handsome  men  you  must  go  to 
Holland  ;  the  prettiest  fellow  I  ever  saw  was  a  Dutchman,  in 
spite  of  his  being  called  Vanbost,  or  Vanbuster,  or  some  such 
barbarous  name.  He  will  not  be  quite  so  handsome  now,  to 
be  sure.'' 

It  was  now  Julia's  turn  to  look  a  little  out  o^  countenance 
at  the  chance  hit  of  her  learned  admirer,  but  that  instant  the 
Colonel  entered  the  room.  "  I  can  hear  nothing  of  them  yet," 
he  said ;  "  still,  however,  we  will  not  separate. — Where  is 
Dominie  Sampson  ?  " 

"  Here,  honored  sir." 

"  What  is  that  book  you  hold  in  your  hand,  Mr.  Sampson  ? " 

"  It's  even  the  learned  De  Lyra,  sir — I  would  crave  his 
honor  Mr.  Pleydell's  judgment,  always  with  his  best  leisure,  to 
expound  a  disputed  passage." 

I  am  not  in  the  vein,"  Mr.  Sampson,"  answered  Pleydell ; 
"here's  metal  more  attractive — I  do  not  despair  to  engage 
these  two  young  ladies  in  a  glee  or  a  catch,  wherein  I,  even  I 
myself,  will  adventure  myself  for  the  bass  part.  Hang  De  Lyra, 
man  ;  keep  him  for  a  fitter  season." 

The  disappointed  Dominie  shut  his  ponderous  tome,  much 
marveling  in  his  mind  how  a  person  possessed  of  the  lawyer's 
erudition,  could  give  his  mind  to  these  frivolous  toys.  But  the 
counselor,  indifferent  to  the  high  character  for  learning  which 
he  was  trifling  away,  filled  himself  a  large  glass  of  Burgundy, 
and  after  preluding  a  little  with  a  voice  somewhat  the  worse 
for  the  wear,  gave  the  ladies  a  courageous  invitation  to  join  in 
"We  be  three  poor  Mariners,"  and  accomplished  his  own  part 
therein  with  great  ^clat. 

"  Are  you  not  withering  your  roses  with  sitting  up  so  late, 
my  young  ladies  ?  "  said  the  Colonel. 

**Not  a  bit,  sir,"  answered  Julia;  "your  friend,  Mr.  Pley- 
dell, threatens  to  become  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Sampson's  to-morrow,  so 
we  must  make  the  most  of  our  conquest  to-night." 

This  led  to  another  musical  trial  of  skill,  and  that  to  lively 
conversation.  At  length,  when  the  solitary  sound  of  one 
o'clock  had  long  since  resounded  on  the  ebon  ear  of  night,  and 
the  next  signal  of  the  advance  of  time  was  close  approaching, 


GUY  MANNERING,  3 2 1 

Mannering,  whose  impatience  had  long  subsided  into  disapo 
pointment  and  despair,  looked  at  his  watch,  and  said,  "We 
must  now  give  them  up  " — when  at  that  instant — But  what  then 
befell  will  require  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER  FIFTIETH. 

Justice.    This  does  indeed  confirm  each  circumstance 

The  gypsy  told  

No  orphan,  nor  without  a  friend  art  thou  

/am  thy  father,  he7'e's  thy  mother,  there 

Thy  uncle  This  thy  first  cousin,  and  there 

Are  all  thy  near  relations  ! 

The  Critic 

As  Mannering  replace^  his  watch,  he  heard  a  distant  and 
hollow  sound — It  is  a  carriage  for  certain — no,  it  is  but  the 
sound  of  the  wind  among  the  leafless  trees.  Do  come  to  the 
window,  Mr.  Pleydell."  The  counselor,  who,  with  his  large 
silk  handkerchief  in  his  hand,  was  expatiating  away  to  Julia 
upon  some  subject  which  he  thought  was  interesting,  obeyed 
the  summons — first,  however,  wrapping  the  handkerchief  round 
his  neck  by  way  of  precaution  against  the  cold  air.  The  sound 
of  wheels  became  now  very  perceptible,  and  Pleydell,  as  if  he 
had  reserved  all  his  curiosity  till  that  moment,  ran  out  to  the 
hall.  The  Colonel  rang  for  Barnes  to  desire  that  the  persons 
who  came  in  the  carriage  might  be  shown  into  a  separate  room, 
being  altogether  uncertain  whom  it  might  contain.  It  stopped, 
however,  at  the  door  before  his  purpose  could  be  fully  explained. 
A  moment  after  Mr.  Pleydell  called  out,  Here's  our  Liddesdale 
friend,  I  protest,  with  a  strapping  young  fellow  of  the  same 
calibre."  His  voice  arrested  Dinmont,  who  recognized  him 
with  equal  surprise  and  pleasure.  Od,  if  it^s  your  honor, 
we'll  a'  be  as  right  and  tight  as  thack  and  rape  can  make  us."^ 

But  while  the  farmer  stopped  to  make  his  bow,  Bertram, 
dizzied  with  the  sudden  glare  of  light,  and  bewildered  with  the 
circumstances  of  his  situation,  almost  unconsciously  entered  the 
open  door  of  the  parlor,  and  confronted  the  Colonel,  who  was 
just  advancing  toward  it.  The  strong  light  of  the  apartment 
left  no  doubt  of  his  identity,  and  he  himself  was  as  much  con- 
founded with  the  appearance  of  those  to  whom  he  so  unex- 

*  When  a  farmer's  crop  is  got  safely  into  the  barn-yard,  it  is  said  to  be 
made  fast  with  thack  and  rape — Anglic€y  straw  and  rope. 


322 


GUY  MANNERING. 


pectedly  presented  himself,  as  they  were  by  the  sight  of  so 
utterly  unlooked-for  an  object.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
each  individual  present  had  their  own  peculiar  reasons  for 
looking  with  terror  upon  what  seemed  at  first  sight  a  spectral 
apparition.  Mannering  saw  before  him  the  man  whom  he 
supposed  he  had  killed  in  India ;  Julia  beheld  her  lover  in  a 
most  peculiar  and  hazardous  situation  ;  and  Lucy  Bertram  at 
once  knew  the  person  who  had  fired  upon  young  Hazlewood. 
Bertram,  who  interpreted  the  fixed  and  motionless  astonishment 
of  the  Colonel  into  displeasure  at  his  intrusion,  hastened  to 
say  that  it  was  involuntary,  since  he  had  been  hurried  hither 
without  even  knowing  whither  he  was  to  be  transported. 
Mr.  Brown,  I  believe  ?"  said  Colonel  Mannering. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  young  man  modestly,  but  with  firm- 
ness, "  the  same  you  knew  in  India  ;  and  who  ventures  to  hope 
that  what  you  did  then  know  of  him  is  not  such  as  should  pre- 
vent his  requesting  you  would  favor  him  with  your  attestation 
to  his  character,  as  a  gentleman  and  man  of  honor.'' 

"  Mr.  Brown — I  have  been  seldom — never — so  much  sur- 
prised— certainly,  sir,  in  whatever  passed  between  us,  you  have 
a  right  to  command  my  favorable  testimony.'' 

At  this  critical  moment  entered  the  counselor  and  Dinmont. 
The  former  beheld,  to  his  astonishment,  the  Colonel  but  just 
recovering  from  his  first  surprise,  Lucy  Bertram  ready  to  faint 
with  terror,  and  Miss  Mannering  in  an  agony  of  doubt  and  ap- 
prehension, which  she  in  vain  endeavored  to  disguise  or  sup- 
press. "What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  said  he;  "has 
this  young  fellow  brought  the  Gorgon's  head  in  his  hand  ? — let 
me  look  at  him. — By  Heaven  !  "  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  the 
very  image  of  old  Ellangowan  ! — Yes,  the  same  manly  form  and 
handsome  features,  but  with  a  world  of  more  intelligence  in  the 
face — Yes  ! — the  witch  has  kept  her  word."  Then  instantly 
passing  to  Lucy,  "  Look  at  that  man.  Miss  Bertram,  my  dear; 
have  you  never  seen  any  one  like  him  ?  " 

Lucy  had  only  ventured  one  glance  at  this  object  of  terror, 
by  which,  however,  from  his  remarkable  height  and  appearance, 
she  at  once  recognized  the  supposed  assassin  of  young  Hazle- 
wood — a  conviction  which  excluded,  of  course,  the  more  favor- 
able association  of  ideas  which  might  have  occurred  on  a  closer 
view. — Don't  ask  me  about  him,  sir,"  said  she,  turning  away 
her  eyes ;  "  send  him  away,  for  heaven's  sake  !  we  shall  all  be 
murdered  !  " 

"  Murdered  !  where's  the  poker  ?  "  said  the  advocate  in  some 
alarm.  "  But  nonsense  ! — we  are  three  men  besides  the  serv- 
ants, and  there  is  honest  Liddesdale,  worth  half-a-dozen  to  boot 


GUY  MANNERING. 


— we  have  the  major  vis  upon  our  side.  However  here,  my 
friend  Dandie — Davie — what  do  they  call  you  ? — keep  between 
that  fellow  and  us  for  the  protection  of  the  ladies." 

Lord  !  Mr.  Pleydell,"  said  the  astonished  farmer,  that's 
Captain  Brown  ;  do  ye  no  ken  the  Captain  ? 

"  Nay,  if  he's  a  friend  of  yours,  we  may  be  safe  enough," 
answered  Pleydell ;  "but  keep  near  him." 

All  this  passed  with  such  rapidity,  that  it  was  over  before 
the  Dominie  had  recovered  himself  from  a  fit  of  absence,  shut 
the  book  which  he  had  been  studying  in  a  corner,  and  advancing 
to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  strangers,  exclaimed  at  once,  upon  be- 
holding Bertram,  "  If  the  grave  can  give  up  the  dead,  that  is 
my  dear  and  honored  master  !  " 

«  We're  right  after  all,  by  Heaven  !  I  was  sure  I  was  right,' 
said  the  lawyer ; — "  he  is  the  very  image  of  his  father. — Come, 
Colonel,  what  do  you  think  of,  that  you  do  not  bid  your  guest 
welcome  ?  I  think — I  believe — I  trust  we're  right — never  saw 
such  a  likeness — But  patience — Dominie,  say  not  a  word. — Sit 
down,  young  gentleman." 

**  I  beg  pardon,  sir  ; — if  I  am,  as  I  understand,  in  Colonel 
Mannering's  house,  I  should  wish  first  to  know  if  my  accidental 
appearance  here  gives  offence,  or  if  I  am  v/elcome  ?  " 

Mannering  instantly  made  an  effort.  Welcome  ? — most 
certainly,  especially  if  you  can  point  out  how  I  can  serve  you. 
I  believe  I  may  have  some  wrongs  to  repair  toward  you — I 
have  often  suspected  so  ;  but  your  sudden  and  unexpected 
appearance,  connected  with  painful  recollections,  prevented  my 
saying  at  first,  as  I  now  say,  that  whatever  has  procured  me  the 
honor  of  this  visit,  it  is  an  acceptable  one." 

Bertram  bowed  with  an  air  of  distant,  yet  civil  acknowledg- 
ment, to  the  grave  courtesy  of  Mannering. 

"Julia,  my  love,  you  had  better  retire. — Mr.  Brown,  you  will 
excuse  my  daughter ;  there  are  circumstances  which  I  perceive 
rush  upon  her  recollection." 

Miss  Mannering  rose  and  retired  accordingly ;  yet,  as  she 
passed  Bertram,  could  not  suppress  the  words,  "  Infatuated  !  a 
second  time  !  "  but  so  pronounced  as  to  be  heard  by  him  alone. 
Miss  Bertram  accompanied  her  friend,  much  surprised,  but 
without  venturing  a  second  glance  at  the  object  of  her  terror. 
Some  mistake  she  saw  there  v/as,  and  was  unwilling,  to  increase 
it  by  denouncing  the  stranger  as  an  assassin.  He  was  known, 
she  saw,  to  the  Colonel,  and  received  as  a  gentleman  : — certainly 
he  either  was  not  the  person  she  suspected,  or  Hazlewood  was 
right  in  supposing  the  shot  accidental. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  company  would  have  formed  no 


324 


GUY  MANNERING. 


bad  group  for  a  skilful  painter.  Each  was  too  much  embarrassed 
with  his  own  sensations  to  observe  those  of  the  others.  Bertram 
most  unexpectedly  found  himself  in  the  house  of  one  whom  he 
was  alternately  disposed  to  dislike  as  his  personal  enemy,  and  to 
respect  as  the  father  of  Julia ;  Mannering  was  struggling  between 
his  high  sense  of  courtesy  and  hospitality,  his  joy  at  finding 
himself  relieved  from  the  guilt  of  having  shed  life  in  a  private 
quarrel,  and  the  former  feelings  of  dislike  and  prejudice,  which 
revived  in  his  haughty  mind  at  the  sight  of  the  object  against 
whom  he  had  entertained  them ;  Sampson,  supporting  his 
shaking  limbs  by  leaning  on  the  back  of  a  chair,  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  Bertram,  with  a  staring  expression  of  nervous  anxiety, 
which  convulsed  his  whole  visage  ;  Dinmont,  enveloped  in  his 
loose  shaggy-great-coat,  and  resembling  a  huge  bear  erect  upon 
his  hinder  legs,  stared  on  the  whole  scene  with  great  round  eyes 
that  witnessed  his  amazement. 

The  counselor  alone  was  in  his  element  :  shrewd,  prompt, 
and  active,  he  already  calculated  the  prospect  of  brilliant  success 
in  a  strange,  eventful,  and  mysterious  lawsuit, — and  no  young 
monarch,  flushed  with  hopes,  and  at  the  head  of  a  gallant  army, 
could  experience  more  glee  when  taking  the  field  on  his  first 
campaign.  He  bustled  about  with  great  energy,  and  took  the 
arrangement  of  the  whole  explanation  upon  himself. 

"  Come,  come,  gentlemen,  sit  down  ;  this  is  all  in  my  pro- 
vince— you  must  let  me  arrange  it  for  you.  Sit  down,  my  dear 
Colonel,  and  let  me  manage  ;  sit  down,  Mr.  Brown,  aid  quo- 
cunque  alio  nomine  vocaris — Dominie,  take  your  seat — draw  in 
your  chair,  honest  Liddesdale." 

"  I  dinna  ken,  Mr.  Pieydell,"  said  Dinmont,  looking  at  his 
dreadnought-coat,  then  at  the  handsome  furniture  of  the  room, 
"  I  had  maybe  better  gang  some  gate  else,  and  leave  ye  till  your 
cracks — I'm  no  just  that  weel  put  on.'* 

The  Colonel,  who  by  this  time  recognized  Dandie,  immedi- 
ately went  up  and  bid  him  heartily  welcome  ;  assuring  him,  that 
from  what  he  had  seen  of  him  in  Edinburgh,  he  was  sure  his 
rough  coat  and  thick-soled  boots  would  honor  a  royal  drawing- 
room. 

Na,  na.  Colonel,  we're  just  plain  up-the-country  folk  ;  but 
nae  doubt  I  would  fain  hear  ony  pleasure  that  was  gaun  to 
happen  the  Captain,  and  I'm  sure  a'  will  gae  right  if  Mr.  Pley- 
dell  will  take  his  bit  job  in  hand." 

"  You're  right,  Dandie — spoke  like  a  Hieland  ^  oracle — and 
•  It  may  not  be  unnecessary  to  tell  southern  readers,  that  the  mountain- 
ous country  in  the  south-western  borders  of  Scotland  is  called  Ilieland, 
though  totally  different  from  the  much  more  mountainous  and  more  t,v 
tensive  districts  of  the  north,  usually  called  Ilielands. 


GC/V  MANNERING, 


now  be  silent.  Well,  you  are  all  seated  at  last  ;  take  a  glass 
of  wine  till  I  begin  my  catechism  methodically.  And  now," 
turning  to  Bertram,  "  my  dear  boy,  do  you  know  who  or  what 
you  are  " 

In  spite  of  his  perplexity,  the  catechumen  could  not  help 
laughing  at  the  commencement,  and  answered,  Indeed,  sir,  I 
formerly  thought  I  did  ;  but  I  own  late  circumstances  have 
made  me  somewhat  uncertain." 

"  Then  tell  us  what  you  formerly  thought  yourself." 

"  Why,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  thinking  and  calling  myself 
Vanbeest  Brown,  who  served  as  a  cadet  or  volunteer  under  Col- 
onel Mannering,  when  he  commanded  the  regiment,  in 

which  capacity  I  was  not  unknown  to  him." 

**  There,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  I  can  assure  Mr.  Brown  of  his 
identity  ;  and  add,  what  his  modesty  may  have  forgotten,  that 
he  was  distinguished  as  a  young  man  of  talent  and  spirit." 

"  So  much  the  better,  my  dear  sir,'*  said  Mr.  Pleydell ;  "  but 
that  is  to  general  character — Mr.  Brown  must  tell  us  where  he 
was  born." 

"  In  Scotland,  I  believe,  but  the  place  uncertain." 
"  Where  educated  t  " 
"  In  Holland,  certainly." 

"  Do  vou  remember  nothing  of  your  early  life  before  you  left 
Scotland'? " 

"Very  imperfectly  ; — yet  I  have  a  strong  idea,  perhaps  more 
deeply  impressed  upon  me  by  subsequent  hard  usage,  that  I 
w^as  during  my  childhood  the  object  of  much  solicitude  and  af- 
fection. I  have  an  indistinct  remembrance  of  a  good-looking 
man  whom  I  used  to  call  papa,  and  of  a  lady  who  was  infirm  in 
health,  and  who  I  think,  must  have  been  my  mother  ;  but  it 
is  an  imperfect  and  confused  recollection.  I  remember,  too,  a 
tall,  thin,  kind-tempered  man  in  black,  who  used  to  teach  me 
my  letters  and  walk  out  with  me  ; — and  I  think  the  very  last 
time  "  

Here  the  Dominie  could  contain  no  longer.  While  every 
succeeding  word  served  to  prove  that  the  child  of  his  benefac- 
tor stood  before  him,  he  had  struggled  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
to  suppress  his  emotions  ;  but,  when  the  juvenile  recollections 
of  Bertram  turned  toward  his  tutor  and  his  precepts,  he  was 
compelled  to  give  way  to  his  feelings.  He  rose  hastily  from 
his  chair,  and  with  clasped  hands,  trembling  limbs,  and  stream- 
ing eyes  called  out  aloud,  "  Harry  Bertram  ! — look  at  me — was 
I  not  the  man  ?  " 

"  Yes !  "  said  Bertram,  starting  from  his  seat  as  if  a  sudden 


326 


GUY  MANNERING, 


tight  had  burst  in  upon  his  mind, — "Yes — that  was  my  name! 
— and  that  is  the  voice  and  the  figure  of  my  kind  old  master ! 

The  Dominie  threw  himself  into  his  arms,  pressed  him  a 
thousand  times  to  his  bosom  in  convulsions  of  transport  which 
shook  his  whole  frame,  sobbed  hysterically,  and  at  length,  in 
the  emphatic  language  of  Scripture,  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept 
aloud.  Colonel  Mannering  had  recourse  to  his  hankerchief 
Pleydell  made  wry  faces  and  wiped  the  glasses  of  his  spectacles ; 
and  honest  Dinmont,  after  two  loud  blubbering  explosions,  ex- 
claimed, "  Deil's  in  the  man  !  he^sgarr'd  me  to  do  that  I  haena 
done  since  my  auld  mither  died." 

Come,  come,"  said  the  counselor  at  last,  "  silence  in  the 
court. — We  have  a  clever  party  to  contend  with ;  we  must  lose 
no  time  in  gathering  our  information — for  anything  I  know, 
there  may  be  something  to  be  done  before  day-break." 

"  I  will  order  a  horse  to  be  saddled  if  you  please,"  said  the 
Colonel. 

"  No,  no,  time  enough — time  enough.  But  come.  Dominie  ; 
— I  have  allowed  you  a  competent  space  to  express  your  feel- 
ings— I  must  circumduce  the  term  ;  you  must  let  me  proceed  in 
my  examination." 

The  Dominie  was  habitually  obedient  to  any  one  who  chose 
to  impose  commands  upon  him ;  he  sunk  back  into  his  chair, 
spread  his  checked  handkerchief  over  his  face,  to  serve,  as  I 
suppose,  for  the  Grecian  painter's  veil,  and  from  the  action  of 
his  folded  hands,  appeared  for  a  time  engaged  in  the  act  of 
mental  thanksgiving.  He  then  raised  his  eyes  over  the  screen, 
as  if  to  be  assured  that  the  pleasing  apparition  had  not  melted 
into  air — then  again  sunk  them  to  resume  an  internal  act  of 
devotion,  until  he  felt  himself  compelled  to  give  attention  to  the 
counselor,  from  the  interest  which  his  questions  excited. 

"And  now,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell,  after  several  minute  in- 
quiries concerning  his  recollection  of  early  events — "  and  now, 
Mr.  Bertram,  for  I  think  we  ought  in  future  to  call  you  by  your 
own  proper  name,  will  you  have  the  goodness  to  let  us  know 
every  particular  which  you  can  recollect  concerning  the  mode 
of  your  leaving  Scotland  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  sir,  to  say  the  truth,  though  the  terrible  outlines  of 
that  day  are  strongly  impressed  upon  my  memory,  yet  some- 
how the  very  terror  which  fixed  them  there  has  in  a  great 
measure  confounded  and  confused  the  details.  I  recollect, 
however,  that  I  was  walking  somewhere  or  other — in  a  wood,  I 
think  "  , 

"O,  yes,  it  was  in  Warroch-wood,  my  dear,"  said  the 
Dominie, 


GUY  MANIVERING. 


"  Hush,  Mr.  Sampson,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  Yes,  it  was  in  a  wood,"  continued  Bertram,  as  long  past 
and  confused  ideas  arranged  themselves  in  his  reviving  recollec- 
tion ;  "  and  some  one  was  with  me — this  worthy  and  affection- 
ate gentleman,  I  think." 

"  O,  ay,  ay,  Harry,  Lord  bless  thee — it  was  even  I  myself." 

*'  Be  silent.  Dominie,  and  don't  interrupt  the  evidence,"  said 
Pleydell. — And  so,  sir  1  "  to  Bertram. 

"  And  so,  sir,"  continued  Bertram,  "  like  one  of  the  changes 
*of  a  dream,  I  thought  I  was  on  horseback  before  my  guide." 

"No,  no,"  exclaimed  Sampson,  "never  did  I  put  my  own 
limbs,  not  to  say  thine,  into  such  peril." 

"  On  my  word,  this  is  intolerable  ! — Look  ye,  Dominie,  if  you 
speak  another  word  till  I  give  you  leave,  I  will  read  three 
sentences  out  of  the  Black  Acts,  whisk  my  cane  round  my  head 
three  times,  undo  all  the  magic  of  this  night's  work,  and  conjure 
Harry  Bertram  back  again  into  Vanbeest  Brown." 

"  Honored  and  worthy  sir,"  groaned  out  the  Dominie  ;  "  I 
humbly  crave  pardon,  it  was  but  verbmn  nolens.''^ 

"Well  nolens  volens^  you  must  hold  your  tongue,"  said 
Pleydell. 

"  Pray,  be  silent,  Mr.  Sampson,"  said  the  Colonel ;  "  it  is  of 
great  consequence  to  your  recovered  friend,  that  you  permit  Mr. 
Pleydell  to  proceed  in  his  inquiries." 

"  I  am  mute,"  said  the  rebuked  Dominie. 

"On  a  sudden,"  continued  Bertram,  "two  or  three  men 
sprung  out  upon  us,  and  we  were  pulled  from  horseback.  I  have 
little  recollection  of  anything  else,  but  that  I  tried  to  escape  in 
the  midst  of  a  desperate  scuffle,  and  fell  into  the  arms  of  a  very 
tall  woman  who  started  from  the  bushes,  and  protected  me  for 
some  time  ;  the  rest  is  all  confusion  and  dread — a  dim  recollec- 
tion of  a  sea-beach  and  a  cave,  and  of  some  strong  potion  which 
lulled  me  to  sleep  for  a  length  of  time.  In  short,  it  is  all  a 
blank  in  my  memory,  until  I  recollect  myself  first  an  ill-used 
and  half-starved  cabin-boy  aboard  a  sloop,  and  then  a  school- 
boy in  Holland,  under  the  protection  of  an  old  merchant,  who 
had  taken  some  fancy  for  me." 

"  And  what  account,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell,  "  did  your  guardian 
give  of  your  parentage  ?  " 

"  A  very  brief  one,"  answered  Bertram,  "  and  a  charge  to 
inquire  no  further.  I  was  given  to  understand,  that  my  father 
was  concerned  in  the  smuggling  trade  carried  on  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  Scotland,  and  was  killed  in  a  skirmish  with  the  revenue 
officers  ;  that  his  correspondents  in  Holland  had  a  vessel  on  the 
coast  at  the  time,  part  of  the  crew  of  which  were  engaged  in  the 


GUY  MANNERING. 


affair,  and  that  they  brought  me  off  after  it  was  over,  from  a 
motive  of  compassion,  ias  I  was  left  destitute  by  my  father's 
death.  As  I  grew  older,  there  was  much  of  this  story  seemed 
inconsistent  with  my  own  recollections.  But  what  could  I  do  ? 
I  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  my  doubts,  nor  a  single  friend 
with  whom  I  could  communicate  or  canvass  them.  The  rest 
of  my  story  is  known  to  Colonel  Mannering  :  I  went  out  to 
India  to  be  a  clerk  in  a  Dutch  house  ;  their  affairs  fell  into 
confusion  ;  I  betook  myself  to  the  military  profession,  and,  I 
trust,  as  yet  I  have  not  disgraced  it." 

"Thou  art  a  fine  young  fellow,  I'll  be  bound  for  thee,"  said 
Pleydell ;  "  and  since  you  have  wanted  a  father  so  long,  I  wish 
from  my  heart  I  could  claim  the  paternity  myself.  But  this 
affair  of  young  Hazlewood  ''  

"  Was  merely  accidental,"  said  Bertram.  "  I  was  traveling 
in  Scotland  for  pleasure,  and  after  a  week's  residence  with  my 
friend  Mr.  Dinmont,  with  whom  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  form 
an  accidental  acquaintance  "  

"  It  was  my  gude  fortune  that,"  said  Dinmont.  "  Od,  my 
brains  wad  hae  been  knockit  out  by  twa  blackguards,  if  ithadna 
been  for  his  four  quarters." 

"Shortly  after  we  parted  at  the  town  of  ,  I  lost  my 

baggage  by  thieves,  and  it  was  while  residing  at  Kippletringan 
that  J  accidentally  met  the  young  gentleman.  As  I  was 
approaching  to  pay  my  respects  to  Miss  Mannering,  whom  I 
had  known  in  India,  Mr.  Hazlewood,  conceiving  my  appearance 
none  of  the  most  respectable,  commanded  me  rather  haughtily 
to  stand  back,  and  so  gave  occasion  to  the  fray  in  which  I  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  the  accidental  means  of  wounding  him — 
And  now,  sir,  that  I  have  answered  all  your  questions  "  

"  No,  no,  not  quite  all,"  said  Pleydell,  winking  sagaciously  ; 
"  there  are  some  interrogatories  which  I  shall  delay  till  to- 
morrow, for  it  is  time,  I  believe,  to  close  the  sederunt  for  this 
night,  or  rather  morning." 

"Well,  then,  sir,"  said  the  young  man,  "  to  vary  the  phrase, 
since  I  have  answered  all  the  questions  which  you  have  chosen 
to  ask  to-night,  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  who  you  are 
that  take  such  interest  in  my  affairs,  and  whom  you  take  me  to 
be,  since  my  arrival  has  occasioned  such  commotion  t " 

"  Why,  sir,  for  myself,"  replied  the  counselor,  "  I  am  Paulus 
Pleydell,  an  advocate  at  the  Scottish  bar ;  and  for  you,  it  is 
not  easy  to  say  distinctly  who  you  are  at  present  ;  but  I  trust 
in  a  short  time  to  hail  you  by  the  title  of  Henry  Bertram,  Esq., 
lepresentative  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  Scotland,  and  heir 
of  tailzie  and  provision  to  the  estate  of  Ellangowan.  "  Ay,"  con- 


GUY  MANNBRmO. 


tinued  he,  shutting  his  eyes  and  speaking  to  himself,  "  we  muse 
pass  over  his  father,  and  serve  him  heir  to  his  grandfather 
Lewis,  the  entailer,  the  only  wise  man  of  his  family  that  I  ever 
heard  of.'' 

They  had  now  risen  to  retire  to  their  apartments  for  the 
night,  when  Colonel  Mannering  walked  up  to  Bertram,  as  he 
stood  astonished  at  the  counselor's  words.  "  I  give  you  joy," 
he  said,  "  of  the  prospects  which  fate  has  opened  before  you. 
I  was  an  early  friend  of  your  father,  and  chanced  to  be  in  the 
house  of  Ellangowan  as  unexpectedly  as  you  are  now  in  mine, 
upon  the  very  night  on  which  you  were  born.  I  little  knew 
this  circumstance  when — but  I  trust  unkindness  will  be  forgot- 
ten between  us.  Believe  me,  your  appearance  here,  as  Mr. 
Brown  alive  and  well,  has  relieved  me  from  most  painful  sen- 
sations ;  and  your  right  to  the  name  of  an  old  friend  renders 
your  presence,  as  Mr.  Bertram,  doubly  welcome.'* 

"  And  my  parents  !  "  said  Bertram. 

"  Are  both  no  more — and  the  family  property  has  been  sold, 
but  I  trust  may  be  recovered.  Whatever  is  wanted  to  make 
your  right  effectual,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  supply." 

"  Nay,  you  may  leave  all  that  to  me,"  said  the  counselor ; 
— "  'tis  my  vocation,  Hal,  I  shall  make  money  of  it." 

"  I'm  sure  it's  no  for  the  like  o'  me,"  observed  Dinmont, 
"  to  speak  to  you  gentlefolks ;  but  if  siller  would  help  on  the 
Captain's  plea,  and  they  say  nae  plea  gangs  on  weel  without 
it "  

"  Except  on  Saturday  night,"  said  Pleydell. 

"Ay,  but  when  your  honor  wadna  take  your  fee,  ye 
wadna  hae  the  cause  neither ;  sae  I'll  ne'er  fash  you  on  a  Sat- 
urday at  e'en  again — But  I  was  saying  there's  some  siller  in 
the  spleuchan  that's  like  the  Captain's  ain,  for  we've  aye 
counted  it  such,  baith  Ailie  and  me." 

"  No,  no,  Liddlesdale — no  occasion,  no  occasion  whatever 
— keep  thy  cash  to  stock  thy  farm. 

"  To  stock  my  farm  ?    Mr.  Pleydell,  your  honor  kens  mony 
things,  but  ye  dinna  ken  the  farm  o'  Charlies-hope — it's  sae 
weel  stockit  already,  that  we  sell  maybe  sax  hundred  pounds  off 
it  ilka  year,  flesh  and  fell  thegither — na,  na." 
Can't  you  take  another,  then  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  ken — the  Deuke's  no  that  fond  o'  led  farms,  and 
he  canna  bide  to  put  away  the  auld  tenantry  ;  and  then  I  wadna 
like  mysell  to  gang  about  whistling  t  and  raising  the  rent  on 
my  neighbors." 

*  A  spleuchan  is  a  tobacco-pouch,  occasionally  used  as  a  purse. 

t  Whistling,  among  the  tenantry  of  a  large  estate,  is  when  an  individual 


at;V  MANNERTNG. 


What,  not  upon  thy  neighbor  at  Dawston — DevilstOne— • 
how  d'ye  call  the  place  ?  " 

"What,  on  Jock  o'  Dawston? — hout  na — he's  a  camsteary* 
chield,  and  fasheous  t  about  marches,  and  we've  had  some  bits 
splores  thegither;  but  deil  o'  me  if  I  would  wrang  Jock  o' 
Dawston  neither.'' 

"Thou'rt  an  honest  fellow,"  said  the  lawyer;  "get  thee  to 
bed  ;  thou  wilt  sleep  sounder,  I  warrant  thee,  than  many  a  man 
that  throws  off  an  embroidered  coat,  and  puts  on  a  laced  night- 
cap. Colonel,  I  see  you  are  busy  with  our  Enfant  trouvd. 
But  Barnes  must  give  me  a  summons  of  awakening  at  seven 
to-morrow  morning,  for  my  servant's  a  sleepy-headed  fellow, 
and  I  dare  say  my  clerk  Driver,  has  had  Clarence's  fate,  and  is 
drowned  by  this  time  in  a  butt  of  your  ale  ;  for  Mrs.  Allen 
promised  to  make  him  comfortable,  and  she'll  soon  discover 
what  he  expects  from  that  engagement.  Good-night,  Colonel — 
good-night,  Dominie  Sampson — good-night,  Dinmont  the  down- 
right— good-night,  last  of  all,  to  the  new-found  representative 
of  the  Bertrams,  and  the  Mac-Dingawaies,  the  Knarths,  the 
Arths,  the  Godfreys,  the  Denises,  and  the  Rolands,  and,  last, 
and  dearest  title,  heir  of  tailzie,  and  provision  of  the  lands  and 
barony  of  Ellangowan,  under  the  settlement  of  Lewis  Bertram, 
Esq.,  whose  representative  you  are." 

And  so  saying,  the  old  gentleman  took  his  candle  and  left 
the  room ;  and  the  company  dispersed,  after  the  Dominie  had 
once  more  hugged  and  embraced  his  "  little  Harry  Bertram,'' 
as  he  continued  to  call  the  young  soldier  of  six  feet  high. 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-FIRST. 

 My  imagination 

Carries  no  favor  in  it  but  Bertram's  ; 
I  am  undone  ;  there  is  no  living,  none, 
If  Bertram  be  away. 

All's  Well  that  Ends  Well. 

At  the  hour  which  he  had  appointed  the  preceding  evening, 
the  indefatigable  lawyer  was  seated  by  a  good  fire  and  a  pair  of 
wax  candles,  with  a  velvet  cap  on  his  head  and  a  quilted  silk 

gives  such  information  to  the  proprietor,  or  his  managers,  as  to  occasion 
the  rent  of  his  neighbor's  farms  being  raised,  which  for  obvious  reasons  it 
held  a  very  unpopular  practice. 

*  Obstinate  and  unruly.  +  Troublesome. 


GUY  MANN'ERING. 


night-gown  on  his  person,  busy  arranging  his  memoranda  oi 
proofs  and  indications  concerning  the  murder  of  Frank  Kennedy. 
An  express  had  also  been  despatched  to  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  re- 
questing his  attendance  at  Woodbourne  as  soon  as  possible,  on 
business  of  importance.  Dinmont,  fatigued  with  the  events  of 
the  evening  before,  and  finding  the  accommodations  of  Wood- 
bourne  much  preferable  to  those  of  Mac-Guffog,  was  in  no 
hurry  to  rise.  The  impatience  of  Bertram  might  have  put  him 
earlier  in  motion,  but  Colonel  Mannering  had  intimated  an  in- 
tention to  visit  him  in  his  apartment  in  the  morning,  and  he  did 
not  choose  to  leave  it.  Before  this  interview  he  had  dressed 
himself,  Barnes  having,  by  his  master's  orders,  supplied  him 
with  every  accommodation  of  linen,  etc.,  and  he  now  anxiously 
waited  the  promised  visit  of  his  landlord. 

In  a  short  time  a  gentle  tap  announced  the  Colonel,  with 
whom  Bertram  held  a  long  and  satisfactory  conversation.  Each, 
however,  concealed  from  the  other  one  circumstance.  Mannering 
could  not  bring  himself  to  acknowledge  the  astrological  predic- 
tion ;  and  Bertram  was,  from  motives  which  may  be  easily  con- 
ceived, silent  respecting  his  love  for  Julia.  In  other  respects, 
their  intercourse  was  frank,  and  grateful  to  both,  and  had 
latterly,  upon  the  Colonel's  part,  even  an  approach  to  cordiality. 
Bertram  carefully  measured  his  own  conduct  by  that  of  his  host, 
and  seemed  rather  to  receive  his  offered  kindness  with  gratitude 
and  pleasure,  than  to  press  for  it  with  solicitation. 

Miss  Bertram  was  in  the  breakfast  parlor  when  Sampson 
shuffled  in, — his  face  all  radiant  with  smiles  ;  a  circumstance  so 
uncommon,  that  Lucy's  first  idea  was,  that  somebody  had  been 
bantering  him  with  an  imposition  which  had  thrown  him  into 
this  ectasy.  Having  sate  for  some  time,  rolling  his  eyes  and 
gaping  with  his  mouth  like  the  great  wooden  head  at  Merlin's 
exhibition,  he  at  length  began — "  And  what  do  you  think  of  him, 
Miss  Lucy  ? " 

"  Think  of  whom,  Mr.  Sampson  ?"  asked  the  young  lady. 

"  Of  Har — no — of  him  that  you  know  about  ?  "  again  de- 
manded the  Dominie. 

"  That  I  know  about  ? "  replied  Lucy,  totally  at  a  loss  to 
comprehend  his  meaning. 

Yes — the  stranger,  you  know,  that  came  last  evening  in 
the  post  vehicle — he  who  shot  young  Hazlewood — ha  I  ha ! 
ho  !  *'  burst  forth  the  Dominie,  with  a  laugh  that  sounded  like 
neighing. 

"  Indeed,  Mr.  Sampson,"  said  his  pupil,  "  you  have  chosen 
a  strange  subject  for  mirth ; — I  think  nothing  about  the  mw— 


•  332 


GUY  MANNERING. 


only  I  hope  the  outrage  was  accidental,  and  that  we  need  rot 
fear  a  repetition  of  it." 

"  Accidental ! — ho  1  ho  !  ha  !  "  again  whinnied  Sampson. 
Really,  Mr.  Sampson/*  said  Lucy,  somewhat  piqued,  "  you 
are  unusually  gay  this  morning." 

"  Yes,  of  a  surety  I  am  !  ha !  ha  !  ho  !  fa-ce-ti-ous — ho  !  ho  1 
ha!" 

"  So  unusually  facetious,  my  dear  sir,"  pursued  the  young 
lady,  *'that  I  would  wish  rather  to  know  the  meaning  of  your 
mirth,  than  to  be  amused  with  its  effects  only." 

You  shall  know  it.  Miss  Lucy,"  replied  poor  Abel — "  Do 
you  remember  your  brother  ?  " 

"  Good  God  !  how  can  you  ask  me  ? — no  one  knows  better 
than  you,  he  was  lost  the  very  day  I  was  born." 

"  Very  true,  very  true,"  answered  the  Dominie,  saddening 
at  the  recollection  ;  ^'  I  was  strangely  oblivious — ay,  ay — too 
true — But  you  remember  your  worthy  father  t  " 

"  How  should  you  doubt  it,  Mr.  Sampson  ?  it  is  not  so  many 
weeks  since  "  

"  True,  true — ay,  too  true,"  replied  the  Dominie,  his 
Houyhnhnm  laugh  sinking  into  a  hysterical  giggle — "  I  will  be 
facetious  no  more  under  these  remembrances — But  look  at  that 
young  man  ! " 

Bertram  at  this  instant  entered  the  room.  "  Yes,  look  at  him 
well — he  is  your  father's  living  image  ;  and  as  God  has  deprived 
you  of  your  dear  parents — O  my  children,  love  one  another  !  " 

"  It  is  indeed  my  father's  face  and  form,"  said  Lucy,  turning 
very  pale.  Bertram  ran  to  support  her — the  Dominie  to  fetch 
water  to  throw  upon  her  face — (which  in  his  haste  he  took  from 
the  boiling  tea-urn) —  when  fortunately  her  color  returning 
rapidly,  saved  her  from  the  application  of  this  ill-judged  remedy. 
"  I  conjure  you  to  tell  me,  Mr.  Sampson,"  she  said,  in  an  in- 
terrupted yet  solemn  voice,    is  this  my  brother  ?  " 

"  It  is  !  it  is.  Miss  Lucy  ! — it  is  little  Harry  Bertram,  as  sure 
as  God's  sun  is  in  that  heaven  !  " 

"  And  this  is  my  sister  !  "  said  Bertram,  giving  way  to  all 
that  family  affection  which  had  so  long  slumbered  in  his  bosom 
for  want  of  an  object  to  expand  itself  upon. 

"  It  is  !  it  is  ! — it  is  Miss  Lucy  Bertram  !  "  ejaculated  Samp- 
son, "  whom  by  my  poor  aid  you  will  find  perfect  in  the  tongues 
of  France  and  Italy,  and  even  of  Spain — in  reading  and  writing 
her  vernacular  tongue,  and  in  arithmetic  and  book-keeping 
by  double  and  single  entry.  I  say  nothing  of  her  talents  of 
shaping,  and  hemming,  and  governing  a  household,  which,  to 
give  every  one  their  due,  she  acquired  not  from  me,  but  from 


I 


GUY  MANNERING, 


333 


the  housekeeper ; — nor  do  I  take  merit  for  her  performance 
upon  stringed  instruments,  whereunto  the  instructions  of  an 
honorable  young  lady  of  virtue  and  modesty,  and  very  facetious 
withal — Miss  Julia  Alannering — hath  not  meanly  contributed — • 
Suum  cuique  tribuitor 

"  You,  then,"  said  Bertram  to  his  sister,  are  all  that  remains 
to  me  !  Last  night,  but  more  fully  this  morning,  Colonel  Man- 
nering  gave  me  an  account  of  our  family  misfortunes,  though 
without  saying  I  should  find  my  sister  here." 

"That,"  said  Lucy,  "he  left  to  this  gentleman  to  tell  you, — 
one  of  the  kindest  and  most  faithful  of  friends,  who  soothed  my 
father's  long  sickness,  witnessed  his  dying  moments,  and  amid 
the  heaviest  clouds  of  fortune  would  not  desert  his  orphan." 

"  God  bless  him  for  it  !  "  said  Bertram,  shaking  the 
Dominie's  hand ;  he  deserves  the  love  wdth  which  I  have 
always  regarded  even  that  dim  and  imperfect  shadow  of  his 
memory  which  my  childhood  retained." 

"  And  God  bless  you  both,  my  dear  children  !  "  said  Samp 
son  :  if  it  had  not  been  for  your  sake,  I  would  have  been  con- 
tented (had  Heaven's  pleasure  so  been)  to  lay  my  head  upon 
the  turf  beside  my  patron." 

"  But  I  trust,"  said  Bertram — I  am  encouraged  to  hope,  we 
shall  all  see  better  days.  All  our  wrongs  shall  be  redressed, 
since  heaven  has  sent  me  means  and  friends  to  assert  my 
right. 

"Friends  indeed  !  "  echoed  the  Dominie,  "  and,  sent,  as  you 
truly  say,  by  Htm,  to  whom  I  early  taught  you  to  look  up  as 
the  source  of  all  that  is  good.  There  is  the  great  Colonel 
Mannering  from  the  Eastern  Indies,  a  man  of  war  from  his 
birth  upward,  but  who  is  not  the  less  a  man  of  great  erudition, 
considering  his  imperfect  opportunities ;  and  there  is,  more- 
over, the  great  advocate,  Mr.  Pleydell,  who  is  also  a  man  of 
great  erudition,  but  who  descendeth  to  trifles  unbeseeming 
thereof ;  and  there  is  Mr.  Andrew  Dinmont,  whom  I  do  not 
understand  to  have  possession  of  much  erudition,  but  who,  like 
the  patriarchs  of  old,  is  cunning  in  that  which  belongs  to  flocks 
and  herds.  Lastly,  there  is  even  I  myself,  whose  opportunities 
of  collecting  erudition,  as  they  have  been  greater  than  those  of 
the  aforesaid  valuable  persons,  have  not,  if  it  becomes  me  so  to 
speak,  been  pretermitted  by  me,  in  so  far  as  my  poor  faculties 
have  enabled  me  to  profit  by  them.  Of  a  surety,  little  Harry, 
we  must  speedily  resume  our  studies.  I  will  begin  from  the 
foundation — yes,  I  will  reform  your  education  upward  from  the 
true  knowledge  of  English  grammar,  even  to  that  of  the  Hebrew 
or  Chaldaic  tongue." 


334 


GUY  MANNERING, 


The  reader  may  observe,  that  upon  this  occasion  Sampson 
was  infinitely  more  profuse  of  words  than  he  had  hitherto  ex- 
hibited himself.  The  reason  was,  that  in  recovering  his  pupil, 
his  mind  went  instantly  back  to  their  original  connection  and, 
he  had,  in  his  confusion  of  ideas,  the  strongest  desire  in  the 
world  to  resume  spelling  lessons  and  half-text  with  young 
Bertram.  This  was  the  more  ridiculous,  as  toward  Lucy  he 
assumed  no  such  powers  of  tuition.  But  she  had  grown  up 
under  his  eye,  and  had  been  gradually  emancipated  from  his 
government  by  increase  in  years  and  knowledge,  and  a  latent 
sense  of  his  own  inferior  tact  in  manners,  whereas  his  first 
ideas  w^ent  to  take  up  Harry  pretty  nearly  where  he  had  left 
him.  From  the  same  feelings  of  reviving  authority,  he  indulged 
himself  in  what  was  to  him  a  profusion  of  language  ;  and  as 
people  seldom  speak  more  than  usual  without  exposing  them- 
selves, he  gave  those  whom  he  addressed  plainly  to  understand, 
that  while  he  deferred  implicitly  to  the  opinion  and  commands, 
if  they  chose  to  impose  them,  of  almost  every  one  w^hom  he 
met  with,  it  was  under  an  internal  conviction,  that  in  the 
article  of  e-ru-di-ti-on,  as  he  usually  pronounced  the  word,  he 
was  infinitely  superior  to  them  all  put  together.  At  present, 
however,  this  intimation  fell  upon  heedless  ears,  for  the  brother 
and  sister  were  too  deeply  engaged  in  asking  and  receiving 
intelligence  concerning  their  former  fortunes,  to  attend  much 
to  the  worthy  Dominie. 

When  Colonel  Mannering  left  Bertram,  he  went  to  Julians 
dressing-room,  and  dismissed  her  attendant.  My  dear  sir,'* 
she  said  as  he  entered,  you  have  forgot  our  vigils  last  night, 
and  have  hardly  allowed  me  time  to  comb  my  hair,  although 
you  must  be  sensible  how  it  stood  on  end  at  the  various 
wonders  which  took  place." 

It  is  with  the  inside  of  your  head  that  I  have  some  busi- 
ness at  present,  Julia;  1  will  return  the  outside  to  the  care  of 
your  Mrs.  Mincing  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  Lord,  papa,"  replied  Miss  Mannering,  "  think  how  en- 
tangled all  my  ideas  are,  and  you  to  propose  to  comb  them  out 
in  a  few  minutes !  If  Mincing  were  to  do  so  in  her  depart- 
ment, she  would  tear  half  the  hair  out  of  my  head." 

"  Well  then,  tell  me,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  where  the  entan- 
glement lies,  which  I  will  try  to  extricate  with  due  gentleness." 

"  Oh,  everywhere,"  said  the  young  lady — "  the  whole  is  a 
wild  dream." 

Well  then,  I  will  try  to  unriddle  it."— He  gave  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  fate  and  prospects  of  Bertram,  to  which  Julia 
listened  with  an  interest  which  she  in  vain  endeavored  to  dis- 


335 


guise — "  Well,"  concluded  her  father,  "  are  your  ideas  on  the 
subject  more  luminous  ?  " 

"  More  confused  than  ever,  my  dear  sir,"  said  Julia — 
"  Here  is  this  young  man  come  from  India,  after  he  had  been 
supposed  dead,  like  Aboulfouaris  the  great  voyager  to  his  sister 
Canzade  and  his  provident  brother  Hour.  I  am  wrong  in  the 
story,  I  believe — Canzade  was  his  wife — but  Lucy  may  repre- 
sent the  one,  and  the  Dominie  the  other.  And  then  this  lively 
crack-brained  Scotch  lawyer  appears  like  a  pantomime  at  the 
end  of  a  tragedy — And  then  how  delightful  it  will  be  if  Lucy 
gets  back  her  fortune  !  " 

"  Now  I  think,"  said  the  Colonel,  that  the  most  mysterious 
part  of  the  business  is,  that  Miss  Julia  Mannering,  who  must 
have  known  her  father^s  anxiety  about  the  fate  of  this  young 
man  Brown,  or  Bertram,  as  we  must  now  call  him,  should  have 
met  him  when  Hazlewood^s  accident  took  place,  and  never 
once  mentioned  to  her  father  a  word  of  the  matter,  but  suffered 
the  search  to  proceed  against  this  young  gentleman  as  a  suspici- 
ous character  and  assassin." 

Julia,  much  of  whose  courage  had  been  hastily  assumed  to 
meet  the  interview  with  her  father,  was  now  unable  to  rally 
herself ;  she  hung  down  her  head  in  silence,  after  in  vain  at- 
tempting to  utter  a  denial  that  she  recollected  Brown  when  she 
met  him. 

"  No  answer  ! — Well  Julia,"  continued  her  father,  gravely 
but  kindly,  allow  me  to  ask  you,  Is  this  the  only  time  you 
have  seen  Brown  since  his  return  from  India? — Still  no  answer. 
I  must  then  naturally  suppose  that  it  is  not  the  first  time  ? — • 
Still  no  reply.  Julia  Mannering,  will  you  have  the  kindness 
to  answer  me  ?  Was  it  this  young  man  who  came  under  your 
window  and  conversed  with  you  during  your  residence  at 
Mervyn-Hall  ?    Julia,  I  command — I  entreat  you  to  be  candid." 

Miss  Mannering  raised  her  head.  "  I  have  been,  sir — I 
believe  I  am  still  very  foolish  ; — and  it  is  perhaps  more  hard 
upon  me  that  I  must  meet  this  gentleman,  who  has  been,  though 
not  the  cause  entirely,  yet  the  accomplice  of  my  folly,  in  your 
presence." — Here  she  made  a  full  stop. 

"  I  am  to  understand,  then,"  said  Mannering,  that  this 
was  the  author  of  the  serenade  at  Mervyn-Hall  ? " 

There  was  something  in  this  allusive'  change  of  epithet  that 
gave  Julia  a  little  more  courage — "  He  was  indeed,  sir  ;  and  if  I 
am  very  wrong,  as  I  have  often  thought,  I  have  some  apology." 

And  what  is  that  ? "  answered  the  Colonel,  speaking 
quick,  and  with  something  of  harshness. 

I  will  not  venture  to  name  it,  sir — but  " — She  opened  a 


GUY  MANNERING, 


small  cabinet,  and  put  some  letters  into  his  hands :  "  I  will 
give  you  these,  that  you  may  see  how  this  intimacy  began,  and 
by  whom  it  was  encouraged." 

Mannering  took  the  packet  to  the  window — his  pride  for- 
bade a  more  distant  retreat.  He  glanced  at  some  passages  of 
the  letters  with  an  unsteady  eye  and  an  agitated  mind.  His 
stoicism,  however,  came  in  time  to  his  aid — that  philosophy, 
which  rooted  in  pride,  yet  frequently  bears  the  fruits  of  virtue. 
He  returned  toward  his  daughter  with  as  firm  an  air  as  his 
*  feelings  permitted  him  to  assume. 

"  There  is  great  apology  for  you,  Julia,  as  far  as  I  can  judge 
from  a  glance  at  these  letters — you  have  obeyed  at  least  one 
parent.  Let  us  adopt  the  Scotch  proverb  the  Dominie  quoted 
the  other  day — ^  Let  bygones  be  bygones,  and  fair  play  for  the 
future.' — I  will  never  upbraid  you  with  your  past  want  of  confi- 
dence— ;do  you  judge  of  my  future  intentions  by  my  actions,  of 
which  hitherto  you  have  surely  had  no  reason  to  complain. 
Keep  these  letters — they  were  never  intended  for  my  eye,  and 
I  would  not  willingly  read  more  of  them  than  I  have  done,  at 
your  desire  and  for  your  exculpation.  And  now,  are  we  friends  ? 
or  rather  do  you  understand  me  1 

O  my  dear  generous  father,"  said  Julia,  throwing  herself 
into  his  arms,  "  why  have  I  ever  for  an  instant  misunderstood 
you  ? " 

No  more  of  that,  Julia,"  said  the  Colonel :  "  we  have  both 
been  to  blame.  He  that  is  too  proud  to  vindicate  the  affection 
and  confidence  which  he  c  >nceives  should  be  given  without  so- 
licitation; must  meet  much,  and  perhaps  deserve  disappoint- 
ment. It  is  enough  that  one  dearest  and  most  regretted  mem- 
ber of  my  family  has  gone  to  the  grave  without  knowing  me ; 
let  me  not  lose  the  confidence  of  a  child,  who  ought  to  love  me 
if  she  really  loves  herself." 

Oh  !  no  danger — no  fear  !  "  answered  Julia — "  let  me  but 
have  your  approbation  and  my  own,  and  there  is  no  rule  you 
can  prescribe  so  severe  that  I  will  not  follow." 

"  Well,  my  love,"  kissing  her  forehead,  "  I  trust  we  shall 
not  call  upon  you  for  anything  too  heroic.  With  respect  to  this 
young  gentleman's  addresses,  1  expect  in  the  first  place  that 
all  clandestine  correspondence — which  no  young  woman  can 
entertain  for  a  moment  without  lessening  herself  in  her  own 
eyes,  and  in  those  of  her  lover — I  request,  I  say,  that  clandestine 
correspondence  of  every  kind  may  be  given  up,  and  that  you 
will  refer  Mr.  Bertram  to  me  for  the  reason.  You  will  natu- 
rally wish  to  know  what  is  to  be  the  issue  of  such  a  reference. 
In  the  first  place,  1  desire  to  observe  this  young  gentleman's 


GUY  MANNERING. 


337 


character  more  closely  than  circumstances,  and  perhaps  my  own 
prejudices,  have  permitted  formerly — I  should  also  be  glad  to 
see  his  birth  established.  Not  that  I  am  anxious  about  his  get- 
ting the  estate  of  Ellangowan,  though  such  a  subject  is  held  in 
absolute  indifference  nowhere  except  in  a  novel ;  but  certainly 
Henry  Bertram,  heir  of  Ellangowan,  whether  possessed  of  the 
property  of  his  ancestors  or  not,  is  a  very  different  person  from 
Vanbeest  Brown,  the  son  of  nobody  at  all.  His  fathers,  Mr. 
Pleydell  tells  me,  are  distinguished  in  history  as  following  the 
banners  of  their  native  princes,  while  our  own  fought  at  Cressy 
and  Poictiers.  In  short,  I  neither  give  nor  withhold  my  appro- 
bation, but  I  expect  you  will  redeem  past  errors ;  and  as  you 
can  now  unfortunately  have  recourse  only  to  one  parent,  that 
you  will  show  the  duty  of  a  child,  by  reposing  that  confidence 
in  me,  which  I  will  say  my  inclination  to  make  you  happy  ren- 
ders a  filial  debt  upon  your  part."" 

The  first  part  of  this  speech  affected  Julia  a  good  deal ;  the 
comparative  merit  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Bertrams  and  Manner- 
ings  excited  a  secret  smile  ;  but  the  conclusion  was  such  as  to 
soften  a  heart  peculiarly  open  to  the  feelings  of  generosity. 

No,  my  dear  sir,"  she  said,  extending  her  hand,  "  receive  my 
faith,  that  from  this  moment  you  shall  be  the  first  person  con- 
sulted respecting  what  shall  pass  in  future  between  Brown — I 
mean  Bertram — and  me  ;  and  that  no  engagement  shall  be 
undertaken  by  me,  excepting  what  you  shall  immediately  know 
and  approve  of.  May  I  ask  if  Mr.  Bertram  is  to  continue  a 
guest  at  Woodbourne  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Colonel,  "while  his  affairs  render  it- 
advisable." 

"  Then,  sir,  you  must  be  sensible,  considering  what  is  al- 
ready past,  that  he  will  expect  some  reason  for  my  withdrawing 
— I  believe  I  must  say  the  eiacouragement,  which  he  may  think 
I  have  given." 

"  I  expect,  Julia,"  answered  Mannering,  "  that  he  will  re- 
spect my  roof,  and  entertain  some  sense  perhaps  of  the  services 
I  am  desirous  to  render  him,  and  so  will  not  insist  upon  any 
course  of  conduct  of  which  I  might  have  reason  to  complain  ; 
and  I  expect  of  you,  that  you  will  make  him  sensible  of  what  is 
due  to  both." 

"Then,  sir,  I  understand  you,  and  you  shall  be  implicitly 
obeyed." 

"  Thank  you,  my  love  ;  my  anxiety  "(kissing  her)  "  is  on 
your  account. — Now  wipe  these  witnesses  from  your  eyes,  and 
so  to  breakfast." 


338 


GUY  MANNERING. 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-SECOND. 

And,  Sheriff,  I  will  engage  my  word  to  you. 
That  I  will  by  to-morrow  dinner  time, 
Send  him  to  answer  thee,  or  any  man. 
For  any  thing  he  shall  be  charged  withal. 

ST  Part  of  Henry  IV  . 

When  the  several  by-plays,  as  they  may  be  termed,  had  taien 
place  among  the  individuals  of  the  Woodbourne  family,  as  we 
have  intimated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  breakfast  party  at 
length  assembled,  Dandie  excepted,  who  had  consulted  his  taste 
in  viands,  and  perhaps  in  society,  by  partaking  of  a  cup  of  tea 
with  Mrs.  Allan,  just  laced  with  two  tea-spoonsful  of  Cogniac, 
and  reinforced  with  various  slices  from  a  huge  round  of  beef. 
He  had  a  kind  of  feeling  that  he  could  eat  twice  as  much,  and 
speak  twice  as  much,  with  this  good  dame  and  Barnes,  as  with 
the  grand  folk  in  the  parlor.  Indeed,  the  meal  of  this  less 
distinguished  party  was  much  more  mirthful  than  that  in  the 
higher  circle,  where  there  was  an  obvious  air  of  constraint  on 
the  greater  part  of  the  assistants.  Julia  dared  not  raise  her 
voice  in  asking  Bertram  if  he  chose  another  cup  of  tea.  Bertram 
felt  embarrassed  while  eating  his  toast  and  butter  under  the  eye 
of  Mannering.  Lucy,  while  she  indulged  to  the  uttermost  her 
affection  for  her  recovered  brother,  began  to  think  of  the  quarrel 
betwixt  him  and  Hazlewood.  The  Colonel  felt  the  painful 
anxiety  natural  to  a  proud  mind,  when  it  deems  its  slightest 
action  subject  for  a  moment  to  the  watchful  construction  of 
others.  The  lawyer,  while  sedulously  buttering  his  roll,  had  an 
aspect  of  unwonted  gravity,  arising,  perhaps,  from  the  severity 
of  his  morning  studies.  As  for  the  Dominie,  his  state  of  mind 
was  ecstatic  ! — He  looked  at  Bertram — he  looked  at  Lucy — he 
whimpered — he  sniggled — he  grinned — he  committed  all  manner 
of  solecisms  in  point  of  form — poured  the  whole  cream  (no  un- 
lucky mistake)  upon  the  plate  of  porridge  which  was  his  own 
usual  breakfast — threw  the  slops  of  what  he  called  his  crowning 
dish  of  tea  into  the  sugar-dish  instead  of  the  slop-basin,  and 
concluded  with  spilling  the  scalding  liquor  upon  old  Plato,  the 
ColoneFs  favorite  spaniel,  who  received  the  libation  with  9 
bowl  that  did  little  honor  to  his  philosophy. 

The  Colonel's  equanimity  was  rather  shaken  by  this  last 
blunder.  Upon  my  word,  my  good  friend,  Mr.  Sampson,  yoq 
forget  the  difference  between  Plato  and  Zenocrates." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


339 


"  The  former  was  chief  of  the  Academics,  the  latter  of  the 
Stoics/'  said  the  Dominie,  with  some  scorn  of  the  supposition. 

Yes,  my  dear  sir,  but  it  was  Zenocrates,  not  Plato,  who 
denied  that  pain  was  an  evil.'' 

"  I  should  have  thought,"  said  Pleydell,  "  that  very  respect- 
able quadruped,  which  is  just  now  limping  out  of  the  room 
upon  three  of  his  four  legs,  was  rather  of  the  Cynic  school." 

"  Very  well  hit  off — But  here  comes  an  answer  from  Mac- 
Morlan." 

It  was  unfavorable.  Mrs.  Mac-Morlan  sent  her  respectful 
compliments,  and  her  husband  had  been,  and  was,  detained  by 
some  alarming  disturbances  which  had  taken  place  the  pre- 
ceding night  at  Portanferry,  and  the  necessary  investigation 
which  they  had  occasioned. 

"  What's  to  be  done  now,  counselor  ?  "  said  the  Colonel  to 
Pleydell. 

"  Why,  I  wish  we  could  have  seen  Mac-Morlan,"  said  the 
counselor,  "  who  is  a  sensible  fellow  himself,  and  would,  be- 
sides, have  acted  under  my  advice.  But  there  is  little  harm. 
Our  friend  here  must  be  made  sui  juris  ;  he  is  at  present  an 
escaped  prisoner ;  the  law  has  an  awkward  claim  upon  him — 
he  must  be  placed  rectus  i?i  curia, — that  is  the  first  object. 
For  which  purpose.  Colonel,  I  will  accompany  you  in  your 
carriage  down  to  Hazlewood-House  : — the  distance  is  not  great. 
We  will  offer  our  bail ;  and  I  am  confident  I  can  easily  show 

Mr.  1  beg  his  pardon — Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,  the  necessity 

of  receiving  it." 

With  all  my  heart,"  said  the  Colonel ;  and,  ringing  the 
bell,  gave  the  necessary  orders.  "  And  what  is  next  to  be 
done  ? " 

"  We  must  get  hold  of  Mac-Morlan,  and  look  out  for  more 
proof." 

"  Proof !  "  said  the  Colonel ;  "  the  thing  is  as  clear  as  day- 
light;— here  are  Mr.  Sampson  and  Miss  Bertram,  and  you 
yourself,  at  once  recognize  the  young  gentleman  as  his  father's 
image  ;  and  he  himself  recollects  all  the  very  peculiar  circum- 
stances preceding  his  leaving  this  country — What  else  is  neces- 
sary to  conviction  ?  " 

To  moral  conviction  nothing  more  perhaps,"  said  the 
experiencori  lawyer,  but  for  legal  proof  a  great  deal.  Mr. 
Bertram's  recollections  are  his  own  recollections  merely;  and 
therefore  are  not  evidence  in  his  own  favor ;  Miss  Bertram,  the 
learned  Mr.  Sampson,  and  I,  can  only  say,  what  every  one  who 
knew  the  late  Ellangowan  will  readily  agree  in,  that  this  gentle- 


340 


GUY  MANNERING. 


man  in  his  very  picture — But  that  will  not  make  him  Elkn- 
gowan's  son,  and  give  him  the  estate." 

"  And  what  will  do  so  ? said  the  Colonel. 

"  Why,  we  must  have  a  distinct  probation. — There  are  these 
gypsies, — but  then,  alas  !  they  are  almost  infamous  in  the  eye  of 
law — scarce  capable  of  bearing  evidence,  and  Meg  Merrilies 
utterly  so,  by  the  various  accounts  which  she  formerly  gave  of 
the  matter,  and  her  impudent  denial  of  all  knowledge  of  the 
fact  when  I  myself  examined  her  respecting  it." 

"  What  must  be  done  then  ? "  asked  Mannering. 

"We  must  try,"  answered  the  legal  sage,  "what  proof  can 
be  got  at  in  Holland,  among  the  persons  by  whom  our  young 
friend  was  educated. — But  then  the  fear  of  being  called  in 
question  for  the  murder  of  the  ganger  may  make  them  silent ; 
or  if  they  speak,  they  are  either  foreigners  or  outlawed  smug- 
glers.   In  short,  I  see  doubts." 

"  Under  favor,  most  learned  and  honored  sir,"  said  the 
Dominie,  "  I  trust  He,  who  hath  restored  little  Harry  Bertram 
to  his  friends,  will  not  leave  his  own  work  imperfect." 

"  I  trust  so  too,  Mr.  Sampson,"  said  Pleydell ;  "  but  we  must 
use  the  means  ;  and  I  am  afraid  we  shall  have  more  difficulty 
in  procuring  them  than  I  at  first  thought — But  a  faint  heart 
never  won  a  fair  lady — And,  by  the  way  "  (apart  to  Miss  Man- 
nering, while  Bertram  was  engaged  with  his  sister),  "  there's  a 
vindication  of  Holland  for  you ! — what  smart  fellows  do  you 
think  Leyden  and  Utrecht  must  send  forth,  when  such  a  very 
genteel  and  handsome  young  man  comes  from  the  paltry  schools 
of  Middleburgh  ? " 

"  Of  a  verity,"  said  the  Dominie,  jealous  of  the  reputation  of 
the  Dutch  seminary — "  of  a  verity,  Mr.  Pleydell,  but  I  make 
it  known  to  you  that  I  myself  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
education." 

"  True,  my  dear  Dominie,"  answered  the  advocate  ;  "  that 
accounts  for  his  proficiency  in  the  graces,  without  question. — • 
But  here  comes  your  carriage,  Colonel.  Adieu,  young  folks ; 
Miss  Julia,  keep  your  heart  till  I  come  back  again — let  there 
be  nothing  done  to  prejudice  my  right,  whilst  I  am  7i(m  valetis 
agere^ 

Their  reception  at  Hazlewood-house  was  more  cold  and 
formal  than  usual ;  for  in  general  the  Baronet  expressed  great 
respect  for  Colonel  Mannering,  and  Mr.  Pleydell,  besides  being 
a  man  of  good  family  and  of  high  general  estimation,  was  Sir 
Robert's  old  friend.  But  now  he  seemed  dry  and  embarrassed 
in  his  manner.  "  He  would  willingly,"  he  said,  "receive  bail 
notwithstanding  that  the  offence  had  been  directly  perpetrated 


GUY  MANNERING. 


341 


committed,  and  done,  against  young  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood  ; 
but  the  young  man  had  given  himself  a  fictitious  description, 
and  was  altogether  that  sort  of  person  who  should  not  be 
liberated,  discharged,  or  let  loose  upon  society  ;  and  there- 
fore "  

"  I  hope,  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  you 
do  not  mean  to  doubt  my  word,  when  I  assure  you  that  he 
served  under  me  as  a  cadet  in  India  ? " 

By  no  means  or  account  whatsoever.  But  you  call  him  a 
cadet ;  now  he  says,  avers,  and  upholds,  that  he  was  a  captain, 
or  held  a  troop  in  your  regiment." 

"  He  was  promoted  since  I  gave  up  the  command." 

"  But  you  must  have  heard  of  it  ?  " 

"  No.  I  returned  on  account  of  family  circumstances  from 
India,  and  have  not  since  been  solicitous  to  hear  particular 
news  from  the  regiment ;  the  name  of  Brown,  too,  is  so  com- 
mon, that  I  might  have  seen  his  promotion  in  the  Gazette 
without  noticing  it.  But  a  day  or  two  will  bring  letters  from 
his  commanding  officer." 

"  But  I  am  told  and  informed,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  answered  Sir 
Robert,  still  hesitating,  "  that  he  does  not  mean  to  abide  by 
this  name  of  Brown,  but  is  to  set  up  a  claim  to  the  estate  of 
Ellangowan  under  the  name  of  Bertram." 

"  Ay  ?  who  says  that  ?  "  said  the  counselor. 

"Or,"  demanded  the  soldier,  "whoever  says  so,  does  that 
give  a  right  to  keep  him  in  prison  ?  " 

"  Hush,  Colonel,"  said  the  lawyer;  "  I  am  sure  you  would 
not,  any  more  than  I,  countenance  him,  if  he  prove  an  impostor. 
— And,  among  friends,  who  informed  you  of  this,  Sir  Robert  ?  " 

"  Why,  a  person,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  answered  the  Baronet,  "who 
is  peculiarly  interested  in  investigating,  sifting,  and  clearing 
out  this  business  to  the  bottom — you  will  excuse  my  being  more 
particular." 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  replied  Pleydell ;  "  well,  and  he  says  "  

"  He  says  that  it  is  whispered  about  among  tinkers,  gypsies, 
and  other  idle  persons,  that  there  is  such  a  plan  as  I  mentioned 
to  you,  and  that  this  young  man,  who  is  a  bastard  or  natural 
son  of  the  late  Ellangowan,  is  pitched  upon  as  the  impostor, 
from  his  strong  family  likeness." 

"  And  was  there  such  a  natural  son,  Sir  Robert  ?  "  demanded 
the  counselor. 

"  Oh,  certainly,  to  my  own  positive  knowledge.  Ellangowan 
had  him  placed  as  cabin-boy  or  powder-monkey  on  board  an 
armed  sloop  or  yacht  belonging  to  the  revenue,  through  the 


342 


GUY  MANNERING, 


interest  of  the  late  Commissioner  Bertram,  a  kinsman  of  his 
own.'' 

Well,  Sir  Robert,"  said  the  lawyer,  taking  the  word  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  impatient  soldier — "  you  have  told  me  news ; 
I  shall  investigate  them,  and  if  I  find  them  true,  certainly  Colonel 
Mannering  and  I  will  not  countenance  this  young  man.  In  the 
meanwhile,  as  w^e  are  all  willing  to  make  him  forthcoming,  to 
answer  all  complaints  against  him,  I  do  assure  you  you  will 
act  most  illegally,  and  incur  heavy  responsibility,  if  you  refuse 
our  bail.'' 

''Why,  Mr.  Pleydell,"  said  Sir  Robert,  who  knew  the  high 
authority  of  the  counselor's  opinion,  "  as  you  know  best,  and 
as  you  promise  to  give  up  this  young  man  "  

"  If  he  proves  an  impostor,"  replied  the  law3^er,  with  some 
emphasis. 

''  Ay,  certainly — under  that  condition  I  will  take  your  bail ; 
though  I  must  say,  an  obliging,  well-disposed,  and  civil  neigh- 
bor of  mine,  who  was  himself  bred  to  the  law,  gave  me  a  hint 
or  caution  this  morning  against  doing  so.  It  was  from  him  I 
learned  that  this  youth  was  liberated,  and  had  come  abroad,  or 
rather  had  broken  prison. — But  where  shall  we  find  one  to  draw 
the  bail-bond  ?  " 

''  Here,"  said  the  counselor,  applying  himself  to  the  bell, 
"  send  up  my  clerk,  Mr.  Driver — it  will  not  do  my  character 
harm  if  I  dictate  the  needful  myself."  It  was  written  accord- 
ingly, and  signed;  and  the  Justice  having  subscribed  a  regular 
warrant  for  Bertram  alias  Brown's  discharge,  the  visitors  took 
their  leave. 

Each  threw  himself  into  his  own  corner  of  the  post-chariot,  and 
said  nothing  for  some  time.  The  Colonel  first  broke  silence  :  "  So 
you  intend  to  give  up  this  poor  young  fellow  at  the  first  brush  ?  " 

"  Who,  I  t  "  replied  the  counselor  ;  "  I  will  not  give  up  one 
hair  of  his  head,  though  I  should  follow  them  to  the  court  of 
last  resort  on  his  behalf — but  what  signified  mooting  points  and 
showing  one's  hand  to  that  old  ass  ?  Much  better  he  should 
report  to  his  prompter,  Glossin,  that  we  are  indifferent  or  luke- 
warm in  the  matter.  Besides,  I  wish  to  have  a  peep  at  the 
enemies'  game." 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  the  soldier.  ''  Then  I  see  there  are  strata- 
gems in  law  as  well  as  war.  Well,  and  how  do  you  like  their 
line  of  battle  !  " 

"  Ingenious,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell,  "  but  I  think  desperate  ; 
they  are  finessing  too  much — a  common  fault  on  such  occasions." 

During  this  discourse  the  carriage  rolled  rapidly  toward 
Woodbourne  without  anything  occurring  worthy  of  the  reader's 


GUY  MANNERmG. 


343 


notice,  excepting  their  meeting  with  young  Hazlewood,  to 
whom  the  Colonel  told  the  extraordinary  history  of  Bertram's 
re-appearance,  which  he  heard  with  high  delight,  and  then  rode 
on  before  to  pay  Miss  Bertram  his  compliments  on  an  event  so 
happy  and  so  unexpected. 

We  return  to  the  party  at  Woodbourne.  After  the  departure 
of  Mannering,  the  conversation  related  chiefly  to  the  fortunes 
of  the  Ellangowan  family,  their  domains,  and  their  former 
power.  "  It  was,  then,  under  the  towers  of  my  fathers,"  said 
Bertram,  "  that  I  landed  some  days  since,  in  circumstances  much 
resembling  those  of  a  vagabond  t  Its  mouldering  turrets  and 
darksome  arches  even  then  awakened  thoughts  of  the  deepest 
interest,  and  recollection  which  I  was  unabled  to  decipher.  I 
will  now  visit  them  again  with  other  feelings,  and,  I  trust,  other 
and  better  hopes.'' 

"  Do  not  go  there  now,"  said  his  sister.  The  house  of  our 
ancestors  is  at  present  the  habitation  of  a  wretch  as  insidious 
as  dangerous,  whose  arts  and  villainy  accomplished  the  ruin  and 
broke  the  heart  of  our  unhappy  father." 

"  You  increase  my  anxiety,"  replied  her  brother,  "  to  confront 
this  miscreant,  even  in  the  den  he  has  constructed  for  himself — 
I  think  I  have  seen  him." 

But  you  must  consider,"  said  Julia,  that  you  are  now  left 
under  Lucy's  guard  and  mine,  and  are  responsible  to  us  for  all 
your  motions — consider  I  have  not  been  a  lawyer's  mistress 
twelve  hours  for  nothing,  and  I  assure  you  it  would  be  madness 
to  attempt  to  go  to  Ellangowan  just  now. — The  utmost  to  which 
I  can  consent  is,  that  we  shall  walk  in  a  body  to  the  head  of 
the  Woodbourne  avenue,  and  from  that  perhaps  we  may  indulge 
you  with  our  company  as  far  as  a  rising  ground  in  the  common, 
whence  your  eyes  may  be  blessed  with  a  distant  prospect  of 
those  gloomy  towers,  which  struck  so  strongly  your  sympa- 
thetic imagination." 

The  party  was  speedily  agreed  upon,  and  the  ladies,  having 
taken  their  cloaks,  followed  the  route  proposed,  under  the 
escort  of  Captain  Bertram.  It  was  a  pleasant  winter  morning, 
and  the  cool  breeze  served  only  to  freshen,  not  to  chill,  the 
fair  walkers.  A  secret  though  unacknowledged  bond  of  kind- 
ness combined  the  two  ladies  ;  and  Bertram,  now  hearing  the 
interesting  accounts  of  his  own  family,  now  communicating  his 
adventures  in  Europe  and  in  India,  repaid  the  pleasure  which 
he  received.  Lucy  felt  proud  of  her  brother,  as  well  from  the 
bold  and  manly  turn  of  his  sentiments,  as  from  the  dangers  he 
had  encountered,  and  the  spirit  with  which  he  had  surmounted 
them.    And  Julia,  while  she  pondered  on  her  father's  words^ 


544 


eUY  MANNERING. 


could  not  help  entertaining  hopes,  that  the  independent  spirit 
which  had  seemed  to  her  father  presumption  in  the  humble 
and  plebeian  Brown,  would  have  the  grace  of  courage,  noble 
bearing,  and  high  blood,  in  the  far-descended  heir  of  Elian 
gowan. 

They  reached  at  length  the  little  eminence  or  knoll  upon  the 
highest  part  of  the  common,  called  Gibbie's-knowe — a  spot 
repeatedly  mentioned  in  this  history,  as  being  on  the  skirts  of 
the  Ellangowan  estate.  It  commanded  a  fair  variety  of  hill  and 
dale,  bordered  with  natural  woods,  whose  naked  boughs  at  this 
season  relieved  the  general  color  of  the  landscape  with  a  dark 
purple  hue  ;  while  in  other  places  the  prospect  was  more 
formally  intersected  by  lines  of  plantation,  where  the  Scotch 
firs  displayed  their  variety  of  dusky  green.  At  the  distance  of 
two  or  three  miles  lay  the  bay  of  Ellangowan,  its  waves  rippling 
under  the  influence  of  the  western  breeze.  The  towers  of  the 
ruined  castle,  seen  high  over  every  object  in  the  neighborhood, 
received  a  brighter  coloring  from  the  wintry  sun. 

"There,"  said  Lucy  Bertram,  pointing  them  out  in  the  dis- 
tance,  "  there  is  the  seat  of  our  ancestors.  God  knows,  my  dear 
brother,  I  do  not  covet  in  your  behalf  the  extensive  power 
which  the  lords  of  these  ruins  are  said  to  have  possessed  so 
long,  and  sometimes  to  have  used  so  ill.  But,  O  that  I  might 
see  you  in  possession  of  such  relics  of  their  fortune  as  should 
give  you  an  honorable  independence,  and  enable  you  to  stretch 
your  hand  for  the  protection  of  the  old  and  destitute  dependents 
of  our  family,  whom  our  poor  father's  death  "  

"  True,  my  dearest  Lucy,"  answered  the  young  heir  of  Ellan- 
gowan ;  "and  I  trust,  with  the  assistance  of  Heaven,  which  has 
so  far  guided  us,  and  with  that  of  these  good  friends,  w^hom 
their  own  generous  hearts  have  interested  in  my  behalf,  such  a 
consummation  of  my  hard  adventures  is  now  not  unlikely. — 
But  as  a  soldier,  I  must  look  with  some  interest  upon  that 
worm-eaten  hold  of  ragged  stone  ;  and  if  this  undermining 
scoundrel,  who  is  now  in  possession,  dare  to  displace  a  pebble 
of  it  "  

He  was  here  interrupted  by  Dinmont,  who  came  hastily 
after  them  up  the  road,  unseen  till  he  was  near  the  party: — 
"  Captain,  Captain  1  ye're  wanted — Ye're  wanted  by  her  ye 
ken  o\" 

And  immediately  Meg  Merrilies,  as  if  emerging  out  of  the 
earth,  ascended  from  the  hollow  way,  and  stood  before  them. 
"  I  sought  ye  at  the  house,"  she  said,  and  found  but  him,** 
(pointing  to  Dinmont).  "  But  ye  are  right,"  and  I  was  wrang , 
it  is  hrre  we  should  meet — on  this  very  spot,  where  my  eyes 
last  saw  your  father.    Remember  your  promise  and  follow  me.** 


Gl/Y  MANNERING. 


345 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-THIRD. 

To  hail  the  king  in  seemly  sort 

The  ladie  was  full  fain, 
But  King  Arthur,  all  sore  amazed, 
No  answer  made  again. 
"  What  wight  art  thou,"  the  ladie  said, 
"  That  will  not  speak  to  me  ? 
Sir,  I  may  chance  to  ease  thy  pain, 
Though  I  be  foul  to  see." 

The  Marriage  of  Sir  Gawaine. 

The  fairy  bride  of  Sir  Gawaine,  while  under  the  influence  of 
the  spell  of  her  wicked  stepmother,  was  more  decrepit  probably, 
and  what  is  commonly  called  more  ugly,  than  Meg  Merrilies  ;  but 
I  doubt  if  she -possessed  that  wild  sublimity  which  an  excited 
imagination  communicated  to  features,  marked  and  expressive 
in  their  own  peculiar  character,  and  to  the  gestures  of  a  form, 
which,  her  sex  considered,  might  be  termed  gigantic.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table  did  not  recoil  with  more 
terror  from  the  apparition  of  the  loathly  lady  placed  between 
"  an  oak  and  a  green  holly,''  than  Lucy  Bertram  and  Julia 
Mannering  did  from  the  appearance  of  this  Galwegian  sibyl 
upon  the  common  of  Ellangowan. 

"  For  God's  sake,"  said  Julia,  pulling  out  her  purse,  "give 
that  dreadful  woman  something  and  bid  her  go  away." 

"  I  cannot,"  said  Bertram,  "  I  must  not  offend  her." 

"  What  keeps  you  here  ?  "  said  Meg,  exalting  the  harsh  and 
rough  tones  of  her  hollow  voice — "  why  do  you  not  follow  ? — 
Must  your  hour  call  you  twice  ?  Do  you  remember  your  oath  ? 
— were  it  at  kirk  or  market,  wedding  or  burial," — and  she  held 
high  her  skinny  forefinger  in  a  menacing  attitude. 

Bertram  turned  round  to  his  terrified  companions.  "  Excuse 
me  for  a  moment ;  I  am  engaged  by  a  promise  to  follow  this 
woman." 

"  Good  heavens  !  engaged  to  a  mad  woman  ? "  said  Julia. 

"  Or  to  a  gypsy,  who  has  her  band  in  the  wood  ready  to 
murder  you  !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  That  was  not  spoken  like  a  bairn  of  Ellangowan,"  said 
Meg,  frowning  upon  Miss  Bertram.  "  It  is  the  ill-doers  are 
ill-dreaders." 

^  In  short,  I  must  go,"  said  Bertram — it  is  absolutely 
necessary  ;  wait  for  me  five  minutes  on  this  spot" 


GUY  MANNERTN-G. 


"  Five  minutes  ? said  the  gipsy, — "  five  hours  may  not  bring 
you  here  again.'* 

"  Do  you  hear  that  ?  '*  said  Julia  ;  "for  Heaven's  sake  do 
not  go  ! 

"  I  must,  I  must — Mr.  Dinmont  will  protect  you  back  to  the 
house." 

"  No,"  said  Meg,  "  he  must  come  with  you — it  is  for  that  he 
is  here.  He  maun  take  part  wi'  hand  and  heart ;  and  weel  his 
part  it  is,  for  redding  his  quarrel  might  have  cost  you  dear." 

"  Troth,  Luckie,  it's  very  true,"  said  the  steady  farmer  "  and 
ere  I  turn  back  frae  the  Captain's  side  I'll  show  that  I  haena 
forgotten't." 

"  O  yes  !  "  exclaimed  both  the  ladies  at  once — "  let  Mr.  Din- 
mont go  with  you,  if  go  you  must  on  this  strange  summons." 

"Indeed  I  must,"  answered  Bertram,  "but  you  see  I  am 
safely  guarded — Adieu  for  a  short  time  ;  go  home  as  fast  as  you 
can." 

He  pressed  his  sister's  hand,  and  took  a  yet  more  affectionate 
farewell  of  Julia  with  his  eyes.  Almost  stupefie'd  with  surprise 
and  fear,  the  young  ladies  watched  with  anxious  looks  the  course 
of  Bertram,  his  companion,  and  their  extraordinary  guide.  Her 
tall  figure  moved  across  the  wintry  heath  with  steps  so  swift,  so 
long,  and  so  steady,  that  she  appeared  rather  to  glide  than  to 
walk.  Bertram  and  Dinmont,  both  tall  men,  apparently  scarce 
equaled  her  in  height,  owing  to  her  longer  dress  and  high  head- 
gear. She  proceeded  straight  across  the  common,  without  turn- 
ing aside  to  the  winding  path,  by  which  passengers  avoided  the 
inequalities  and  little  rills  that  traversed  it  in  different  directions. 
Thus  the  diminishing  figures  often  disappeared  from  the  eye,  as 
they  dived  into  such  broken  ground,  and  again  ascended  to  sight 
when  they  were  past  the  hollow.  There  was  something  frightful 
and  unearthly,  as  it  were,  in  the  rapid  and  undeviating  course 
which  she  pursued,  undeterred  by  any  of  the  impediments  which 
usually  incline  a  traveler  from  the  direct  path.  Her  way  was 
as  straight,  and  nearly  as  swift,  as  that  of  a  bird  through  the 
air.  At  length  they  reached  those  thickets  of  natural  wood 
which  extended  from  the  skirts  of  the  common  toward  the 
glades  and  brook  of  Derncleugh,  and  were  there  lost  to  the 
view. 

"  This  is  very  extraordinary  !  "  said  Lucy  after  a  pause,  and 
turning  round  to  her  companion — "  What  can  he  have  to  do  with 
that  old  hag  ?  " 

"  It  is  very  frightful,"  answered  Julia,  "  and  almost  reminds 
me  of  the  tales  of  sorceresses,  witches,  and  evil  genii,  which  I 
have  heard  in  India.    They  believe  there  is  a  fascination  of  the 


GC/V  MANNERING. 


347 


eye,  by  which  those  who  possess  it  control  the  will  and  dictate 
the  motions  of  their  victims.  What  can  your  brother  have  in 
common  with  that  fearful  woman,  that  he  should  leave  us, 
obviously  against  his  will,  to  attend  to  her  commands  ? 

"  At  least,"  said  Lucy,  "  we  may  hold  him  safe  from  harm  ; 
for  she  would  never  have  summoned  that  faithful  creature  Din- 
mont,  of  whose  strength,  courage,  and  steadiness  Henry  said  so 
much,  to  attend  upon  an  expedition  where  she  projected  evil  to 
the  person  of  his  friend.  And  now  let  us  go  back  to  the  house 
till  the  Colonel  returns, — perhaps  Bertram  may  be  back  first ; 
at  any  rate,  the  Colonel  will  judge  what  is  to  be  done." 

Leaving  them  upon  each  other's  arm,  but  yet  occasionally 
stumbling  between  fear  and  the  disorder  of  their  nerves,  they 
at  length  reached  the  head  of  the  avenue,  when  they  heard  the 
tread  of  a  horse  behind.  They  started,  for  their  ears  were 
awake  to  every  sound,  and  beheld  to  their  great  pleasure  young 
Hazlewood.  "  The  Colonel  will  be  here  immediately,"  he  said  ; 
"  I  galloped  on  before  to  pay  my  respects  to  Miss  Bertram, 
with  the  sincerest  congratulations  upon  the  joyful  event  which 
has  taken  place  in  her  family.  I  long  to  be  introduced  to 
Captain  Bertram,  and  to  thank  him  for  the  well-deserved  lesson 
he  gave  to  my  rashness  and  indiscretion." 

"  He  has  left  us  just  now,"  said  Lucy,  "  and  in  a  manner 
that  has  frightened  us  very  much." 

Just  at  that  moment  the  Colonel's  carriage  drove  up,  and, 
on  observing  the  ladies,  stopped,  while  Mannering  and  his 
learned  counsel  alighted  and  joined  them.  They  instantly 
communicated  the  new  cause  of  alarm. 

"  Meg  Merrilies  again  !  "  said  the  Colonel.  "  She  certainly 
is  a  most  mysterious  and  unaccountable  personage  ;  but  I  think 
she  must  have  something  to  impart  to  Bertram,  to  which  she 
does  not  mean  we  should  be  privy." 

"  The  devil  take  the  bedlamite  old  woman  !  "  said  the  coun- 
selor :  "  will  she  not  let  things  take  their  course,  prout  de  lege, 
but  must  always  be  putting  in  her  oar  in  her  own  way  ? — Then 
I  fear,  from  the  direction  they  took,  they  are  going  upon  the 
Ellangowan  estate.  That  rascal  Glossin  has  shown  us  what 
ruffians  he  has  at  his  disposal — I  wish  honest  Liddesdale  may 
be  guard  sufficient." 

"  If  you  please,"  said  Hazlewood,  "  I  should  be  most  happy 
to  ride  in  the  direction  which  they  have  taken.  I  am  so  well 
known  in  the  country,  that  I  scarce  think  any  outrage  will  be 
offered  in  my  presence,  and  I  shall  keep  at  such  a  cautious  dis- 
tance as  not  to  appear  to  watch  Meg,  or  interrupt  any  communi- 
cation which  she  may  mpJ.  c," 


348 


GUY  MANNERING. 


Upon  my  word,"  said  Pleydell  (aside),  "  to  be  a  sprig, 
whom  I  remember  with  a  whey  face  and  a  satchel  not  so  very 
many  years  ago,  I  think  young  Hazlewood  grows  a  fine  fellow. 
— I  am  more  afraid  of  a  new  attempt  at  legal  oppression  than 
at  open  violence,  and  from  that  this  young  man's  presence 
would  deter  both  Glossin  and  his  understrappers.  Hie  away 
then,  my  boy — peer  out — peer  out ; — you'll  find  them  some- 
where about  Derncleugh,  or  very  probably  in  Warroch-wood." 

Hazlewood  turned  his  horse.  "  Come  back  to  us  to  dinner, 
Hazlewood,"  cried  the  Colonel.  He  bowed,  spurred  his  horse, 
and  galloped  off. 

We  now  return  to  Bertram  and  Dinmont,  who  continued  to 
follow  their  mysterious  guide  through  the  woods  and  dingles, 
between  the  open  common  and  the  ruined  hamlet  of  Dern- 
cleugh. As  she  led  the  way,  she  never  looked  back  upon  her 
followers,  unless  to  chide  them  for  loitering,  though  the  sweat, 
in  spite  of  the  season,  poured  from  their  brows.  At  other 
times  she  spoke  to  herself  in  such  broken  expressions  as  these 
— "  It  is  to  rebuild  the  auld  house — it  is  to  lay  the  corner-stone 
and  did  I  not  warn  him  ? — I  tell'd  him  I  was  born  to  do  it,  if 
my  father's  head  had  been  the  stepping-stane,  let  alane  his.  I 
was  doomed — still  I  kept  my  purpose  in  the  cage  and  in  the 
stocks  ; — I  was  banished — I  kept  it  in  an  unco  land  ; — I  was 
scourged — I  was  branded — my  resolution  lay  deeper  than 
scourge  or  red  iron  could  reach — and  now  the  hour  is  come  !  " 

"  Captain,"  said  Dinmont,  in  a  half  whisper,  "  I  wish  she 
binna  uncanny  !  her  words  dinna  seem  to  come  in  God's  name, 
or  like  other  folk's.  Od,  they  threep  in  our  country  that  there 
are  sic  things." 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  my  friend,"  whispered  Bertram  in  return. 

"  Fear'd  !  fient  a  haet  care  I,"  said  the  dauntless  farmer  ; 
*'be  she  witch  or  deevil,  it's  a'  ane  to  Dandie  Dinmont." 

"  Hand  your  peace,  gudeman,"  said  Meg,  looking  sternly 
over  her  shoulder ;  "  is  this  a  time  or  place  for  you  to  speak, 
think  ye  ?  " 

"  But  my  good  friend,"  said  Bertram,  as  I  have  no  doubt 
in  your  good  faith  or  kindness,  which  I  have  experienced,  you 
should  in  return  have  some  confidence  in  me — I  wish  to  know 
where  you  are  leading  us." 

"There's  but  ae  answer  to  that,  Henry  Bertram,"  said  the 
sibyl. — "  1  swore  my  tongue  should  never  tell,  but  I  never  said 
my  finger  should  never  show.  Go  on  and  meet  your  fortune, 
or  turn  back  and  lose  it — that's  a'  I  hae  to  say." 

"  Go  on  then,"  answered  Bertram  ;  "  I  will  ask  no  more 
questions." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


349 


They  descended  into  the  glen  about  the  same  place  where 
Meg  had  formerly  parted  from  Bertram.  She  paused  an 
instant  beneath  the  tall  rock  where  he  had  witnessed  the  burial 
of  a  dead  body,  and  stamped  upon  the  ground,  which,  notwith- 
standing all  the  care  that  had  been  taken,  showed  vestiges  of 
having  been  recently  removed.  Here  rests  ane,"  she  said, 
he'll  maybe  hae  neibors  sune." 

She  then  moved  up  the  brook  until  she  came  to  the  ruined 
hamlet,  where,  pausing  with  a  look  of  peculiar  and  softened 
interest  before  one  of  the  gables  which  was  still  standing,  she 
said,  in  a  tone  less  abrupt,  though  as  solemn  as  before.  Do 
you  see  that  blackit  and  broken  end  of  a  sheeling  ? — There  my 
kettle  boiled  for  forty  years — there  I  bore  twelve  buirdly  sons 
and  daughters — Where  are  they  now  ? — Where  are  the  leaves 
that  w^ere  on  that  auld  ash-tree  at  Martinmas  ! — the  west  wind 
has  made  it  bare — and  I'm  stripped  too. — Do  you  see  that 
saugh-tree  ? — it's  but  a  blackened  rotten  stump  now — IVe  sat 
under  it  mony  a  bonnie  summer  afternoon,  when  it  hung  its 
gay  garlands  ower  the  poppling  water — I've  sat  there,  and  " 
(elevating  her  voice)  "  I  held  you  on  my  knee,  Henry  Bertram, 
and  sung  ye  sangs  of  the  auld  barons  and  their  bloody  wars — 
It  will  ne'er  be  green  again,  and  Meg  Merrilies  will  never  sing 
sangs  mair,  be  they  blithe  or  sad.  But  ye'll  no  forget  her  ? — 
and  ye'll  gar  big  up  the  auld  wa's  for  her  sake  ? — and  let  some- 
body live  there  that's  ower  guid  to  fear  them  of  another  world 
— For  if  ever  the  dead  came  back  amang  the  living,  I'll  be 
seen  in  this  glen  mony  a  night  after  these  crazed  banes  are  in 
the  mould.'* 

The  mixture  of  insanity  and  wild  pathos  with  which  she 
spoke  these  last  words,  with  her  right  arm  bare  and  extended, 
her  left  bent  and  shrouded  beneath  the  dark  red  drapery  of  her 
mantle,  might  have  been  a  study  worthy  of  our  Siddons  herself. 
"  And  now,"  she  said,  resuming  at  once  the  short,  stern,  and 
hasty  tone  which  was  most  ordinary  to  her — "  let  us  to  the 
wark — let  us  to  the  wark." 

She  then  led  the  way  to  the  promontory  on  which  the  Kaim 
of  Derncleugh  was  situated,  produced  a  large  key  from  hei 
pocket  and  unlocked  the  door.  The  interior  of  this  place  was 
in  better  order  than  formerly.  I  have  made  things  decent, 
she  said  ;  I  may  be  streekit  here  or  night.  There  will  be  few, 
few  at  Meg's  lykewake,  for  mony  of  our  folk  will  blame  what  I 
hae  done,  and  am  to  do  ! " 

She  then  pointed  to  a  table,  upon  which  was  some  cold  meat, 
arranged  with  more  attention  to  neatness  than  could  have  beec 


GUY  MANNERING. 


expectea  from  Meg's  habits.  "  Eat,"  she  said,  "  eat ; — ye'll 
need  it  this  night  yet." 

Bertram,  in  complaisance,  ate  a  morsel  or  two  ;  and  Din- 
mont,  whose  appetite  was  unabated  either  by  wonder,  appre- 
hension, or  the  meal  of  the  morning,  made  his  usual  figure  as  a 
trencherman.  She  then  offered  each  a  single  glass  of  spirits, 
which  Bertram  drank  diluted,  and  his  companion  plain. 

"  Will  ye  taste  naething  yoursell,  Luckie  1  "  said  Dinmont. 

"  I  shall  not  need  it,"  replied  their  mysterious  hostess. 
"  And  now,"  she  said,  "  ye  maunhae  arms — yemaunagang  on 
dry-handed  ; — but  use  them  not  rashly — take  captive,  but  save 
life — let  the  law  hae  its  ain — he  maun  speak  ere  he  die." 

"  Who  is  to  be  taken,  who  is  to  speak  ?  "  said  Bertram  in 
astonishment,  receiving  a  pair  of  pistols  which  she  offered  him, 
and  which,  upon  examining,  he  found  loaded  and  locked. 

The  flints  are  gude,"  she  said,  "  and  the  powder  dry — I  ken 
this  wark  week" 

Then,  without  answering  his  questions,  she  armed  Dinmont 
also  with  a  large  pistol,  and  desired  them  to  choose  sticks  for 
themselves,  out  of  a  parcel  of  very  suspicious-looking  bludgeons 
which  she  brought  from  a  corner.  Bertram  took  a  stout  sap- 
ling, and  Dandie  selected  a  club  which  might  have  served  Her- 
cules himself.  They  then  left  the  hut  together,  and,  in  doing 
so,  Bertram  took  an  opportunity  to  whisper  to  Dinmont, 
"  There's  something  inexplicable  in  all  this — But  we  need  not 
use  these  arms  unless  we  see  necessity  and  lawful  occasion — 
take  care  to  do  as  you  see  me  do." 

Dinmont  gave  a  sagacious  nod  ;  and  they  continued  to  fol- 
low, over  wet  and  over  dry,  through  bog  and  through  fallow 
the  footsteps  of  their  conductress.  She  guided  them  to  the 
wood  of  Warroch  by  the  same  track  which  the  late  Ellangowan 
had  used  when  riding  to  Derncleugh  in  quest  of  his  child,  on 
the  miserable  evening  of  Kennedy's  murder. 

When  Meg  Merrilies  had  attained  these  groves,  through 
which  the  wintry  sea-wind  was  now  whistling  hoarse  and  shrill, 
she  seemed  to  pause  a  moment  as  if  to  recollect  the  way.  "  We 
maun  go  the  precise  track,"  she  said,  and  continued  to  go 
forward,  but  rather  in  a  zigzag  and  involved  course,  than 
according  to  her  former  steady  and  direct  line  of  motion.  At 
length  she  guided  them  through  the  mp.zes  of  the  wood  to  a 
little  open  glade  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  surrounded  by 
trees  and  bushes,  which  made  a  wild  and  irregular  boundary. 
Even  in  the  winter  it  was  a  sheltered  and  snugly  sequestered 
spot ;  but  when  arrayed  in  the  verdure  of  spring,  the  earth  send- 
ing forth  all  its  wild  flowers,  the  shrubs  speading  their  waste 


GUY  MANNERING. 


3S1 


of  blossom  around  it,  and  the  weeping  birches,  which  towered 
over  the  underwood,  drooping  their  long  and  leafy  fibres  to 
intercept  the  sun,  at  must  have  seemed  a  place  for  a  youthful 
poet  to  study  his  earliest  sonnet,  or  a  pair  of  lovers  to  exchange 
their  first  mutual  avowal  of  affection.  Apparently  it  now 
awakened  very  different  recollections.  Bertram's  brow,  when 
he  had  looked  round  the  spot,  became  gloomy  and  embarrassed. 
Meg,  after  uttering  to  herself,  "  This  is  the  very  spot !  "  looked 
at  him  with  a  ghastly  side-glance, — "  D'ye  mind  it  ? 

"  Yes  !  "  answered  Bertram,  "  imperfectly  I  do." 

"  Ay  ! "  pursued  his  guide,  on  this  very  spot  the  man  fell 
from  his  horse — I  was  behind  that  bourtree-bush  at  the  very 
moment.  Sair,  sair  he  strove,  and  salr  he  cried  for  mercy — but 
he  was  in  the  hands  of  them  that  never  kenn'd  the  word  ! — Now 
will  I  show  you  the  further  track — the  last  time  ye  traveled  it 
was  in  these  arms.*' 

She  led  them  accordingly  by  a  long  and  winding  passage 
almost  overgrown  with  brushwood,  until,  without  any  very  per- 
ceptible descent,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  by  the  sea- 
side. Meg  then  walked  very  fast  on  between  the  surf  and  the 
rocks  until  she  came  to  a  remarkable  fragment  of  rock,  detached 
from  the  rest.  "  Here,"  she  said,  in  a  low  and  scarcely  audible 
whisper,  "  here  the  corpse  was  found." 

"  And  the  cave,"  said  Bertram,  in  the  same  tone,  "  is  close 
beside  it — are  you  guiding  us  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  gypsy  in  a  decided  tone.  "  Bend  up  both 
your  hearts — follow  me  as  I  creep  in — I  have  placed  the  fire- 
wood so  as  to  screen  you.  Bide  behind  it  for  a  gliff  till  I  say 
The  hour  and  the  ma?i  are  baith  come  /  then  rin  in  on  him, 
take  his  arms,  and  bind  him  till  the  blood  burst  frae  his  finger 
nails." 

"  I  will,  by  my  soul !  "  said  Henry — if  he  is  the  man  I 
suppose — Jansen  ?  " 

"  Ay,  Jansen,  Hatteraick,  and  twenty  mair  names  are  his." 
Dinmont,  you  must  stand  by  me  now/  said  Bertram,  for 
this  fellow  is  a  devil." 

"  Ye  needna  doubt  that,"  said  the  stout  yeoman — "  But  I 
wish  I  could  mind  a  bit  prayer  or  I  creep  after  the  witch  into 
that  hole  that  she's  opening — It  wad  be  a  sair  thing  to  leave  the 
blessed  sun,  and  the  free  air,  and  gang  and  be  killed,  like  a  tod 
that's  run  to  earth,  in  a  dungeon  like  that.  But,  my  sooth,  they 
will  be  hard-bitten  terriers  will  worry  Dandie  ;  so,  as  I  said, 
deil  hae  me  if  I  baulk  you."  This  was  uttered  in  the  lowest 
tone  of  voice  possible.    The  entrance  was  now  open.  Meg 


352  ^OUY  MANJVERWG. 

crept  in  upon  her  hands  and  knees,  Bertram  followed,  and  Din- 
mont,  after  giving  a  rueful  glance  toward  the  daylight,  whose 
blessings  he  was  abandoning,  brought  up  the  rear. 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-FOURTH. 

Die,  prophet,  in  thy  speech  ! 
For  this,  among  the  rest,  was  I  ordained. 

Henry  VI.,  Part  III. 

The  progress  of  the  Borderer,  who,  as  we  have  said,  was  the 
last  of  the  party,  was  fearfully  arrested  by  a  hand,  which  caught 
hold  of  his  leg  as  he  dragged  his  long  limbs  after  him  in  silence 
and  perturbation  through  the  low  and  narrow  entrance  of  the 
subterranean  passage.  The  steel  heart  of  the  bold  yeoman  had 
well-nigh  given  way,  and  he  suppressed  with  difficulty  a  shout, 
which,  in  the  defenceless  posture  and  situation  which  they  then 
occupied,  might  have  cost  all  their  lives.  He  contented  him- 
self, however,  with  extracting  his  foot  from  the  grasp  of  his 
unexpected  follower.  "  Be  still,"  said  a  voice  behind  him,  re- 
leasing him  ;  "  I  am  a  friend — Charles  Hazlewood." 

These  words  were  uttered  in  a  very  low  voice,  but  they  pro- 
duced sound  enough  to  startle  Meg  Merrilies,  who  led  the  van, 
and  who,  having  already  gained  the  place  where  the  cavern  ex- 
panded, had  risen  upon  her  feet.  She  began,  as  if  to  confound 
any  listening  ear,  to  growl,  to  mutter,  and  to  sing  aloud,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  make  a  bustle  among  some  brushwood  which 
was  now  heaped  in  the  cave. 

Here — beldam — Deyvil's  kind,"  growled  the  harsh  voice 
of  Dirk  Hatteraick  from  the  inside  of  his  den  ;  "  what  makest 
thou  there " 

"  Laying  the  roughies  *  to  keep  the  cauld  wind  frae  you,  ye 
desperate  do-nae-good — Ye're  e'en  ower  weel  off,  and  wotsna; 
— it  will  be  otherwise  soon.'' 

"  Have  you  brought  me  the  brandy,  and  any  news  of  my 
people  ?  "  said  Dirk  Hatternick. 

"  There's  the  flask  for  ye.  Your  people — dispersed — broken 
— gone — or  cut  to  ribbons  by  the  red  coats." 

"  Der  Deyvil  ! — this  coast  is  fatal  to  me." 
Ye  may  hae  mair  reason  to  say  sae." 

While  this  dialogue  went  forward,  Bertram  and  Dinmont 
*  Withered  boughs. 


GUY  MAISTNERING. 


3S3 


had  both  gained  the  interior  of  the  cave,  and  assumed  an  erect 
position.  The  only  light  which  illuminated  its  rugged  and 
sable  precincts  was  a  quantity  of  wood  burnt  to  charcoal  in  an 
iron  grate,  such  as  they  use  in  spearing  salmon  by  night.  On 
these  red  embers  Hatteraick  from  time  to  time  threw  a  handful 
of  twigs  or  splintered  wood  ;  but  these,  even  when  they  blazed 
up,  afforded  a  light  much  disproportioned  to  the  extent  of  the 
cavern  ;  and,  as  its  principal  inhabitant  lay  upon  the  side  of  the 
grate  most  remote  from  the  entrance,  it  was  not  easy  for  him  to 
discover  distinctly  objects  which  lay  in  that  direction.  The  in- 
truders, therefore,  whose  number  was  now  augmented  unex- 
pectedly to  three,  stood  behind  the  loosely  piled  branches  with 
little  risk  of  discovery.  Dinmont  had  the  sense  to  keep  back 
Hazlewood  with  one  hand  till  he  whispered  to  Bertram,  A 
friend — young  Hazlewood.'' 

It  was  no  time  for  following  up  the  introduction,  and  they  all 
stood  as  still  as  the  rocks  around  them,  obscured  behind  the 
pile  of  brushwood,  which  had  been  probably  placed  there  to 
break  the  cold  wind  from  the  sea,  without  totally  intercepting 
the  supply  of  air.  The  branches  were  laid  so  loosely  above  each 
other,  that,  looking  through  them  toward  the  light  of  the  fire- 
grate, they  could  easily  discover  what  passed  in  its  vicinity, 
although  a  much  stronger  degree  of  illumination  than  it  afforded 
would  not  have  enabled  the  persons  placed  near  the  bottom  of 
the  cave  to  have  descried  them  in  the  position  which  they 
occupied. 

The  scene,  independent  of  the  peculiar  moral  interest  and 
personal  danger  which  attended  it,  had,  from  the  effect  of  the 
light  and  shade  on  the  uncommon  objects  which  it  exhibited, 
an  appearance  emphatically  dismal.  The  light  in  the  fire-grate 
was  the  dark-red  glare  of  charcoal  in  a  state  of  ignition,  relieved 
from  time  to  time  by  a  transient  fiame  of  a  more  vivid  or 
duskier  light,  as  the  fuel  with  which  Dirk  Hatteraick  fed  his 
fire  was  better  or  worse  fitted  for  his  purpose.  Now  a  dark 
cloud  of  stifling  smoke  rose  up  to  the  roof  of  the  cavern,  and 
then  lighted  into  a  reluctant  and  sullen  blaze,  which  flashed 
wavering  up  the  pillar  of  smoke,  and  was  suddenly  rendered 
brighter  and  more  lively  by  some  drier  fuel,  or  perhaps  some 
splintered  fir-timber,  which  at  once  converted  the  smoke  into 
flame.  By  such  fitful  irradiation,  they  could  see,  more  or  less 
distinctly,  the  form  of  Hatteraick,  whose  savage  and  rugged 
cast  of  features,  now  rendered  yet  more  ferocious  by  the  circum- 
stances of  his  situation,  and  the  deep  gloom  of  his  mind,  assorted 
well  with  the  rugged  and  broken  vault  which  rose  in  a  rude 
arch  over  and  around  him.    The  form  of  Meg  Merrilies,  which 


354 


GUV  MAJVJVEl^/m. 


Stalked  about  him,  sometimes  in  the  light,  sometimes  partially 
obscured  in  the  smoke  or  darkness,  contrasted  strongly  with 
the  sitting  figure  of  Hatteraick  as  he  bent  over  the  flame,  and 
from  his  stationary  posture  was  constantly  visible  to  the  specta- 
tor, while  that  of  the  female  flitted  around,  appearing  or  dis- 
appearing like  a  spectre. 

Bertram  felt  his  blood  boil  at  the  sight  of  Hatteraick.  He 
remembered  him  well  under  the  name  of  Jansen,  which  the 
smuggler  had  adopted  after  the  death  of  Kennedy  ;  and  he 
remembered  also,  that  this  Jansen,  and  his  mate  Brown,  the 
same  who  was  shot  at  Woodbourne,  had  been  the  brutal  tyrants 
of  his  infancy.  Bertram  knew  further,  from  piecing  his  own 
imperfect  recollections  with  the  narratives  of  Mannering  and 
Pleydell,  that  this  man  was  the  prime  agent  in  the  act  of 
violence  which  tore  him  from  his  family  and  country,  and  had 
exposed  him  to  so  many  distresses  and  dangers.  A  thousand 
exasperating  reflections  rose  within  his  bosom  ;  and  he  could 
hardly  refrain  from  rushing  upon  Hatteraick  and  blowing  his 
brains  out. 

At  the  same  time  this  would  have  been  no  safe  adventure. 
The  flame,  as  it  rose  and  fell,  while  it  displayed  the  strong, 
muscular,  and  broad-chested  frame  of  the  ruflian,  glanced  also 
upon  two  brace  of  pistols  in  his  belt,  and  upon  the  hilt  of  his 
cutlass  :  it  was  not  to  be  doubted  that  his  desperation  was 
commensurate  with  his  personal  strengih  and  means  of  resist- 
ance. Both,  indeed,  were  inadequate  to  encounter  the  combined 
power  of  two  such  men  as  Bertram  himself  and  his  friend 
Dinmont,  without  reckoning  their  unexpected  assistant  Hazle- 
wood,  who  was  unarmed,  and  of  a  slighter  make  ;  but  Bertram 
felt,  on  a  moment's  reflection,  that  there  would  be  neither  sense 
nor  valor  in  anticipating  the  hangman's  office,  and  he  considered 
the  importance  of  making  Hatteraick  prisoner  alive ; — he  there- 
fore repressed  his  indignation,  and  awaited  what  should  pass 
between  the  ruflian  and  his  gypsy  guide. 

"And  how  are  ye  now  ?"  said  the  harsh  and  discordant 
tones  of  his  female  attendant :  "  Said  I  not  it  would  come  upon 
you — ay,  and  in  this  very  cave,  where  ye  harbored  after  the 
deed  1  " 

Wetter  and  sturm,  ye  hag  !  "  replied  Hatteraick,  "  keep  your 
deyvil's  matins  till  they're  wanted. — Have  you  seen  Glossin  ?" 

No,"  replied  Meg  Merrilies  ;  "  you've  missed  your  blow, 
ye  blood-spillcr !  and  ye  have  nothing  to  expect  from  the 
tempter." 

"  Hagcl !  "  exclaimed  the  ruflian,  if  I  had  him  but  by  the 
throat  ! — And  what  am  I  to  do  then  ? " 


GUY  MANNERING, 


355 


"  Do  ?  "  answered  the  gypsy  ; — "  die  like  a  man,  or  be 
hanged  like  a  dog  ! " 

"  Hanged,  ye  hag  of  Satan ! — the  hemp's  not  sown  that 
shall  hang  me/' 

It's  sown,  and  its  grown,  and  it's  heckled,  and  it's  twisted. 
Did  I  not  tell  ye,  when  ye  wad  take  away  the  boy  Harry 
Bertram,  in  spite  of  my  prayers — did  I  not  say  he  would  come 
back  when  he  had  dree'd  his  weird  in  foreign  land  till  his 
twenty-first  year  ? — did  I  not  say  the  auld  fire  would  burn  down 
to  a  spark,  but  wad  kindle  again  ? " 

"  Well,  mother,  you  did  say  so,"  said  Hatteraick,  in  a  tone 
that  had  something  of  despair  in  its  accents  ;  "  and  donner  and 
blitzen  !  I  believe  you  spoke  the  truth — that  younker  of  Ellan- 
gowan  has  been  a  rock  a-head  to  me  all  my  life ! — and  now, 
with  Glossin's  cursed  contrivance,  my  crew  have  been  cut  off, 
my  boats  destroyed,  and  I  dare  say  the  lugger's  taken  —there 
were  not  men  enough  left  on  board  to  work  her,  far  less  to  fight 
her — a  dredge-boat  might  have  taken  her. — And  what  will  the 
owners  say  ? — Hagel  and  sturm !  I  shall  never  dare  go  back 
again  to  Flushing." 

"  You'll  never  need,"  said  the  gypsy. 

"  What  are  you  doing  there  1  "  said  her  companion  :  "  and 
that  makes  you  say  that  t  " 

During  this  dialogue,  Meg  was  heaping  some  flax  loosely 
together.  Before  answer  to  this  question,  she  dropped  a  fire- 
brand upon  the  flax,  which  had  been  previously  steeped  in 
some  spirituous  liquor,  for  it  instantly  caught  fire,  and  rose  in 
a  vivid  pyramid  of  the  most  brilliant  light  up  to  the  very  top  of 
the  vault.  As  it  ascended,  Meg  answered  the  ruflian's  question 
in  a  firm  and  steady  voice  : — "  Because  the  Hour's  come^  and  the 
Many 

At  the  appointed  signal,  Bertram  and  Dinmont  sprung  over 
the  brushwood,  and  rushed  upon  Hatteraick.  Hazlewood, 
unacquainted  with  their  plan  of  assault,  was  a  moment  later. 
The  ruffian,  who  instantly  saw  he  was  betrayed,  turned  his  first 
vengeance  on  Meg  Merrilies,  at  whom  he  discharged  a  pistol. 
She  fell,  with  a  piercing  and  dreadful  cry,  between  the  shriek 
of  pain  and  the  sound  of  laughter,  when  at  its  highest  and  most 
suffocating  height.    "  I  kenn'd  it  would  be  this  way,"  she  said. 

Bertram,  in  his  haste,  slipped  his  foot  upon  the  uneven  rock 
which  floored  the  cave, — a  fortunate  stuml^le,  for  Hatteraick's 
second  bullet  whistled  over  him  with  so  true  and  steady  an  aim, 
that  had  he  been  standing  upright,  it  must  have  lodged  in  his 
brain.  Ere  the  smuggler  could  draw  another  pistol,  Dinmont 
closed  with  him,  and  endeavored  by  main  force  to  pinion  down 


35^ 


GUY  MANNERING. 


his  arms.  Such,  however,  was  the  wretch's  personal  strength, 
joined  to  the  efforts  of  his  despair,  that,  in  spite  of  the  gigantic 
force  with  which  the  Borderer  grappled  him,  he  dragged  Din- 
mont  through  the  blazing  flax,  and  had  almost  succeeded  in 
drawing  a  third  pistol,  which  might  have  proved  fatal  to  the 
honest  farmer,  had  not  Bertram,  as  well  as  Hazlewood,  come 
to  his  assistance,  when,  by  main  force,  and  no  ordinary  exertion 
of  it,  they  threw  Hatteraick  on  the  ground,  disarmed  him,  and 
bound  him.  This  scuffle,  though  it  takes  up  some  time  in  the 
narrative,  passed  in  less  than  a  single  minute.  When  he  was 
fairly  mastered,  after  one  or  two  desperate  and  almost  convul- 
sion ary  struggles,  the  ruffian  lay  perfectly  still  and  silent. 
"  He's  gaun  to  die  game  ony  how,"  said  Dinmont :  "  weel,  I 
like  him  na  the  waur  for  that." 

This  observation  honest  Dandie  made  while  he  was  shaking 
the  blazing  flax  from  his  rough  coat  and  shaggy  black  hair, 
some  of  which  had  been  singed  in  the  scuffle.  He  is  quiet 
now,"  said  Bertram  ; — "  stay  by  him,  and  do  not  permit  him  to 
stir  till  I  see  whether  the  poor  woman  be  alive  or  dead."  With 
Hazlewood's  assistance  he  raised  Meg  Merrilies. 

I  kenn'd  it  would  be  this  way,"  she  muttered,  "  and  it's 
e'en  this  way  that  it  should  be." 

The  ball  had  penetrated  the  breast  below  the  throat.  It  did 
not  bleed  much  externally  ;  But  Bertram,  accustomed  to  see 
gun-shot  wounds,  thought  it  the  more  alarming.  "  Good  God ! 
what  shall  we  do  for  this  poor  woman  ? "  said  he  to  Hazlewood, 
— the  circumstances  superseding  the  necessity  of  previous  ex 
planation  or  introduction  to  each  other. 

"My  horse  stands  tied  above  in  the  wood,"  said  Hazlewood 
— "  I  have  been  watching  you  these  tvvo  hours — I  will  ride  off 
for  some  assistance  that  may  be  trusted.  Meanwhile,  you  had 
better  defend  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  against  everyone  un- 
til I  return."  He  hastened  away.  Bertrarn,  after  binding  Meg 
Merrilies's  wound  as  well  as  he  could,  took  station  near  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  with  a  cocked  pistol  in  his  hand  ;  Dinmont 
continued  to  watch  Hatteraick,  keeping  a  grasp,  like  that  of 
Hercules,  on  his  breast.  There  was  a  dead  silence  in  the 
cavern,  only  interrupted  by  the  low  and  suppressed  moaning  of 
the  wounded  female,  and  by  the  hard  breathing  of  the  prisoner. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


359 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-FIFTH. 

For  though  seduced  and  led  astray 
Thou'st  traveled  far  and  wandered  long, 

Thy  God  hath  seen  thee  all  the  way, 
And  all  the  turns  that  led  thee  wrong. 

The  Hall  of  Justice. 

After  the  space  of  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  which 
the  uncertainty  and  danger  of  their  situation  made  seem  almost 
thrice  as  long,  the  voice  of  young  Hazlewood  was  heard  with- 
out.   "  Here  I  am,''  he  cried,  "with  a  sufficient  party.'' 

"  Come  in  then,"  answered  Bertram,  not  a  little  pleased  to 
find  his  guard  relieved.  Hazlewood  then  entered,  followed  by 
two  or  three  countrymen,  one  of  whom  acted  as  a  peace-officer. 
They  lifted  Hatteraick  up,  and  carried  him  in  their  arms  as  far 
as  the  entrance  of  the  vault  was  high  enough  to  permit  them  ; 
then  laid  him  on  his  back,  and  dragged  him  along  as  well  as 
they  could,  for  no  persuasion  would  induce  him  to  assist  the 
transportation  by  any  exertion  of  his  own.  He  lay  as  silent 
and  inactive  in  their  hands  as  a  dead  corpse,  incapable  of  op- 
posing, but  in  no  way  aiding  their  operations.  When  he  was 
dragged  into  daylight,  and  placed  erect  upon  his  feet  among 
three  or  four  assistants,  who  had  remained  without  the  cave,  he 
seemed  stupefied  and  dazzled  by  the  sudden  change  from  the 
darkness  of  his  cavern.  While  others  were  superintending  the 
removal  of  Meg  Merrilies,  those  who  remained  with  Hatteraick 
attempted  to  make  him  sit  down  upon  a  fragment  of  rock  which 
lay  close  upon  the  high-water  mark.  A  strong  shuddering  con- 
vulsed his  iron  frame  for  an  instant,  as  he  resisted  their  purpose. 
"  Not  there — Hagel ! — you  would  not  make  me  sit  there  ?  " 

These  were  the  only  words  he  spoke  ;  but  their  import,  and 
the  deep  tone  of  horror  in  which  they  were  uttered,  served  to 
show  what  was  passing  in  his  mind. 

When  Meg  Merrilies  had  also  been  removed  from  the 
cavern,  with  all  the  care  for  her  safety  that  circumstances  ad- 
mitted, they  consulted  where  she  should  be  carried.  Hazlewood 
had  sent  for  a  surgeon,  and  proposed  that  she  should  be  lifted 
in  the  meantime  to  the  nearest  cottage.  But  the  patient  ex- 
claimed with  great  earnestness,  "  Na,  na,  na  ! — to  the  Kaim  o' 
Derncleugh — the  Kaim  o'  Derncleugh ; — the  spirit  will  not  frea 
itself  o'  the  flesh  but  there," 


3S8 


GUY  MANNERTN'G, 


"You  must  indulge  her,  T  believe/' said  Bertram; — "  het 
troubled  imagination  will  otherwise  aggravate  the  fever  of  the 
wound/' 

They  bore  her  accordingly  to  the  vault.  On  the  way  her 
mind  seemed  to  run  more  upon  the  scene  which  had  just  passed, 
than  on  her  own  approaching  death.  "  There  w^ere  three  of 
them  set  upon  him  ;  I  brought  the  twasome — but  wha  was  the 
third  ? — It  would  be  hi7nsell  returned  to  work  his  ain  ven- 
geance ! " 

It  was  evident  that  the  unexpected  appearance  of  Hazlewood, 
whose  person  the  outrage  of  Hatteraick  left  her  no  time  to 
recognize,  had  produced  a  strong  effect  on  her  imagination. 
She  often  recurred  to  it.  Hazlewood  accounted  for  his  unex- 
pected arrival  to  Bertram  by  saying  that  he  had  kept  them 
in  view  for  some  time  by  the  direction  of  Mannering ;  that, 
observing  them  disappear  into  the  cave,  he  had  crept  after 
them,  meaning  to  announce  himself  and  his  errand,  when  his 
hand  in  the  darkness  encountering  the  leg  of  Dinmont,  had 
nearly  produced  a  catastrophe,  which  indeed,  nothing  but  the 
presence  of  mind  and  fortitude  of  the  bold  yeoman  could  have 
averted. 

When  the  gipsy  arrived  at  the  hut,  she  produced  the  key ; 
and  when  they  entered,  and  were  about  to  deposit  her  upon  the 
bed,  she  said  in  an  anxious  tone,  "  Na,  na  !  not  that  way — the 
feet  to  the  east ; ''  and  appeared  gratified  when  they  reversed 
her  posture  accordingly,  and  placed  her  in  that  appropriate  to 
a  dead  body. 

"  Is  there  no  clergyman  near,"  said  Bertram,  to  assist  this 
unhappy  woman's  devotions  ?  " 

A  gentleman,  the  minister  of  the  parish,  who  had  been 
Charles  Hazlewood's  tutor,  had,  with  many  others,  caught  the 
alarm  that  the  murderer  of  Kennedy  was  taken  on  the  spot 
where  the  deed  had  been  done  so  many  years  before,  and  that 
a  woman  was  mortally  wounded.  From  curiosity,  or  rather 
from  the  feeling  that  his  duty  called  him  to  scenes  of  distress, 
this  gentleman  had  come  to  the  Kaim  of  Derncleugh,  and  now 
presented  himself.  The  surgeon  arrived  at  the  same  time,  and 
was  about  to  probe  the  wound  ;  but  Meg  resisted  the  assistance 
of  either.  "It's  no  what  man  can  do,  that  will  heal  my  body, 
or  save  my  spirit.  Let  me  speak  what  I  have  to  say,  and  then 
ye  may  work  your  will  —  Tse  be  nae  hinderance.  But  where's 
Henry  Bertram  }  " — 'J'he  assistants,  to  wliom  this  name  had 
been  long  a  stranger,  gazed  upon  each  other. — "  Yes  !  "  she 
said,  in  a  stronger  and  harsher  tone,  "  I  said  Henry  Bertram  of 
E//ango7iian.    Stand  from  the  light  and  let  me  see  him." 


GUY  MANNERING. 


359 


All  eyes  were  turned  toward  Bertram,  who  approached  the 
wretched  couch.    The  wounded  woman  took  hold  of  his  hand. 

Look  at  him,". she  said,  "  all  that  ever  saw  his  father  or  his 
grandfather  ;  and  bear  witness  if  he  is  not  their  living  image  ?  " 
A  murmur  went  through  the  crowd — the  resemblance  was  too 
striking  to  be  denied.  "  And  now  hear  me — and  let  that  man,'' 
pointing  to  Hatteraick,  who  was  seated  with  his  keepers  on  a 
sea-chest  at  some  distance — "  let  him  deny  what  I  say,  if  he  can. 
That  is  Henry  Bertram,  son  to  Godfrey  Bertram,  unquhile  of 
Ellangowan  ;  that  young  man  is  the  very  lad-bairn  that  Dirk 
Hatteraick  carried  off  from  Warroch-wood  the  day  that  he 
murdered  the  gauger.  I  was  there  like  a  wandering  spirit — for 
I  longed  to  see  that  wood  or  we  left  the  country.  I  saved  the 
bairn's  life,  and  sair,  sair  I  prigged  and  prayed  they  would 
leave  him  wi'  me — But  they  bore  him  away,  and  he's  been  lang 
ower  the  sea,  and  now  he's  come  for  his  ain,  and  what  should 
withstand  him  ?  I  swore  to  keep  the  secret  till  he  was  ane-an'- 
twenty — I  kenn'd  he  behoved  to  dree  his  weird  till  that  day 
cam — I  keepit  that  oath  which  I  took  to  them — but  I  made 
another  vow  to  mysell,  and  if  I  lived  to  see  the  day  of  his  re- 
turn, I  would  set  him  in  his  father's  seat,  if  every  step  was  on 
a  dead  man.  I  have  keepit  that  oath  too  ; — I  will  be  a  step 
mysell — he  "  (pointing  to  Hatteraick)  "  will  soon  be  another, 
and  there  will  be  ane  mair  yet." 

The  clergyman  now  interposing,  remarked  it  was  a  pity  this 
deposition  was  not  regularly  taken  and  written  down,  and  the 
surgeon  urged  the  necessity  of  examining  the  wound,  previously 
to  exhausting  her  by  questions.  When  she  saw  them  removing 
Hatteraick,  in  order  to  clear  the  room  and  leave  the  surgeon  to 
his  operations,  she  called  out  aloud,  raising  herself  at  the  same 
time  upon  the  couch,  "  Dirk  Hatteraick,  you  and  I  will  never 
meet  again  until  we  are  before  the  judgment-seat — Will  ye 
own  to  what  I  have  said,  or  will  you  dare  deny  it  1  " — He 
turned  his  hardened  brow  upon  her,  with  a  look  of  dumb  and 
inflexible  defiance.  "  Dirk  Hatteraick,  dare  ye  deny,  with  my 
blood  upon  your  hands,  one  word  of  what  my  dying  breath  is 
uttering  ?  "  He  looked  at  her  with  the  same  expression  of 
hardihood  and  dogged  stubbornness,  and  moved  his  lips,  but 
uttered  no  sound.  "  Then  fareweel !  "  she  said,  "  and  God 
forgive  you  ! — your  hand  has  sealed  my  evidence.  When  I  was 
in  life,  I  was  the  mad  randy  gipsy,  that  had  been  scourged, 
and  banished,  and  branded — that  had  begged  from  door  to  door, 
and  been  hounded  like  a  stray  tike  from  parish  to  parish — wha 
would  hae  minded  her  tale  ?    But  now  I  am  a  dying  woman, 


360 


GUY  MAIVNERING. 


and  my  words  will  not  fall  to  the  ground,  any  more  than  the 
earth  will  cover  my  blood  !  " 

She  here  paused,  and  all  left  the  hut  except  the  surgeon  and 
two  or  three  women.  After  a  very  ^hort  examination,  he  shook 
his  head,  and  resigned  his  post  by  the  dying  woman's  side  to 
the  clergyman. 

A  chaise  returning  empty  to  Kippletringan  had  been  stopped 
on  the  high-road  by  a  constable,  who  foresaw  it  would  be 
necessary  to  convey  Hatteraick  to  jail.  The  driver,  under- 
standing what  was  going  on  at  Derncleugh,  left  his  horses  to 
the  care  of  a  blackguard  boy,  confiding,  it  is  to  be  supposed, 
rather  in  the  years  and  discretion  of  the  cattle,  than  in  those 
of  their  keeper,  and  set  off  full  speed,  to  see,  as  he  expressed 
himself,  "whaten  a  sort  o'  fun  was  gaun  on."  He  arrived  just 
as  the  group  of  tenants  and  peasants,  whose  numbers  increased 
every  moment,  satiated  with  gazing  upon  the  rugged  features 
of  Hatteraick,  had  turned  their  attention  toward  Bertram. 
Almost  all  of  them,  especially  the  aged  men  who  had  seen 
EUangowan  in  his  better  days,  felt  and  acknowledged  the 
justice  of  Meg  Merrilies's  appeal.  But  the  Scotch  are  a 
cautious  people  ; — they  remembered  there  was  another  in  pos- 
session of  the  estate,  and  they  as  yet  only  expressed  their 
feelings  in  low  whispers  to  each  other.  Our  friend  Jock  Jabos, 
the  postilion,  forced  his  way  into  the  middle  of  the  circle  ;  but 
no  sooner  cast  his  eyes  upon  Bertram,  than  he  started  back  in 
amazement,  with  a  solemn  exclamation,  As  sure  as  there^s 
breath  in  man,  it's  auld  EUangowan  arisen  from  the  dead  1  " 

This  public  declaration  of  an  unprejudiced  witness  was  just 
the  spark  wanted  to  give  fire  to  the  popular  feeling,  which 
burst  forth  in  three  distinct  shouts  : — "  Bertram  forever !  " — 
"  Long  life  to  the  heir  of  Ellnngowan  !  " — God  send  him  his 
ain,  and  to  live  among  us  as  his  forbears  did  of  yore  !  " 

I  hae  been  seventy  years  on  the  land,"  said  one  person. 

"  I  and  mine  hae  been  seventy  and  seventy  to  that,"  said 
another ;  "  I  have  a  right  to  ken  the  glance  of  a  Bertram." 

"  I  and  mine  hae  been  three  hundred  years  here,"  said  an- 
other old  man,  "and  I  sail  sell  my  last  cow,  but  I'll  see  the 
young  laird  placed  in  his  right." 

The  women,  ever  delighted  with  the  marvelous,  and  not  less 
so  when  a  handsome  young  man  is  the  subject  of  the  tale,  added 
their  shrill  acclamations  to  the  general  all-hail. — "  Blessings  on 
him — he's  the  very  picture  o'  his  father  ! — the  Bertrams  were 
aye  the  wale  o'  the  country  side !  " 

**  Eh  !  that  his  pnir  mother,  that  died  in  grief  and  in  doubt 


GUY  MANNERING. 


about  him,  had  but  lived  to  see  this  day ! "  exclaimed  some 
female  voices. 

But  we'll  help  him  to  his  ain,  kimmers/'  cried  others ; 
"  and  before  Glossin  sail  keep  the  Place  of  Ellangowan,  we'll 
howk  him  out  o't  wi'  our  nails  !  " 

Others  crowded  around  Dinmont,  who  was  nothing  loth  to 
tell  what  he  knew  of  his  friend,  and  to  boast  the  honor  which 
he  had  in  contributing  to  the  discovery.  As  he  was  known  to 
several  of  the  principal  farmers  present,  his  testimony  afforded 
an  additional  motive  to  the  general  enthusiasm.  In  short,  it 
was  one  of  those  moments  of  intense  feeling,  when  the  frost  of 
the  Scottish  people  melts  like  a  snow-wreath,  and  the  dissolving 
torrent  carries  dam  and  dyke  before  it. 

The  sudden  shouts  interrupted  the  devotions  of  the  clergy- 
man ;  and  Meg,  who  was  in  one  of  those  dozing  fits  of  stupe- 
faction that  precede  the  close  of  existence,  suddenly  started — 
"  Dinna  ye  hear? — dinna  ye  hear  ? — he's  owned  ! — he's  owned  I 
— I  lived  but  for  this. — I  am  a  sinfu'  woman ;  but  if  my  curse 
brought  it  down,  my  blessing  has  taen  it  off  !  And  now  I  wad 
hae  liked  to  hae  said  mair.  But  it  canna  be.  Stay  " — she 
continued,  stretching  her  head  toward  the  gleam  of  light  that 
shot  through  the  narrow  slit  w^hich  served  for  a  window — "  Is 
he  not  there  ? — stand  out  o*  the  light,  and  let  me  look  upon 
him  ance  mair.  But  the  darkness  is  in  my  ain  een,"  she  said, 
sinking  back,  after  an  earnest  gaze  upon  vacuity — "it's  a' 
ended  now, 

Pass  breath, 
Come  death !  " 

And,  sinking  back  upon  her  couch  of  straw,  she  expired  without 
a  groan.  The  clergyman  and  the  surgeon  carefully  noted  down 
all  that  she  had  said,  now  deeply  regretting  they  had  not 
examined  her  more  minutely,  but  both  remaining  morally  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  her  disclosure. 

Hazlewood  was  the  first  to  compliment  Bertram  upon  the 
near  prospect  of  his  being  restored  to  his  name  and  rank  in 
society.  The  people  around,  who  had  learned  from  Jabos  that 
Bertram  w^as  the  person  who  had  wounded  him,  were  struck 
with  his  generosity,  and  added  his  name  to  Bertram's  in  their 
exulting  acclamations. 

Some,  however,  demanded  of  the  postilion  how  he  had  not 
recognized  Bertram  when  he  saw  him  some  time  before  at 
Kippletringan  ? — to  which  he  gave  the  very  natural  answer — • 
"  Hout,  what  was  I  thinking  about  Ellangowan  then  1 — It  was 
the  cry  that  was  rising  e'en  now  that  the  young  laird  was  found 


362 


GUY  MANNERING. 


that  put  me  on  finding  out  the  likeness. — There  was  nae  miss 
ing  it  ance  ane  was  set  to  look  for't/' 

The  obduracy  of  Hatteraick,  during  the  the  latter  part  of  this 
scene,  was  in  some  slight  degree  shaken.  He  was  observed  to 
twinkle  with  his  eyelids — to  attempt  to  raise  his  bound  hands 
for  the  purpose  of  pulling  his  hat  over  his  brow — to  look 
angrily  and  impatiently  to  the  road,  as  if  anxious  for  the 
vehicle  which  was  to  remove  him  from  the  spot. — At  length 
Mr.  Hazlewood,  apprehensive  that  the  popular  ferment  might 
take  a  direction  toward  the  prisoner,  directed  he  should  be 
taken  to  the  post-chaise,  and  so  removed  to  the  town  of  Kipple- 
tringan,  to  be  at  Mr.  Mac-Morlan's  disposal  ;  at  the  same  time  he 
sent  an  express  to  warn  that  gentleman  of  what  had  happened. 
— "  And  now,''  he  said  to  Bertram,  I  should  be  happy  if  you 
would  accompany  me  to  Hazlewood-House  ;  but  as  that  might 
not  be  so  agreeable  just  now  as  I  trust  it  will  be  in  a  day  01 
two,  you  must  allow  me  to  return  with  you  to  Woodbourne. 
But  you  are  on  foot." — "  O,  if  the  young  laird  would  take  my 
horse  !  " — "  Or  mine  " — "  Or  mine,"  said  half  a  dozen  voices-— 
"Or  mine ;  he  can  trot  ten  mile  an  hour  without  whip  or  spur, 
and  he's  the  young  laird's  frae  this  moment,  if  he  likes  to  take 
him  for  a  herezeld,'^  as  they  ca'd  it  lang  syne." — Bertram  readily 
accepted  the  horse  as  a  loan,  and  poured  forth  his  thanks  to 
the  assembled  crowd  for  their  good  wishes,  which  they  repaid 
with  shouts  and  vows  of  attachment. 

While  the  happy  owner  was  directing  one  lad  to  "gae  down 
for  the  new  saddle  ;  "  another,  just  to  rin  the  beast  ower  wi' 
a  dry  wisp  o'  strae  ; "  a  third,  "  to  hie  down  and  borrow  Dan 
Dunkieson's  plated  stirrups,"  and  expressing  his  regret  "that 
there  was  na  time  to  gie  the  nag  a  feed,  that  the  young  laird 
might  ken  his  mettle," — Bertram,  taking  the  clergyman  by  the 
arm  walked  into  the  vault,  and  shut  the  door  immediately  after 
them.  He  gazed  in  silence  for  some  minutes  upon  the  body 
of  Meg  Merrilies,  as  it  lay  before  him,  with  the  features  sharp- 
ened by  death,  yet  still  retaining  the  stern  and  energetic 
character  which  had  maintained  in  life  her  superiority  as  the 
wild  chieftainess  of  the  lawless  people  amongst  whom  she  was 
born.  The  young  soldier  dried  the  tears  which  involuntarily 
rose  on  viewing  this  wreck  of  one,  who  might  be  said  to  have 
died  a  victim  to  her  fidelity  to  his  person  and  family.  He  then 

*  In  the  old  feudal  tenures,  the  here/.eld  constituted  the  best  horse  or 
other  animal  on  the  vassals'  lands,  which  the  law  authorized  the  superior 
to  claim.  The  only  remnant  of  this  custom  is  what  is  called  the  sasine, 
or  a  fee  of  certain  estimated  value,  paid  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county  who 
gives  possession  to  the  vassals  of  the  crown. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


363 


took  the  clergyman's  hand,  and  asked  solemnly,  if  she  appeared 
able  to  give  that  attention  to  his  devotions  which  befitted  a 
departing  person. 

"  My  dear  sir,''  said  the  good  minister,  I  trust  this  pooi 
woman  had  remaining  sense  to  feel  and  join  in  the  import  of  my 
prayers.  But  let  us  humbly  hope  we  are  judged  of  by  our 
opportunities  of  religious  and  moral  instruction.  In  some 
degree  she  might  be  considered  as  an  uninstructed  heathen, 
even  in  the  bosom  of  a  Christian  country ; — and  let  us  remem- 
ber, that  the  errors  and  vices  of  an  ignorant  life  were  balanced 
by  instances  of  disinterested  attachment  amounting  almost  to 
heroism.  To  Him,  who  can  alone  weigh  our  crimes  and  errors 
against  our  efforts  toward  virtue,  we  consign  her  with  awe^ 
but  not  without  hope." 

"  May  I  request,"  said  Bertram,  that  you  will  see  every 
decent  solemnity  attended  to  in  behalf  of  this  poor  woman  ?  I 
have  some  property  belonging  to  her  in  my  hands — at  all 
events,  I  will  be  answerable  for  the  expense — You  will  hear  of 
me  at  Woodbourne." 

Dinmont  who  had  been  furnished  with  a  horse  by  one  of 
his  acquaintance,  now  loudly  called  out  that  all  was  ready  for 
their  return  ;  and  Bertram  and  Hazlewood,  after  a  strict  ex- 
hortation to  the  crowd,  which  was  now  increased  to  several 
hundreds,  to  preserve  good  order  in  their  rejoicing,  as  the  least 
ungoverned  zeal  might  be  turned  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
young  Laird,  as  they  termed  him,  took  their  leave  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  multitude. 

As  they  rode  past  the  ruined  cottages  at  Derncleugh,  Din- 
mont said,  "  I'm  sure  when  ye  come  to  your  ain,  Captain,  ye'll 
no  forget  to  bigg  a  bit  cot-house  there  t  Deil  be  in  me  but  I 
wad  do't  mysell,  an  it  werena  in  better  hands.  I  wadna  like 
to  live  in't  though,  after  what  she  said.  Od,  I  wad  put  in  auld 
Elspeth,  the  bedral's  widow — -the  like  o'  them's  used  wi'  graves 
and  ghaists,  and  thae  things." 

A  short  but  brisk  ride  brought  them  to  Woodbourne.  The 
news  of  their  exploit  had  already  flown  far  and  wide,  and  the 
whole  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity  met  them  on  the  lawn  with 
shouts  of  congratulation.  That  you  have  seen  me  alive," 
said  Bertram  to  Lucy,  who  first  ran  up  to  him,  though  Julia's 
eyes  even  anticipated  hers,  "  you  must  thank  these  kind 
friends." 

With  a  blush  expressing  at  once  pleasure,  gratitude,  and 
bashfulness,  Lucy  courtesied  to  Hazlewood,  but  to  Dinmont  she 
frankly  extended  her  hand.  The  honest  farmer,  in  the  extra- 
vagance of  his  joy,  carried  his  freedom  further  than  the  hint 


3^4 


GUV  MANJSfERlNG. 


warranted,  for  he  imprinted  his  thanks  on  the  lady's  lips,  and 
was  instantly  shocked  at  the  rudeness  of  his  own  conduct. 

"  Lord  sake,  madam,  I  ask  your  pardon,"  he  said  ;  I  for- 
got but  ye  had  been  a  bairn  o'  my  ain — the  Captain's  sae 
hamely,  he  gars  ane  forget  himsell." 

Old  Pleydell  now  advanced  :  "  Nay,  if  fees  like  these  are 
going,"  he  said  • 

"  Stop,  stop.  My.  Pleydell,"  said  Julia,  you  had  your  fees 
beforehand — remember  last  night." 

"  Why,  I  do  confess  a  retainer,"  said  the  barrister  ;  "  but 
if  I  don't  deserve  double  fees  from  both  Miss  Bertram  and  you 
when  I  conclude  my  examination  of  Dirk  Hatteraick  to  mor- 
row— Gad,  I  will  so  supple  him  ! — You  shall  see.  Colonel,  and 
you,  my  saucy  Misses,  though  you  may  not  see,  shall  hear." 

Ay,  that's  if  we  choose  to  listen,  counselor,"  replied 

Julia. 

"  And  you  think,"  said  Pleydell,  "  it's  two  to  one  you  won't 
choose  that  t  But  you  have  curiosity  that  teaches  you  the  use 
of  your  ears  now  and  then." 

"  I  declare,  counselor,"  answered  the  lively  damsel,  "  that 
such  saucy  bachelors  as  you  would  teach  us  the  use  of  our 
fingers  now  and  then." 

"  Reserve  them  for  the  harpsichord,  my  love,"  said  the 
counselor — "  Better  for  all  parties." 

While  this  idle  chat  ran  on.  Colonel  Mannering  introduced 
to  Bertram  a  plain  good-looking  man,  in  a  gray  coat  and  waist- 
coat, buckskin  breeches,  and  boots.  "  This,  my  dear  sir,  is 
Mr.  Mac-Morlan." 

"  To  whom,"  said  Bertram,  embracing  him  cordially,  "  my 
sister  was  indebted  for  a  home,  when  deserted  by  all  her  natural 
friends  and  relations." 

The  Dominie  then  pressed  forward,  grinned,  chuckled,  made 
a  diabolical  sound  in  attempting  to  whistle,  and  finally,  unable 
to  stifle  his  emotions,  ran  away  to  empty  the  feelings  of  his 
heart  at  his  eyes. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  expansion  of  heart  and 
glee  of  this  happy  evening. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-SIXTH. 

 How  like  a  hateful  ape. 

Detected  grinning  'midst  his  pilfered  hoard, 
A  cunning  man  appears,  whose  secret  frauds 
Are  opened  to  the  day  !  

Count  Basil, 

There  was  a  great  movement  at  Woodbourne  early  on  the 
following  morning,  to  attend  the  examination  at  Kippletringan. 
Mr.  Pleydeil,  from  the  investigation  which  he  had  formerly 
bestowed  on  the  dark  affair  of  Kennedy's  death,  as  well  as  from 
the  general  deference  due  to  his  professional  abilities,  was  re- 
quested by  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  and  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,  and 
another  justice  of  peace  who  attended,  to  take  the  situation  of 
chairman,  and  the  lead  in  the  examination.  Colonel  Manner- 
ing  was  invited  to  sit  down  with  them.  The  examination,  being 
previous  to  trial,  was  private  in  other  respects. 

The  counselor  resumed  and  re-interrogated  former  evidence. 
He  then  examined  the  clergyman  and  surgeon  respecting  the 
dying  declaration  of  Meg  Merrilies.  They  stated,  that  she 
distinctly,  positively,  and  repeatedly,  declared  herself  an  eye- 
witness of  Kennedy's  death  by  the  hands  of  Hatteraick,  and 
two  or  three  of  his  crew  ;  that  her  presence  was  accidental  ; 
that  she  believed  their  resentment  at  meeting  him,  when  they 
were  in  the  act  of  losing  their  vessel  through  the  means  of  his 
information,  led  to  the  commission  of  the  crime  ;  that  she  said 
there  was  one  witness  of  the  murder,  but  who  refused  to  parti- 
cipate in  it,  still  alive, — her  nephew,  Gabriel  Faa  ;  and  she  had 
hinted  at  another  person  v>  ho  was  an  accessory  after,  not  before 
the  fact  ;  but  her  strength  there  failed  her.  They  did  not 
forget  to  mention  her  declaration,  that  she  had  saved  the  child, 
and  that  he  was  torn  from  her  by  the  smugglers,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  him  to  Holland — All  these  particulars  were 
carefully  reduced  to  writting. 

Dirk  Hatteraick  was  then  brought  in,  heavily  ironed  ;  for  he 
had  been  strictly  secured  and  guarded,  owing  to  his  formei 
escape.  Fie  was  asked  his  name  ;  he  made  no  answer  : — His 
profession  ;  he  was  silent  : — Several  other  questions  were  put ; 
to  none  of  which  he  returned  any  reply.  Pleydeil  wiped  the 
glasses  of  his  spectacles,  and  considered  the  prisoner  very  at- 
tentively. "  A  very  truculent-looking  fellow,"  he  whispered  to 
Mannering  ;  "  but,  as  Dogberry  says,  Til  go  cunningly  to  work 


366 


GUY  MANNERING, 


with  him. — Heie,  call  in  Soles — Soles  the  shoemaker. — Soles, 
do  you  remember  measuring  some  footsteps  imprinted  on  the 

mud  at  the  wood  of  Warroch,  on  •  November  17 — ,  by  my 

orders  ? "  Soles  remembered  the  circumstances  perfectly. — 
"  Look  at  that  paper — is  that  your  note  of  the  measurement?  " 
Soles  verified  the  memorandum. — "  Now,  there  stands  a  pair  of 
shoes  on  that  table  ;  measure  them,  and  see  if  they  correspond 
with  any  of  the  marks  you  have  noted  there.''  The  shoemaker 
obeyed,  and  declared,  "  that  they  answered  exactly  to  the  largest 
of  the  foot-prints.'' 

"  We  shall  prove,"  said  the  counselor,  aside  to  Manner- 
ing,  that  these  shoes,  which  were  found  in  the  ruins  at  Dern- 
cleugh,  belonged  to  Brown,  the  fellow  whom  you  shot  on  the 
lawn  at  Woodbourne. — Now,  Soles,  measure  that  prisoner's 
feet  very  accurately." 

Mannering  observed  Hatteraick  strictly,  and  could  notice  a 
visible  tremor.  Do  these  measurements  correspond  with  any 
of  the  foot-prints  ?  " 

The  man  looked  at  the  note,  then  at  his  foot-rule  and 
measure — then  verified  his  former  measurement  by  a  second, 
"  They  correspond,"  he  said,  "  within  a  hair-breadth,  to  a  foot- 
mark broader  and  shorter  than  the  former." 

Hatteraick's  genius  here  deserted  him — Der  deyvil !  "  he 
broke  out,  "  how  could  there  be  a  foot-mark  on  the  ground, 
when  it  was  a  frost  as  hard  as  the  heart  of  a  Memel  log  ?  " 

"  In  the  evening,  I  grant  you,  Captain  Hatteraick,"  said 
Pleydell,  "  but  not  in  the  forenoon — Will  you  favor  me  with  in- 
formation where  you  were  upon  the  day  you  remember  so 
exactly  1 " 

Hatteraick  saw  his  blunder,  and  again  screwed  up  his  hard 
features  for  obstinate  silence. — "  Put  down  his  observation, 
however,"  said  Pleydell  to  the  clerk. 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and,  much  to  the  surprise 
of  most  present,  Mr.  Gilbert  Glossin  made  his  appearance. 
That  worthy  gentleman  had,  by  dint  of  watching  and  eavesdrop- 
ping, ascertained  that  he  was  not  mentioned  by  name  in  Meg 
Merrilies's  dying  declaration — a  circumstance  certainly  not  ow- 
ing to  any  favorable  disposition  toward  him,  but  to  the  delay 
of  taking  her  regular  examination,  and  to  the  rapid  approach 
of  death.  He  therefore  supposed  himself  safe  from  all  evidence 
but  such  as  might  arise  from  Hatteraick's  confession  ;  to  pre- 
vent which,  he  resolved  to  push  a  bold  face,  and  join  his 
brethren  of  the  bench  during  his  examination. — "  I  shall  be 
able,"  he  thought,  to  make  the  rascal  sensible  his  safety  lies 
in  keeping  his  own  counsel  and  mine  ;  and  my  presence,  be- 


GUY  MANNERING, 


367 


sides,  will  be  a  proof  of  confidence  and  innocence.  If  I  must 
lose  the  estate,  I  must — but  I  trust  better  things;" 

He  entered  with  a  profound  salutation  to  Sir  Robert  Hazle- 
wood.  Sir  Robert,  who  had  rather  begun  to  suspect  that  his 
plebeian  neighbor  had  made  a  cat's  paw  of  him,  inclined  his 
head  stiffly,  took  snuff,  and  looked  another  way. 

Mr.  Corsand,''  said  Glossin  to  the  other  yoke-fellow  of 
justice,  "  your  most  humble  servant.'' 

Your  humble  servant,  Mr.  Glossin,''  answered  Mr.  Cor- 
sand,  dryly,  composing  his  countenance  regis  ad  exemplar^ — that 
is  to  say,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Baronet. 

"  Mac-Morlan,  my  worthy  friend,"  continued  Glossin,  "  how 
d'ye  do — always  on  your  duty  ?  " 

"  Umph,"  said  honest  Mac-Morlan,  with  little  respect  either 
to  the  compliment  or  salutation — "  Colonel  Mannering  "  (a  low 
bow  slightly  returned),  and  Mr.  Pleydell  "  (another  low  bow), 
"  I  dared  not  have  hoped  for  your  assistance  to  poor  country 
gentlemen  at  this  period  of  the  session." 

Pleydell  took  snuff,  and  eyed  him  with  a  glance  equally 
shrewd  and  sarcastic — *'  I'll  teach  him,"  he  said  aside,  to  Man- 
nering, the  value  of  the  old  admonition,  Ne  accesseris  in  con* 
silium  antequam  voceris,^^ 

But  perhaps  1  intrude,  gentlemen"  said  Glossin,  who 
could  not  fail  to  observe  the  coldness  of  his  reception — "Is  this 
an  open  meeting  ?  " 

"  For  my  part,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell,  "so.  far  from  considering 
your  attendance  as  an  intrusion,  Mr.  Glossin,  I  was  never  so 
pleased  in  my  life  to  meet  with  you  ;  especially  as  I  think  we 
should,  at  any  rate,  have  had  occasion  to  request  the  favor  of 
your  company  in  the  course  of  the  day." 

"  Well,  then,  gentlemen,"  said  Glossin,  drawing  his  chair  to 
the  table,  and  begin  to  bustle  about  among  the  papers, 
"  where  are  we  ? — how  far  have  we  got  ?  where  are  the  decla- 
rations ? " 

"  Clerk,  give  me  all  these  papers,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell, — "  I 
have  an  odd  way  of  arranging  my  documents,  Mr.  Glossin — - 
another  person  touching  them  puts  me  out;  but  I  shall  have 
occasion  for  your  assistance  by  and  by." 

Glossin,  thus  reduced  to  inactivity,  stole  one  glance  at  Dirk 
Hatteraick,  but  could  read  nothing  in  his  dark  scowl  save  ma- 
lignity and  hatred  to  all  around.  "  But,  gentlemen,  said 
Glossin,  is  it  quite  right  to  keep  this  poor  man  so  heavily 
honed,  when  he  is  taken  up  merely  for  examination  ?  " 

This  was  hoisting  a  kind  of  friendly  signal  to  the  prisoner. 


368 


GUY  MANNERING, 


"  He  has  escaped  once  before,"  said  Mac-Morlan  dryly,  and 
Glossin  was  silenced. 

Bertram  was  now  introduced,  and  to  Glossin's  confusion, 
was  greeted  in  the  most  friendly  manner  by  all  present,  even 
by  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  himself.  He  told  his  recollections 
of  his  infancy  with  that  candor  and  caution  of  expression  which 
afforded  the  best  warrant  for  his  good  faith.  "  This  seems  to 
be  rather  a  civil  than  a  criminal  question,''  said  Glossin,  rising, 
"  and  as  you  cannot  be  ignorant,  gentlemen,  of  the  effect  which 
this  young  person's  pretended  parentage  may  have  on  my  pat- 
rimonial interest,  I  would  rather  beg  leave  to  retire." 

"  No,  my  good  sir,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell — "  we  can  by  no 
means  spare  you.  But  why  do  you  call  this  young  man's 
claims  pretended  ? — I  don't  mean  to  fish  for  your  defences 
against  them,  if  you  have  any,  but  "  

"  Mr.  Pleydell,"  replied  Glossin,  "  I  am  always  disposed  to 
act  above-board,  and  I  think  I  can  explain  the  matter  at  once. 
This  young  fellow,  whom  I  take  to  be  a  natural  son  of  the  late 
Ellangowan,  has  gone  about  the  country  for  some  weeks  under 
different  names,  cabaling  with  a  wretched  old  mad-woman, 
who,  I  understand,  was  shot  in  a  late  scuffle,  and  with  other 
tinkers,  gypsies,  and  persons  of  that  description,  and  a  great 
brute  farmer  from  Liddesdale,  stirring  up  the  tenants  against 
their  landlords,  which,  as  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood  of  Hazlewood 
knows  "  

Not  to  interrupt  you,  Mr.  Glossin,"  said  Pleydell,  "  I  ask 
who  you  say  this  young  man  is  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  say,"  replied  Glossin,  "  and  I  believe  that  gentle- 
man "  (looking  at  Hatteraick)  "  knows  that  the  young  man  is  a 
natural  son  of  the  late  Ellangowan  by  a  girl  called  Janet  Light- 
oheel,  who  was  afterward  married  to  Hewit,  the  shipwright, 
that  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Annan.  His  name  is  God- 
frey Bertram  Hewit,  by  which  name  he  was  entered  on  board 
the  Royal  Caroline  excise  yacht." 

"  Ay  !  "  said  Pleydell, — "  that  is  a  very  likely  story  ! — but, 
not  to  pause  upon  some  difference  of  eyes,  complexion,  and  so 
forth — be  pleased  to  step  forward,  sir. — A  young  seafaring  man 
came  forward. — Here,"  proceeded  the  counselor,  "  is  the  real 
Simon  pure — here's  Godfrey  Bertram  Hewit,  arrived  last  night 
from  Antigua  via  Liverpool,  mate  of  a  West  Indian,  and  in  a 
fair  way  of  doing  well  in  the  world,  although  he  came  somewhat 
irregularly  into  it." 

While  some  conversation  passed  between  the  other  justices 
and  this  young  man,  Pleydell  lifted  from  among  the  papers  on 
the  table  Hatteraick's  old  pocket-book.    A  peculiar  glance  of 


GUY  MANNERING. 


the  smuggler's  eye  induced  the  shrewd  lawyer  to  think  there 
was  something  here  of  interest.  He  therefore  continued  the 
examination  of  the  papers,  laying  the  book  on  the  table,  but 
instantly  perceived  that  the  prisoner's  interest  in  the  research 
had  cooled. — "  It  must  be  in  the  book  still,  whatever  it  is," 
thought  Pleydell ;  and  again  applied  himself  to  the  pocket- 
book,  until  he  discovered,  on  a  narrow  scrutiny,  a  slit,  between 
the  pasteboard  and  leather,  out  of  which  he  drew  three  small 
slips  of  paper.  Pleydell  now,  turning  to  Glossin,  requested 
the  favor  that  he  would  tell  them  if  he  had  assisted  at  the 
search  for  the  body  of  Kennedy,  and  the  child  of  his  patron, 
on  the  day  when  they  disappeared." 

I  did  not — that  is — I  did,"  answered  the  conscience-struck 
Glossin. 

"  It  is  remarkable,  though,"  said  the  advocate,  "  that,  "  con- 
nected as  you  were  with  the  Ellangowan  family,  I  don't  recol- 
lect your  being  examined,  or  even  appearing  before  me,  while 
that  investigation  was  proceeding  t  " 

"  I  was  called  to  London,"  answered  Glossin,  •*  on  most 
important  business,  the  morning  after  that  sad  affair." 

"  Clerk,"  said  Pleydell,  "  minute  down  that  reply. — I  pre- 
sume the  business,  Mr.  Glossin,  was  to  negotiate  these  three 
bills,  drawn  by  you  on  Messrs.  Vanbeest  and  Vanbruggen,  and 
accepted  by  one  Dirk  Hatteraick  in  their  name,  on  the  very  day 
of  the  murder.  I  congratulate  you  on  their  being  regularly 
retired,  as  I  perceive  they  have  been.  I  think  the  chances  were 
against  it."  Glossin's  countenance  fell.  "  This  piece  of  real 
evidence,"  continued  Mr.  Pleydell,  makes  good  the  account 
given  of  your  conduct  on  this  occasion  by  a  man  called  Gabriel 
Faa,  whom  we  have  now  in  custody,  and  who  witnessed  the 
whole  transaction  between  you  and  that  worthy  prisoner — Have 
you  any  explanation  to  give  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Pleydell,"  said  Glossin  with  great  composure,  "  I  pre- 
sume, if  you  were  my  counsel,  you  would  not  advise  me  to 
answer  upon  the  spur  of  the  moment  to  a  charge,  which  the 
basest  of  mankind  seem  ready  to  establish  by  perjury." 

"  My  advice,"  said  the  counselor,  "  would  be  regulated  by 
my  opinion  of  your  innocence  or  guilt.  In  your  case,  I  believe 
you  take  the  wisest  course  ;  but  you  are  aware  you  must  stand 
committed  ? " 

"  Committed  ? — for  what,  sir  ?  "  replied  Glossin  ;  upon  a 
charge  of  murder  ?  " 

"  No  ;  only  as  art  and  part  of  kidnapping  the  child/* 
^*  That  is  a  bailable  offence." 


370 


GUY  MANNERING. 


"  Pardon  me,"  said  Pleydell,  "  it  is  plagium^  and  plagium  iil 
felony.'^ 

"  Forgive  me,  Mr.  Pleydell  ; — there  is  only  one  case  upon 
record,  Torrence  and  Waldie.  They  were,  you  remember, 
resurrection-women,  who  had  promised  to  procure  a  child's  body 
for  some  young  surgeons.  Being  upon  honor  to  their  em- 
ployers, rather  than  disappoint  the  evening  lecture  of  the 
students,  they  stole  a  live  child,  murdered  it,  and  sold  the  body 
for  three  shillings  and  sixpence. — They  were  hanged,  but  for 
the  murder  not  for  the  plagimn,^  Your  civil  law  has  carried 
you  a  little  too  far.'' 

"Well,  sir; — but,  in  the  meantime,  Mr.  Mac-Morlan  must 
commit  you  to  the  county  jail,  in  case  this  young  man  repeats 
the  same  story. — Officers,  remove  Mr.  Glossin  and  Hatteraick, 
and  guard  them  in  different  apartments.'' 

Gabriel,  the  gipsy,  was  then  introduced,  and  gave  a  distinct 
account  of  his  deserting  from  Captain  Pritchard's  vessel  and 
joining  the  smugglers  in  the  action  ;  detailed  how  Dirk 
Hatteraick  set  fire  to  his  ship  when  he  found  her  disabled,  and 
under  cover  of  the  smoke  escaped  with  his  crew,  and  as  much 
goods  as  they  could  save,  into  the  cavern,  where  they  proposed 
to  lie  till  night-fall.  Hatteraick  himself,  his  mate  Vanbeest 
Brown,  and  three  others,  of  whom  the  declarant  was  one,  went 
into  the  adjacent  woods  to  communicate  with  some  of  their 
friends  in  the  neighborhood.  They  fell  in  with  Kennedy 
unexpectedly,  and  Hatteraick  and  Brown,  aware  that  he  was 
the  occasion  of  their  disasters,  resolved  to  murder  him.  He 
stated  that  he  had  seen  them  lay  violent  hands  on  the  officer, 
and  drag  him  through  the  woods,  but  had  not  partaken  in  the 
assault,  nor  witnessed  its  termination.  That  he  returned  to  the 
cavern  by  a  different  route,  where  he  again  met  Hatteraick  and 
his  accomplices  ;  and  the  captain  was  in  the  act  of  giving  an 
account  how  he  and  Brown  had  pushed  a  huge  crag  over,  as 
Kennedy  lay  groaning  on  the  beach,  when  Glossin  suddenly 
appeared  among  them.  To  the  whole  transaction  by  which 
Hatteraick  purchased  his  secrecy  he  was  witness.  Respecting 
young  Bertram  he  could  give  a  distinct  account  till  he  went  to 
India,  after  which  he  had  lost  sight  of  him  until  he  unexpect- 
edly met  with  him  in  Liddesdale.  Gabriel  Faa  further  stated, 
that  he  instantly  sent  notice  to  his  aunt  Meg  Merrilies,  as  well 
as  to  Hatteraick,  who  he  knew  was  then  upon  the  coast  ;  but 
that  he  had  incurred  his  aunt's  displeasure  upon  the  latter 
account.  He  concluded,  that  his  aunt  had  immediately  declared 

*  This  is,  in  its  circumstances  and  issue,  actually  a  case  tried  and 
reported. 


GUY  MANNERING. 


in 


that  she  would  do  all  that  lay  in  her  power  to  help  young 
Ellangowan  to  his  right,  even  if  it  should  be  by  informing 
against  Dirk  Hatteraick  ;  and  that  many  of  her  people  assisted 
her  besides  himself,  from  a  belief  that  she  was  gifted  with 
supernatural  inspirations.  With  the  same  purpose,  he  under- 
stood, his  aunt  had  given  to  Bertram  the  treasure  of  the  tribe, 
of  which  she  had  the  custody.  Three  or  four  gypsies,  by  the 
express  command  of  Meg  Merrilies,  had  mingled  in  the  crowd 
when  the  custom-house  was  attacked,  for  the  purpose  of  liberat- 
ing Bertram,  which  he  had  himself  effected.  He  said,  that  in 
obeying  Meg's  dictates  they  did  not  pretend  to  estimate  their 
propriety  or  rationality  ;  the  respect  in  w'hich  she  was  held  by 
her  tribe  precluding  all  such  subjects  of  speculation.  Upon 
further  interrogation,  the  witness  added,  that  his  aunt  had  al- 
ways said  that  Harry  Bertram  carried  that  round  his  neck  which 
would  ascertain  his  birth.  It  was  a  spell,  she  said,  that  an 
Oxford  scholar  had  made  for  him,  and  she  possessed  the  smug- 
glers with  an  opinion,  that  to  deprive  him  of  it  would  occasion 
the  loss  of  the  vessel. 

Bertram  here  produced  a  small  velvet  bag,  which  he  said  he 
had  worn  round  his  neck  from  his  earliest  infancy,  and  which 
he  had  preserved, — first  from  superstitious  reverence, — and 
latterly,  from  the  hope  that  it  might  serve  one  day  to  aid  in 
the  discovery  of  his  birth.  The  bag  being  opened,  was  found 
to  contain  a  blue  silk  case,  from  which  was  drawn  a  scheme 
of  nativity.  Upon  inspecting  this  paper.  Colonel  Mannering 
instantly  admitted  it  was  his  own  composition,  and  afforded 
the  strongest  and  most  satisfactory  evidence,  that  the  possessor 
of  it  must  necessarily  be  the  young  heir  of  Ellangowan,  by 
avowing  his  having  first  appeared  in  that  country  in  the 
character  of  an  astrologer. 

"  And  now,"  said  Pleydell,  "  make  out  warrants  of  commit- 
ment for  Hatteraick  and  Glossin  until  liberated  in  du^  course 
of  law.    Yet,"  he  said,  "  I  am  sorry  for  Glossin." 

"  Now,  I  think,"  said  Mannering,  "  he's  incomparably  the 
least  deserving  of  pity  of  the  two.  The  other's  a  bold  fellow, 
though  as  hard  as  flint." 

Very  natural,  Colonel,"  said  the  advocate,  "  that  you 
should  be  interested  in  the  ruffian,  and  I  in  the  knave — that's 
all  professional  taste  ;  but  I  can  tell  you,  Glossin  would  have 
been  a  pretty  lawyer,  had  he  not  had  such  a  turn  for  the  roguish 
part  of  the  profession." 

"  Scandal  Vv^ould  say,"  observed  Mannering,  "  he  might  not 
be  the  worse  lawyer  for  that." 


372  GUY  MANNERING. 

"  Scandal  would  tell  a  lie,  then,"  replied  Pleydell,  "  as  she 
usually  does.  Law's  like  laudanum  ;  it's  much  more  easy  to  use 
it  as  a  quack  does,  than  to  learn  to  apply  it  like  a  physician/' 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-SEVENTH. 

Unfit  to  live  or  die — O  marble  heart ! 
After  him,  fellows,  drag  him  to  the  block. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

The  jail  at  the  county  town  of  the  shire  of  was  one 

of  those  old  fashioned  dungeons  which  disgraced  Scotland 
until  of  late  years.  When  the  prisoners  and  their  guard  ar- 
rived there,  Hatteraick,  whose  violence  and  strength  were  well 
known,  was  secured  in  what  is  called  the  condemned  ward. 
This  was  a  large  apartment  near  the  top  of  the  prison.  A 
round  bar  of  iron,  about  the  thickness  of  a  man's  arm  above, 
the  elbow,  crossed  the  apartment  horizontally  at  the  height  of 
about  six  inches  from  the  floor ;  and  its  extremities  were 
strongly  built  into  the  wall  at  either  end.*  Hatteraick's  ankles 
were  secured  within  shackles,  which  were  connected  by  a  chain 
at  the  distance  of  about  four  feet,  with  a  large  iron  ring,  which 
traveled  upon  the  bar  we  have  described.  Thus  a  prisoner 
might  shufHe  along  the  length  of  the  bar  from  one  side  of  the 
room  to  another,  but  could  not  retreat  farther  from  it  in  any 
other  direction  than  the  brief  length  of  the  chain  admitted. 
When  his  feet  had  been  thus  secured,  the  keeper  removed  his 
hand-cuffs,  and  left  his  person  at  liberty  in  other  respects.  A 
pallet-bed  was  placed  close  to  the  bar  of  iron,  so  that  the 
shackle^  prisoner  might  lie  down  at  pleasure,  still  fastened  to 
the  iron  bar  in  the  manner  described. 

Hatteraick  had  not  been  long  in  this  place  of  confinement, 
before  Glossin  arrived  at  the  same  prison-house.  In  respect  to 
his  comparative  rank  and  education,  he  was  not  ironed,  but 
placed  in  a  decent  apartment,  under  the  inspection  of  Mac- 
GufTog,  who,  since  the  destruction  of  the  bridewell  of  Portan- 
ferry  by  the  mob,  had  acted  here  as  an  under-turnkey.  When 

*  This  mode  of  securing  prisoners  was  universally  practiced  in  Scotland 
after  condemnation.  Wlicn  a  man  received  sentence  of  death,  he  was  put 
upon  the  Cad,  as  it  was  called,  that  is,  secured  to  the  bar  of  iron  in  the 
manner  mentioned  in  the  text.  The  practice  subsisted  in  Edinburgh  till 
the  old  jail  was  taken  down  some  years  since,  and  perhaps  may  l)e  still  in 
use. 


GUY  MANmRtm. 


3?3 


Glossin  was  enclosed  within  this  room,  and  had  solitude  and 
leisure  to  calculate  all  the  chances  against  him  and  in  his 
favor,  he  could  not  prevail  upon  himself  to  consider  the  game 
as  desperate. 

The  estate  is  lost/'  he  said,  "  that  must  go  ; — and,  between 
Pleydell  and  Mac-Morlan,  they'll  cut  down  my  claim  on  it  to  a 
trifle.  My  character — but  if  I  get  off  with  life  and  liberty,  I'll 
win  money  yet,  and  varnish  that  over  again.  I  knew  not  the 
ganger's  job  until  the  rascal  had  done  the  deed,  and  though  I 
had  some  advantage  by  the  contraband,  that  is  no  felony.  But 
the  kidnapping  of  the  boy — there  they  touch  me  closer.  Let 
me  see : — This  Bertram  was  a  child  at  the  time — his  evidence 
must  be  imperfect — the  other  fellow  is  a  deserter,  a  gipsy,  and 
an  outlaw — Meg  Merrilies,  d — n,  her  is  dead.  The  infernal 
bills  !  Hatteraick  brought  them  with  him,  I  suppose,  to  have 
the  mear-^  of  threatening  me,  or  extorting  money  from  me.  I 
must  endeavor  to  see  the  rascal — must  get  him  to  stand  steady 
— must  persuade  him  to  put  some  other  color  upon  the  busi- 
ness." 

His  mind  teeming  with  schemes  of  future  deceit  to  cover 
former  villany,  he  spent  the  time  in  arranging  and  combining 
them  until  the  hour  of  supper.  Mac-Guffog  attended  as  turn- 
key on  this  occasion.  He  was,  as  we  know,  the  old  and 
especial  acquaintance  of  the  prisoner  who  was  now  under  his 
charge.  After  giving  the  turnkey  a  glass  of  brandy,  and 
sounding  him  with  one  or  two  cajoling  speeches,  Glossin  made 
it  his  request  that  he  would  help  him  to  an  interview  with  Dirk 
Hatteraick. — "  Impossible  !  utterly  impossible  ! — it's  contrary 
to  the  express  orders  of  Mr.  Mac-Morlan,  and  the  Captain" 
(as  the  head  jailer  of  a  county  jail  is  called  in  Scotland)  "would 
never  forgie  me." 

"But  why  should  he  know  of  it?"  said  Glossin,  slipping  a 
couple  of  guineas  into  Mac-Guffog's  hand. 

The  turnkey  weighed  the  gold,  and  looked  sharp  at  Glossin. 
— "Ay,  ay,  Mr.  Glossin,  ye  ken  the  ways  o'  this  place.  Lookee, 
at  lock-up  hour,  I'll  return  and  bring  ye  up  stairs  to  him — But 
ye  must  stay  a'  night  in  his  cell,  for  I  am  under  needcessity  to 
carry  the  keys  to  the  captain  for  the  night,  and  I  cannot  let 
you  out  again  until  morning — then  I'll  visit  the  wards  half  an- 
hour  earlier  than  usual,  and  ye  may  get  out,  and  be  snug  in 
your  ain  birth  when  the  captain  gangs  his  rounds." 

When  the  hour  of  ten  had  pealed  from  the  neighboring 
steeple,  Mac-Guffog  came  prepared  with  a  small  dark  lantern. 
He  said  softly  to  Glossin,  "  Slip  your  shoes  off,  and  follow  me. 
When  Glossin  was  out  of  the  door,  Mac-Guffog,  as  if  in  the  ex- 


3H 


ecution  of  his  ordinary  duty,  and  speaking  to  a  prisoner  within, 
called  aloud,  "  Good  night  to  you,  sir,  and  locked  the  door, 
clattering  the  bolts  with  much  ostentatious  noise.  He  then 
guided  Glossin  up  a  steep  and  narrow  stair,  at  the  top  of  which 
was  the  door  of  the  condemned  ward  ;  he  unbarred  and  un- 
locked it,  and  giving  Glossin  the  lantern,  made  a  sign  to  him 
to  enter,  and  locked  the  door  behind  him  with  the  same  affect- 
ed accuracy. 

In  the  large  dark  cell  into  which  he  was  thus  introduced 
Glossin's  feeble  light  for  some  time  enabled  him  to  discover 
nothing.  At  length  he  could  dimly  distinguish  the  pallet-bed 
stretched  on  the  floor  beside  the  great  iron  bar  which  traversed 
the  room,  and  on  that  pallet  reposed  the  figure  of  a  man. 
Glossin  approached  him — "  Dirk  Hatteraick  !  " 

"  Donner  and  hagel !  it  is  his  voice,"  said  the  prisoner, 
sitting  up  and  clashing  his  fetters  as  he  rose  :  "then  my  dream 
is  true  !  Begone,  and  leave  me  to  myself — it  will  be  your 
best." 

"  What !  my  good  friend, said  Glossin,  "will  you  allow  the 
prospect  of  a  few  weeks'  confinement  to  depress  your  spirit  .f*" 

"Yes,"  answered  the  ruffian,  sullenly — "when  I  am  only  to 
be  released  by  a  halter  ! — Let  me  alone — go  about  your  busi- 
ness, and  turn  the  lamp  from  my  face." 

"  Psha !  my  dear  Dirk,  don't  be  afraid,"  said  Glossin  ;  "  I 
have  a  glorious  plan  to  make  all  right." 

"  To  the  bottomless  pit  with  your  plans  !  "  replied  his  ac- 
complice. "You  have  planned  me  out  of  ship,  cargo,  and  life; 
and  I  dreamt  this  moment  that  Meg  Merrilies  dragged  you 
here  by  the  hair,  and  gave  me  the  long  clasped  knife  she  used 
to  wear.  You  don't  know  what  she  said — Sturm  wetter !  it  will 
be  your  wisdom  not  to  tempt  me  ! " 

"  But,  Hatteraick;^  my  good  friend,  do  but  rise  and  speak  to 
me,"  said  Glossin. 

"  I  will  not!  "  answered  the  savage,  doggedly — "you  have 
caused  all  the  mischief  ;  you  would  not  let  Meg  keep  the  boy — 
she  would  have  returned  him  after  he  had  forgot  all." 

"Why,  Hatteraick,  you  are  turned  driveler!" 

"Wetter!  will  you  deny  that  all  that  cursed  attempt  at 
Portanferry,  which  lost  both  sloop  and  crew,  was  your  device 
for  your  own  job  ?  " 

"  But  these  goods,  you  know  "  

"  Curse  the  goods  !  "  said  the  smuggler, — "  we  could  have 
got  plenty  more  ;  but,  der  deyvil !  to  lose  the  ship  and  the  fine 
fellows,  and  my  own  life,  for  a  cursed  coward  villain,  that 


GCrV  MANNERING. 


375 


always  works  his  own  mischief  with  other  people's  hands  ! 
Speak  to  me  no  more — I'm  dangerous." 

But,  Dirk — but,  Hatteraick,  hear  me  only  a  few  words." 
"  Hagel !  nein  !  " 
"  Only  one  sentence." 
^     Tausand  curses  !  nein  !  " 

At  least  get  up,  for  an  obstinate  Dutch  brute  !  "  said 
o^^sin,  losing  his  temper,  and  pushing  Hatteraick  with  his 
footJT 

"^onner  and  blitzen  !"  said  Hatteraick,  springing  up  and 
grappling  with  him — "  you  will  have  it  then  1  " 

Glossin  struggled  and  resisted ;  but  owing  to  his  surprise 
at  the  fury  of  the  assault,  so  ineffectually,  that  he  fell  under 
Hatteraick,  the  back  part  of  his  neck  coming  full  upon  the  iron 
bar  with  stunning  violence.  The  death-grapple  continued.  The 
room  immediately  below  the  condemned  ward,  being  that  of 
Glossin,  was,  of  course,  empty  ;  but  the  inmates  of  the  second 
apartment  beneath  felt  the  shock  of  Glossin 's  heavy  fall,  and 
heard  a  noise  as  of  struggling  and  of  groans.  But  all  sounds 
of  horror  were  too  congenial  to  this  place  to  excite  much 
curiosity  or  interest. 

In  the  morning,  faithful  to  his  promise,  Mac-Guffog  came — 
Mr.  Glossin,"  said  he,  in  a  whispering  voice. 

"  Call  louder,"  answered  Dirk  Hatteraick. 

"  Mr  Glossin,  for  God's  sake  come  away  !  "  • 

"  He'll  hardly  do  that  without  help,"  said  Hatteraick. 

"  What  are  you  chattering  there  for,  Mac-Guffog  ? "  called 
out  the  captain  from  below. 

"  Come  away,  for  God's  sake,  Mr.  Glossin  !  "  repeated  the 
turnkey. 

At  this  moment  the  turnkey  made  his  appearance  with  a  light. 
Great  was  his  surprise,  and  even  horror,  to  observe  Glossin's 
body  lying  doubled  across  the  iron  bar,  in  a  posture  that 
excluded  all  idea  of  his  being  alive.  Hatteraick  was  quietly 
stretched  upon  his  pallet  within  a  yard  of  his  victim.  On  lifting 
Glossin,  it  was  found  he  had  been  dead  for  some  hours.  His 
body  bore  uncommon  marks  of  violence.  The  spine,  where  it 
joins  the  skull,  had  received  severe  injury  by  his  first  fall. 
There  were  distinct  marks  of  strangulation  about  the  throat, 
which  corresponded  with  the  blackened  state  of  his  face.  The 
head  was  turned  backward  over  the  shoulder,  as  if  the  neck  had 
been  wrung  round  with  desperate  violence.  So  that  it  would 
seem  that  his  inveterate  antagonist  had  fixed  a  fatal  gripe 
upon  the  wretch's  throat,  and  never  quitted  it  while  life  lasted 


376 


GUY  MANNERING, 


The  lantern,  crushed  and  broken  to  pieces,  lay  beneath  the 
body. 

Mac-Morlan  was  in  the  town,  and  came  instantly  to  examine 
the  corpse. — What  brought  Glossin  here  1 "  he  said  to  Hat- 
teraick. 

The  devil  !    answered  the  ruffian. 
"  And  what  did  you  do  to  him  ? 
"Sent  him  to  hell  before  me,''  replied  the  miscreant. 
Wretch  ! "  said  Mac-Morlan,  "  you  have  crowned  a  liferent 
without  a  single  virtue,  with  the  murder  of  your  own  i.'^J^rable 
accomplice  ! " 

"Virtue  ?  "  exclaimed  the  prisoner — "  Donner  !  I  was  always 
faithful  to  my  shipowners — always  accounted  for  cargo  to  the 
last  stiver.  Hark  ye  !  let  me  have  pen  and  ink,  and  Til  write 
an  account  of  the  whole  to  our  house  ;  and  leave  me  alone  a 
couple  of  hours,  will  ye — and  let  me  take  away  that  piece  of 
carrion,  donner  wetter  !  " 

Mac-Morlan  deemed  it  the  best  way  to  humor  the  savage  ; 
he  was  furnished  with  writing  materials,  and  left  alone.  When 
they  again  opened  the  door,  it  was  found  that  this  determined 
villain  had  anticipated  justice.  He  had  adjusted  a  cord  taken 
from  the  truckle-bed,  and  attached  it  to  a  bone,  the  relic  of  his 
yesterday's  dinner,  which  he  had  contrived  to  drive  into  a 
crevice  between  two  stones  in  the  wall,  at  a  height  as  great  as 
he  c^uld  reach  standing  upon  the  bar.  Having  fastened  the 
noose  he  had  the  resolution  to  drop  his  body  as  if  to  fall  on  his 
knees,  and  to  retain  that  posture  until  resolution  was  no  longer 
necessary.  The  letter  he  had  written  to  his  owners,  though 
chiefly  upon  the  business  of  their  trade,  contained  many 
allusions  to  the  younker  of  Ellangowan,  as  he  called  him,  and 
afforded  absolute  confirmation  of  all  Meg  Merrilies  and  her 
nephew  had  told. 

To  dismiss  the  catastrophe  of  these  two  wretched  men,  I 
shall  only  add,  that  Mac-Guffog  was  turned  out  of  office,  not- 
withstanding his  declaration  (which  he  offered  to  attest  by 
oath),  that  he  had  locked  Glossin  safely  in  his  own  room  upon 
the  night  preceding  his  being  found  dead  in  Dirk  Hatteraick's 
cell.  His  story,  however,  found  faith  with  the  worthy  Mr. 
Skriegh,  and  other  lovers  of  the  marvelous,  who  still  hold  that 
the  Enemy  of  Mankind  brought  these  two  wretches  together 
upon  that  night,  by  supernatural  interference,  that  they  might 
fill  up  the  cup  of  their  guilt  and  receive  its  mead,  by  murder 
and  suicide. 


GUV  MANNERING. 


377 


CHAPTER  FIFTY-EIGHTH. 

To  sum  the  whole — the  close  of  all. 

Dean  Swift. 

As  Glossin  died  without  heirs,  and  without  payment  of  the 
price,  the  estate  of  Eilangowan  was  again  thrown  upon  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Godfrey  Bertram's  creditors,  the  right  of  most  of 
whom  was  however  defeasible,  in  case  Henry  Bertram  should 
establish  his  character  of  heir  of  entail.  This  young  gentleman 
put  his  affairs  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Pleydell  and  Mr.  Mac- 
Morlan,  with  one  single  proviso,  that  though  he  himself  should 
be  obliged  again  to  go  to  India,  every  debt,  justly  and  honor- 
ably due  by  his  father,  should  be  made  good  to  the  claimant. 
Mannering,  who  heard  this  declaration,  grasped  him  kindly  by 
the  hand,  and  from  that  moment  might  be  dated  a  thorough 
understanding  between  them. 

The  hoards  of  Miss  Margaret  Bertram,  and  the  liberal 
assistance  of  the  Colonel,  easily  enabled  the  heir  to  make 
provision  for  payment  of  the  just  creditors  of  his  father  ; — 
while  the  ingenuity  and  research  of  his  law  friends  detected, 
especially  in  the  accounts  of  Glossin,  so  many  overcharges  as 
greatly  diminished  the  total  amount.  In  these  circumstances, 
the  creditors  did  not  hesitate  to  recognize  Bertram's  right,  and 
to  surrender  to  him  the  house  and  property  of  his  ancestors. 

All  the  party  repaired  from  Woodbourne  to  take  possession, 
amid  the  shouts  of  the  tenantry  and  the  neighborhood  ;  and 
so  eager  was  Colonel  Mannering  to  superintend  certain  im- 
provements which  he  had  recommended  to  Bertram,  that  he 
removed  with  his  family  from  Woodbourne  to  Eilangowan, 
although  at  present  containing  much  less  and  much  inferiof 
accommodation. 

The  poor  Dominie's  brain  was  almost  turned  with  joy  on 
returning  to  his  old  habitation.  He  posted  up  stairs,  taking 
three  steps  at  once,  to  a  little  shabby  attic,  his  cell  and  dormi- 
tory in  former  days,  and  which  the  possession  of  his  much 
superior  apartment  at  Woodbourne  had  never  banished  from  his 
memory.  Here  one  sad  thought  suddenly  struck  the  honest 
man — the  books  ! — no  three  rooms  in  Eilangowan  were  capable 
to  contain  them.  While  this  qualifying  reflection  was  passing 
through  his  mind,  he  was  suddenly  summoned  by  Mannering 


378 


GUY  MANNERING. 


to  assist  in  calculating  some  proportions  relating  to  a  large  and 
splendid  house,  which  was  to  be  built  on  the  site  of  the  New 
Place  of  Ellangowan,  in  a  style  corresponding  to  the  magnificence 
of  the  ruins  in  its  vicinity.  Among  the  various  rooms  in  the 
plan,  the  Dominie  observed  that  one  of  the  largest  was  entitled 
The  Library  ;  and  close  beside  was  a  snug  well-proportioned 
chamber,  entitled  Mr.  Sampson's  Apartment. — ''Prodigious, 
prodigious,  prodigious  !    shouted  the  enraptured  Dominie. 

Mr.  Pleydell  had  left  the  party  for  some  time  ;  but  he 
returned,  according  to  promise,  during  the  Christmas  recess  of 
the  courts.  He  drove  up  to  Ellangowan  when  all  the  family 
were  abroad  but  the  Colonel,  who  was  busy  with  plans  of  build- 
ings, and  pleasure-grounds,  in  which  he  was  well  skilled,  and 
took  great  delight. 

"  Ah  ha  ! said  the  counselor, — "  so  here  you  are  !  Where 
are  the  ladies      Where  is  the  fair  Julia  1 

"  Walking  out  with  young  Hazlewood,  Bertram,  and  Captain 
Delaserre,  a  friend  of  his,  who  is  with  us  just  now.  They  are 
gone  to  plan  out  a  cottage  at  Derncleugh.  Well,  have  you 
carried  through  your  law  business  ? 

"With  a  wet  finger,"  answered  the  lawyer;  "got  our 
youngster's  special  service  retoured  into  Chancery.  We  had 
him  served  heir  before  the  macers.'* 

"  Macers    who  are  they  ? '' 

"Why,  it  IS  a  kind  of  judicial  Saturnalia.  You  must  know, 
that  one  of  the  requisites  to  be  a  macer,  or  officer  in  attendance 
upon  our  supreme  court,  is,  that  they  shall  be  men  of  no 
knowledge." 

"  Very  well !  " 

"  Now,  our  Scottish  legislature,  for  the  joke's  sake  I  suppose, 
have  constituted  those  men  of  no  knowledge  into  a  peculiar  court 
for  trying  questions  of  relationship  and  descent,  such  as  this 
business  of  Bertram,  which  often  involve  the  most  nice  and 
complicated  questions  of  evidence." 

"  The  devil  they  have  ? — I  should  think  that  rather  incon- 
venient," said  Mannering. 

"  O,  we  have  a  practical  remedy  for  the  theoretical  absurdity. 
One  or  two  of  the  judges  act  upon  such  occasions  as  prompters 
and  assessors  to  their  own  door-keepers.  But  you  know  what 
Cujacius  says,  Malta  sunt  in  mo  rib  us  dissentanea  7nulta^  sim 
ratiofie*'  However,  this  Saturnalian  court  has  done  our  busi- 
ness ;  and  a  glorious  batch  of  claret  we  had  afterward  at 
Walker's — Mac-Morlan  will  stare  when  he  sees  the  bill." 

•  The  singular  inconsistency  hinted  at  is  now,  in  a  great  degree,  removed 


I 


GUV  MANNERING. 


379 


Never  fear/*  said  the  Colonel ;  "we'll  face  the  shock,  and 
entertain  the  county  at  my  friend  Mrs.  Mac-Candish's  to 
boot/' 

"  And  choose  Jack  Jabos  for  your  master  of  horse  ? ''  replied 
the  lawyer. 

"  Perhaps  I  may." 

"And  where  is  Dandie,  the  redoubted  Lord  of  Liddesdale 
demanded  the  advocate. 

"  Returned  to  his  mountains ;  but  he  has  promised  Julia  to 
make  a  descent  in  summer,  with  the  goodwife,  as  he  calls  her, 
and  I  don't  know  how  many  children." 

"  O  the  curlie-headed  varlets  ! — I  must  come  to  play  at 
Blind  Harry  and  Hy  Spy  with  them. — But  what  is  all  this  ?  " 
added  Pleydell,  taking  up  the  plans  ; — "  tower  in  the  centre  to 
be  an  imitation  of  the  Eagle  Tower  at  Caernarvon — corps  de 
logis — the  devil  ! — wings — wings  1  why,  the  house  will  take  the 
estate  of  Ellangowan  on  its  back,  and  fly  away  with  it  ! " 

"  Why  then  we  must  ballast  it  with  a  few  bags  of  Sicca 
rupees,"  replied  the  Colonel. 

"  Aha  !  sits  the  wind  there  Then  I  suppose  the  young  dog 
carries  off  my  mistress  Julia 

"  Even  so,  counselor." 
'  "  These  rascals,  the  post-nati^  get  the  better  of  us  of  the  old 
school  at  every  turn,"  said  Mr.  Pleydell.    "  But  she  must  con- 
vey and  make  over  her  interest  in  me  to  Lucy," 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  afraid  your  flank  will  be  turned 
there  too,"  replied  the  Colonel. 

"Indeed  .?" 

"  Here  has  been  Sir  Robert  Hazlewood,"  said  Mannering, 
*^upon  a  visit  to  Bertram,  thinking,  and' deeming,  and  opin- 
ing"  

"  O  Lord  !  pray  spare  me  the  worthy  baronet's  triads  !  " 

"Well,  sir,"  continued  Mannering;  "  to  make  short,  he  con- 
ceived that  as  the  property  of  Singleside  lay  like  a  wedge  be- 
tween two  farms  of  his,  and  was  four  or  five  miles  separated 
from  Ellangowan,  something  like  a  sale,  or  exchange,  or  ar- 
rangement might  take  place,  to  the  mutual  convenience  of  both 
parties." 

"  Well,  and  Bertram  "— 

"  Why,  Bertram  replied,  that  he  considered  the  original 
settlement  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Bertram  as  the  arrangement  most 
proper  in  the  circumstances  of  the  family,  and  that  therefore 
the  estate  of  Singleside  was  the  property  of  his  sister." 

"The  rascal  !"  said  Pleydell,  wiping  his  spectacles,  "he'U 
steal  my  heart  as  well  as  my  mistress — Et  J>uis  ?  " 


38o 


GUY  MANNERING, 


"  And  then  Sir  Robert  retired,  after  many  gracious  speeches ; 
but  last  week  he  again  took  the  field  in  force,  with  his  coach 
and  six  horses,  his  laced  scarlet  waistcoat,  and  best  bob-wig — 
all  very  grand,  as  the  good-boy  books  say." 
Ah  !  and  what  was  his  overture  ?  " 

Why  he  talked  in  great  form  of  an  attachment  on  the  part 
of  Charles  Hazlewood  to  Miss  Bertram.'' 

"  Ay,  ay  ;  he  respected  the  little  god  Cupid  when  he  saw 
him  perched  on  the  Dun  of  Singleside.  And  is  poor  Lucy  to 
keep  house  with  that  old  fool  and  his  wife,  who  is  just  the 
knight  himself  in  petticoats  ? '' 

No — we  parried  that.  Singleside-House  is  to  be  repaired 
for  the  young  people,  and  to  be  called  hereafter  Mount  Hazle- 
wood." 

And  do  you  yourself.  Colonel,  propose  to  continue  at  Wood- 
bourne  ?  " 

"  Only  till  we  carry  these  plans  into  effect.  See,  here's  the 
pian  of  my  Bungalow,  with  all  convenience  for  being  separate 
and  sulky  when  1  please." 

*^  And  being  situated,  as  I  see,  next  door  to  the  old  castle, 
you  may  repair  Donagild's  tower  for  the  nocturnal  contem- 
plation of  the  celestial  bodies      Bravo,  Colonel  !  " 

"  No,  no,  my  dear  counselor !  Here  ends  The  Astrologer." 


NOTES  TO  GUY  MANNERING. 


Note  A,  p.  i6. — Groaning  Malt  and  Ken-no. 

gyoaiii7ig  malt  mentioned  in  th'e  text  was  the  ale  brewed  for  the 
purpose  of  being  drunk  after  the  lady  or  goodwife's  safe  delivery.  The 
ken-no  has  a  more  ancient  source,  and  perhaps  the  custom  may  be  derived 
from  the  secret  rites  of  the  Bona  Dca.  A  large  and  rich  cheese  was  made 
by  the  women  of  the  family,  with  great  affectation  of  secrecy,  for  the  re- 
freshment of  the  gossips  who  were  to  attend  at  the  canny  minute.  This 
was  the  ken-no,  so  called  because  its  existence  was  secret  (that  is,  presumed 
to  be  so)  from  all  the  males  of  the  family,  but  especially  from  the  husband 
and  master.  He  was,  accordingly,  expected  to  conduct  himself  as  if  he 
knew  of  no  such  preparation,  to  act  as  if  desirous  to  press  the  female 
guests  to  refreshments,  and  to  seem  surprised  at  their  obstinate  refusal. 
But  the  instant  his  back  was  turned  the  ken-^to  was  produced;  and  after  all 
had  eaten  their  fill,  with  a  proper  accompaniment  of  the  groaning  malty  the 
remainder  was  divided  among  the  gossips,  each  carrying  a  large  portion 
home  with  the  same  affectation  of  great  secrecy. 

Note  B,  p.  124. — Mump's  Ha'. 

It  is  fitting  to  explain  to  the  reader  the  locality  described  in  this  chapter. 
There  is,  or  rather  I  should  say  there  was,  a  little  inn  called  Mump's  Hall, 
that  is,  being  interpreted,  Beggar's  Hotel,  near  to  Gilsland,  which  had  not 
then  attained  its  present  fame  as  a  Spa.  It  was  a  hedge  alehouse,  where 
the  Border  farmers  of  either  country  often  stopped  to  refresh  themselves 
and  their  nags  on  their  way  to  and  from  the  fairs  and  trysts  in  Cumberland, 
and  especially  those  who  came  from  or  went  to  Scotland,  through  a  barren 
and  lonely  district,  without  either  road  or  pathway,  emphatically  called  the 
Waste  of  Bewcastle.  At  the  period  when  the  adventures  described  in  the 
novel  are  supposed  to  have  taken  place,  there  were  many  instances  of  at- 
tacks by  freebooters  on  those  who  traveled  through  this  wild  district,  and 
Mump's  Ha'  had  a  bad  reputation  for  harboring  the  banditti  who  committed 
such  depredations. 

An  old  and  sturdy  yeoman  belonging  to  the  Scottish  side,  by  surname  an 
Armstrong  or  Elliot,  but  well  known  by  the  soubriquet  of  Fighting  Charlie 
of  Liddesdale,  and  still  remembered  for  the  courage  he  displayed  in  the 
frequent  frays  which  took  place  on  the  Border  fifty  or  sixty  years  since,  had 
the  following  adventure  in  the  Waste,  which  suggested  the  idea  of  the  scene 
in  the  text : — 

Charlie  had  been  at  Stagshaw  bank  fair,  had  sold  his  sheep  or  cattle,  or 


382 


NOTES. 


whatever  he  had  brought  to  market,  and  was  on  his  return  to  Liddesdale. 
There  were  then  no  country  banks  where  cash  could  be  deposited,  and  bills 
received  instead,  which  greatly  encouraged  robbery  in  that  wild  country, 
as  the  objects  of  plunder  were  usually  fraught  with  gold.  The  robbers 
had  spies  in  the  fair,  by  means  of  whom  they  gener<  IJy  knew  whose  purse 
was  best  stocked,  ?.nd  who  took  a  lonely  and  desolate  road  homeward — ^ 
those,  in  short,  who  were  best  worth  robbing,  and  likely  to  be  most  easily 
robbed. 

All  this  Charlie  knew  full  well;  but  he  had  a  pair  of  excellent  pistols, 
and  a  dauntless  heart.  He  stopped  at  Mump's  Ha',  notwithstanding  the 
evil  character  of  the  place.  His  horse  was  accommodated  where  it  might 
have  the  necessary  rest  and  feed  of  corn  ;  and  Charlie  himself,  a  dashing 
fellow,  grew  gracious  with  the  landlady,  a  buxom  quean,  who  used  all  the 
influence  in  her  power  to  induce  him  to  stop  all  night.  The  landlord  was 
from  home,  she  said,  and  it  was  ill  passing  the  Waste,  as  twilight  must 
needs  descend  on  him  before  he  gained  the  Scottish  side,  which  was 
reckoned  the  safest.  But  Fighting  Charlie,  though  he  suffered  himself  to 
be  detained  later  than  was  prudent,  did  not  account  Mump's  Ha*  a  safe 
place  to  quarter  in  during  the  night.  He  tore  himself  away,  therefore, 
from  Meg's  good  fare  and  kind  words,  and  mounted  his  nag,  having  first 
examined  his  pistols,  and  tried  by  the  ramrod  whether  the  charge  remained 
in  them. 

He  proceeded  a  mile  or  two  at  a  round  trot,  when,  as  the  Waste  stretched 
black  before  him,  apprehensions  began  to  awaken  in  his  mind,  partly 
arising  out  of  Meg's  unusual  kindness,  which  he  could  not  help  thinking 
had  rather  a  suspicious  appearance.  He  therefore  resolved  to  reload  his 
pistols,  lest  the  powder  had  become  damp;  but  what  was  his  surprise, 
when  he  drew  the  charge,  to  find  neither  powder  nor  ball,  while  each  barrel 
had  been  carefully  filled  with  tow  up  to  the  space  which  the  loading  had 
occupied!  and  the  priming  of  the  weapons  being  left  untouched,  nothing 
but  actually  drawing  and  examining  the  charge,  could  have  discovered  the 
inefficiency  of  his  arms  till  the  fatal  minute  arrived  when  their  services 
were  required.  Charlie  bestowed  a  hearty  Liddesdale  curse  on  his  landlady, 
and  reloaded  his  pistols  with  care  and  accuracy,  having  now  no  doubt  that 
he  was  to  be  waylaid  and  assaulted.  He  was  not  far  engaged  in  the  Waste, 
which  was  then,  and  is  now,  traversed  only  by  such  routes  as  are  described 
in  the  text,  when  two  or  three  fellows,  disguised  and  variously  armed, 
started  from  a  moss-hag,  while,  by  a  glance  behind  him  (for,  marching,  as 
the  Spaniard  says,  with  his  beard  on  his  shoulder,  he  reconnoitred  in  every 
direction),  Charlie  instantly  saw  retreat  was  impossil:)le,  as  other  two  stout 
men  appeared  behind  him  at  some  distance.  The  Borderer  lost  not  a 
moment  in  taking  his  resolution,  and  boldly  trotted  against  his  enemies  in 
front,  who  called  loudly  on  him  to  stand  and  deliver;  Charlie  spurred  on, 
and  presented  his  pistol.  D — n  your  pistol,"  said  the  foremost  robber; 
whom  Charlie  to  his  dying  day  protested  he  believed  to  have  been  the 
landlord  of  Mump's  Ha'.  "  1) — n  your  pistol  !  I  care  not  a  curse  for  it." 
— Ay,  lad,"  said  the  deep  voice  of  Fighting  Charlie,  ^*  but  the  tow^s  out 
now^  He  had  no  occasion  to  utter  another  word  ;  the  rogues,  surprised 
at  finding  a  man  of  redoul)ted  courage  well  armed,  instead  of  being  defence- 
less, took  to  the  moss  in  every  direction,  and  he  passed  on  his  way  without 
further  molestation. 

The  author  has  heard  this  story  told  by  persons  who  received  it  from 
Fighting  Charlie  himself;  he  has  also  heard  that  Mump's  Ha' was  after- 
ward the  scene  of  some  other  atrocious  villany,  for  which  the  people  of 
the  house  suffered.  But  these  are  all  talcs  of  at  least  half-a-century  old, 
and  the  Waste  has  been  for  many  years  as  safe  as  any  place  in  the  kingdom, 


NOTES. 


383 


Note  C,  p.  134 — Dandte  Dinmont. 

The  author  may  here  remark,  that  the  character  of  Dandie  Dinmont  was 
drawn  from  no  individual.  A  dozen,  at  least,  of  stout  Liddesdale  yeomen 
with  whom  he  has  been  acquainted ,  and  whose  hospitality  he  has  shared 
in  his  rambles  through  that  wild  country,  at  a  time  when  it  was  totally  in- 
accessible save  in  the  manner  described  in  the  text,  might  lay  claim  to  be 
the  prototype  of  the  rough,  but  faithful,  hospitable,  and  generous  farmer. 
But  one  circumstance  occasioned  the  name  to  be  fixed  upon  a  most  respect- 
able individual  of  this  class,  now  no  more.  Mr.  James  Davidson  of  Hindlee, 
a  tenant  of  Lord  Douglas,  besides  the  points  of  blunt  honesty,  personal 
strength,  and  hardihood,  designed  to  be  expressed  in  the  character  of 
Dandie  Dinmont,  had  the  humor  of  naming  a  celebrated  race  of  terriens 
which  he  possessed  by  the  generic  names  of  Mustard  and  Pepper  (according 
as  their  color  was  yellow  or  grayish-black),  without  any  other  individual 
distinction,  except  as  according  to  the  nomenclature  in  the  text.  Mr. 
Davidson  resided  at  Hindlee,  a  wild  farm  on  the  very  edge  of  the  Teviot- 
dale  mountains,  and  bordering  close  on  Liddesdale,  where  the  rivers  and 
brooks  divide  as  they  take  their  course  to  the  Eastern  or  Western  seas. 
His  passion  for  the  chase,  in  all  its  forms,  but  especially  for  fox-hunting,  as 
followed  in  the  fashion  described  in  the  next  chapter,  in  conducting  which 
he  was  skilful  beyond  most  men  in  the  South  Highlands,  was  the  distin- 
guishing point  in  his  character. 

When  the  tale  on  which  these  comments  are  written  became  rather 
popular,  the  name  of  Dandie  Dinmont  was  generally  given  to  him,  which 
Mr.  Davidson  received  with  great  good  humor,  only  saying,  while  he  dis- 
tinguished the  author  by  the  name  applied  to  him  in  the  country,  where 
his  own  is  so  common — that  the  Sheriff  had  not  written  about  him  mair 
than  about  other  folk,  but  only  about  his  dogs."  An  English  lady  of  high 
rank  and  fashion  being  desirous  to  possess  a  brace  of  the  celebrated  Mustard 
and  Pepper  terriers,  expressed  her  wishes  in  a  letter,  which  was  literally 
addressed  to  Dandie  Dinmont,  under  which  very  general  direction  it  reached 
Mr.  Davidson,  who  was  justly  proud  of  the  application,  and  failed  not  to 
comply  with  a  request  which  did  him  and  his  favorite  attendants  so  much 
honor. 

I  trust  I  shall  not  be  considered  as  offending  the  memory  of  a  kind  and 
worthy  man,  if  I  mention  a  little  trait  of  character  which  occurred  in  Mr. 
Davidson's  last  illness.  I  use  the  words  of  the  excellent  clergyman  who 
attended  him,  who  gave  the  account  to  a  reverend  gentleman  of  the  same 
persuasion: — 

"  I  read  to  Mr.  Davidson  the  very  suitable  and  interesting  truths  you 
addressed  to  him.  He  listened  to  them  with  great  seriousness,  and  has 
uniformly  displayed  a  deep  concern  about  his  soul's  salvation.  He  died  on 
the  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  (1820);  an  apoplectic  stroke  deprived  him  in 
an  instant  of  all  sensation,  but  happily  his  brother  was  at  his  bed-side,  for 
he  had  detained  him  from  the  meeting-house  that  day  to  be  near  him,  al- 
though he  felt  himself  not  much  worse  than  usual — So  you  have  got  the  last 
little  Mustard  that  the  hand  of  Dandie  Dinmont  bestowed. 

**  His  ruling  passion  was  strong  even  on  the  eve  of  death.  Mr.  Baillie's 
fox-hounds  had  started  a  fox  opposite  to  his  window  a  few  weeks  ago,  and 
as  soon  as  he  heard  the  sound  of  the  dogs,  his  eyes  glistened;  he  insisted 
on  getting  out  of  bed,  and  with  much  difficulty  got  to  the  window,  and 
there  enjoyed  the  fun,  as  he  called  it.  When  I  came  down  to  ask  for  him, 
he  said,  ^  he  had  seen  Reynard,  but  had  not  seen  his  death.  If  it  had  been 
the  will  of  Providence,'  he  added,  '  I  would  have  liked  to  have  been  after 
him;  but  I  am  glad  that  I  got  to  the  window,  and  am  thankful  for  what  I 


3^4 


NOTES, 


saw,  for  it  has  done  me  a  great  deal  of  good.'  Notwithstanding  these 
eccentricities  (adds  the  setisible  and  liberal  clergyman),  I  sincerely  hope 
and  believe  he  has  gone  to  a  better  world,  and  better  company  and  enjoy- 
ments." 

If  some  part  of  this  little  narrative  may  excite  a  smile,  it  is  one  which  is 
consistent  with  the  most  perfect  respect  for  the  simple-minded  invalid,  and 
his  kind  and  judicioii">  religious  instructor,  who,  we  hope,  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased with  our  giving,  we  trust,  a  correct  edition  of  an  anecdote  which 
has  been  pretty  generally  circulated.  The  race  of  Pepper  and  Mustard  are 
in  the  highest  estimation  at  this  day,  not  only  for  vermin-killing,  but  for 
intelligence  and  fidelity.  Those  who,  like  the  author,  possess  a  brace  of 
them,  consider  them  as  very  desirable  companions. 
• 

Note  D,  p.  145.— Lum  Cleeks. 

The  cleek  here  intimated  is  the  iron  hook,  or  hooks,  depending  from  the 
chimney  of  a  Scottish  cottage,  on  which  the  pot  is  suspended  when  boiling. 
The  same  appendage  is  often  called  tlie  crook.  The  salmon  is  usually 
dried  by  hanging  it  up,  after  being  split  and  rubbed  with  salt,  in  the  smoke 
of  the  turf  fire  above  the  cleeks,  where  it  is  said  to  reist^  that  preparation 
being  so  termed.  The  salmon  thus  preserved  is  eaten  as  a  delicacy,  under 
the  name  of  kipper,  a  luxury  to  which  Dr.  Redgill  has  given  his  sanction  as 
an  ingredient  of  the  Scottish  breakfast. — See  the  excellent  novel  (by  Miss 
Ferrier)  entitled  "  Marriage." 

Note  E,  p.  146.— Clan  Surnames, 

The  distinction  of  individuals  by  nicknames  when  they  possess  no  prop- 
erty is  still  common  on  the  Border,  and  indeed  necessary,  from  the  number 
of  persons  having  the  same  name.  In  the  small  village  of  Lustruther,  in 
Roxburghshire,  there  dwelt,  in  the  memory  of  man,  four  inhabitants,  called 
Andrew,  or  Dandie  Oliver.  They  were  distinguished  as  Dandie  Eassil-gate, 
Dandie  Wassil-gate,  Dandie  Thumbie,  and  Dandie  Dumbie.  The  two  first 
had  their  names  from  living  eastward  and  westward  in  the  street  of  the 
village;  the  third  from  something  peculiar  in  the  conformation  of  his 
thumb;  the  fourth  from  his  taciturn  habit:. 

It  is  told  as  a  well-known  jest,  that  a  beggar-woman,  repulsed  from  door 
to  door  as  she  solicited  quarters  through  a  village  of  Annandale,  asked,  in 
her  despair,  if  there  were  no  Christians  in  the  place.  To  which  the  hearers 
concluding  that  she  inquired  for  some  persons  so  surnamed,  answered,  "  Na, 
na,  there  are  nae  Christians  here;  we  are  a'  Johnstones  and  Jardines." 

Note  F,  p.  152.— Gypsy  Superstitions. 

The  mysterious  rites  in  which  Meg  Merrilies  is  described  as  engaging, 
belong  to  lier  character  as  queen  of  her  race.  All  know  that  gypsies  in 
every  country  claim  acquaintance  with  the  gift  of  fortune-telling;  but,  as 
is  often  the  case,  they  are  liable  to  the  superstitions  of  which  they  avail 
themselves  in  others.  The  correspondent  of  Blackwood,  quoted  in  the 
Introduction  to  this  Tale,  gives  us  some  information  on  the  subject  of  their 
credulity. 

**  I  have  ever  understood,"  he  says,  sj^eaking  of  the  Yetholm  gypsies, 
*^  that  they  are  extremely  superstitious — carefully  noticing  the  formation  of 
the  clouds,  the  flight  of  p.irticular  birds,  and  the  soiii^/ihij^  the  winds,  be* 
fore  attcmi)ling  any  enterj^rise.  'I'hey  have  been  known  for  several  succes- 
give  days  to  turn  back  with  their  loaded  carts,  asses,  and  children,  on 


NOTES.  385 

meeting  with  persons  whom  they  considered  of  unlucky  aspect ;  nor  do 
they  ev«-r  proceed  on  their  summer  peregrinations  without  some  propitious 
omen  of  their  fortunate  return.  They  also  burn  the  clothes  of  their  dead, 
■lot  so  much  from  anv  apprehension  of  infection  being  communicated  by 
them,  as  the  conviction  that  the  very  circumstance  of  wearing  them  would 
shorten  the  days  of  their  living.  They  likewise  carefully  watch  the  corpse 
by  night  and  day  till  the  time  of  interment,  and  conceive  that  *  the  deil 
tinkles  at  the  lykewake  '  of  those  who  felt  in  their  death-thraw  the  agonies 
and  terrors  of  remorse." 

These  notions  are  not  peculiar  to  the  gypsies;  but  having  been  once 
generally  entertained  among  the  Scottish  common  people,  are  now  only 
found  among  those  who  are  the  most  rude  in  their  habits,  and  most  devoid 
of  instruction.  The  popular  idea,  that  the  protracted  struggle  between  life 
and  death  is  painfully  prolonged  by  keeping  the  door  of  the  apartment  shut 
was  received  as  certain  by  the  superstitious  eld  of  Scotland.  But  neither 
was  it  to  be  thrown  wide  open.  To  leave  the  door  ajar  was  the  plan 
adopted  by  the  old  crones  who  understood  the  mysteries  of  deathbeds  and 
lykewakes.  In  that  case  there  was  room  for  the  imprisoned  spirit  to  es- 
cape ;  and  yet  an  obstacle,  we  have  been  assured,  was  offered  to  the  entrance 
of  any  frightful  form  which  might  otherwise  intrude  itself.  The  threshold 
of  a  habitation  was  in  some  sort  a  sacred  limit,  and  the  subject  of  much 
superstition.  A  bride,  even  to  this  day,  is  always  lifted  over  it,  a  rule 
derived  apparently  from  the  Romans. 

Note  G,  p.  218. — High  Jinks. 

I  believe  this  strange  species  of  game  or  revel  to  be  the  same  mentioned 
in  old  English  plays,  and  which  was  called  coming  from  Tripoli.'*  When 
the  supposed  king  was  seated  in  his  post  of  elevation,  the  most  active  fellow 
in  the  party  came  into  the  presence  leaping  over  as  many  chairs  and  stools 
as  he  could  manage  to  spring  over.    He  is  announced  as 

A  Post— 
King,  From  whence  ? 
Post,  From  Tripoli,  my  liege. 

He  then  announces  to  the  mock  monarch  the  destruction  of  his  army  and 
fleet.  This  species  of  High  Jinks  was  called  "  Gerunto,"  from  the  name  of 
the  luckless  general.    I  have  seen  many  who  have  played  at  it. 

Among  the  rest,  an  excellent  friend  and  relative,  now  no  more  (the  late 
Mr.  Keith  of  Dunottar  and  Ravelstone),  gave  me  a  ludicrous  account  of  a, 
country  gentleman  coming  up  to  Edinburgh  rather  unexpectedly,  and  find- 
ing his  son,  whom  he  had  hoped  was  diligently  studying  the  law  in  silence 
and  seclusion,  busily  engaged  in  personating  the  king  in  a  full  drama  of 
"  Gerunto."  The  monarch,  somewhat  surprised  at  first  passed  it  off  with 
assurance,  calling  for  a  seat  for  his  worthy  father,  and  refusing  to  accost 
him  otherwise  than  in  the  slang  of  the  character.  This  incident — in  itself 
the  more  comic  situation  of  the  two — suggested  the  scene  in  the  text. 

♦The  old  play  referred  to  in  this  note  was  probably  Fletcher's  Comedy 
of     Monsieur  Thomas,"  Act  iv.  Sc.  2. 

Seb,  Get  up  to  that  window  there,  and  presently. 

Like  a  most  complete  gentleman,  come fromTripoly, 

Tho.  Good  Lord,  sir,  how  are  you  misled ! 

What  fancies — fitter  for  idle  boys  and  drunkards,  let  me  speak't. 

Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  Works y\y^  Dyce,  vol.  vii.  p.  376 


386 


NOTES. 


The  phrase  To  come  on  high  from  Tripoly  is  also  to  be  found  in  Ben 
Jonson's    Silent  Woman,"  Act  v.  Sc.  i.] 

Note  H,  p.  245. — Tappit  Hen. 

The  Tappit  Hen  contained  three  quarts  of  claret — 

Weel  she  lo'ed  a  Hawick  gill, 
And  leugh  to  see  a  Tappit  Hen. 

I  have  seen  one  of  these  formidable  stoups  at  Provost  Haswell's,  at  Jed- 
burgh in  the  days  of  yore.  It  was  a  pewter  measure,  the  claret  being  in 
ancient  days  served  from  the  tap,  and  had  the  figure  of  a  hen  upon  the  lid. 
In  later  times,  the  name  was  given  to  a  glass  bottle  of  the  same  dimensions. 
These  are  rare  apparitions  among  the  degenerate  topers  of  modern  days. 

Note  I,  p.  245. — Convivial  Habits  of  the  Scottish  Bar. 

The  account  given  by  Mr.  Pleydell  of  his  sitting  down  in  the  midst  of 
a  revel  to  draw  an  appeal  case,  was  taken  from  a  story  told  me  by  an  aged 
gentleman,  of  the  elder  President  Dundas  of  Arniston  (father  of  the  younger 
President  and  of  Lord  Melville.)  It  had  been  thought  very  desirable 
while  that  distinguished  lawyer  was  King's  counsel,  that  his  assistance 
should  be  obtained  in  drawing  an  appeal  case,  which,  as  occasion  for  such 
writings  then  rarely  occurred,  was  held  to  be  a  matter  of  great  nicety.  The 
solicitor  employed  for  the  appellant,  attended  by  my  informant  acting  as 
his  clerk,  went  to  the  Lord  Advocate's  chambers  in  the  Fishmarket  Close, 
as  I  think.  It  was  Saturday  at  noon,  the  Court  was  just  dismissed,  the 
Lord  Advocate  had  changed  his  dress  and  booted  himself,  and  his  servant 
and  horses  were  at  the  foot  of  the  close  to  carry  him  to  Arniston.  It  was 
scarcely  possible  to  get  him  to  listen  to  a  word  respecting  business.  The 
wily  agent,  however,  on  pretence  of  asking  one  or  two  questions,  which 
would  not  detain  him  half-an-hour,  drew  his  Lordship,  who  was  no  less  an 
eminent  bon  vivant  than  a  lawyer  of  unequaled  talent,  to  take  a  whet  at  a 
celebrated  tavern,  when  the  learned  counsel  became  gradually  involved  in 
a  spirited  discussion  of  the  law  points  of  the  case.  At  length  it  occurred 
to  him  that  he  might  as  well  ride  to  Arniston  in  the  cool  of  the  evening. 
The  horses  were  directed  to  be  put  in  the  stable,  but  not  to  be  unsaddled. 
Dinner  was  ordered,  the  law  was  laid  aside  for  a  time,  and  the  bottle  cir- 
culated very  freely.  At  nine  o'clock  at  night,  after  he  had  been  honoring 
Bacchus  for  so  many  hours,  the  Lord  Advocate  ordered  his  horses  to  be 
unsaddled — paper,  pen,  and  ink  were  brought — he  began  to  dictate  the 
appeal  case — and  continued  at  his  task  till  four  o'  :lock  next  morning.  By- 
next  day's  post,  the  solicitor  sent  the  case  to  London,  a  chef-d'ceiwre  of  its 
kind;  and  in  whtch  my  informant  assured  me,  it  was  not  necessary  on 
revisal  to  correct  five  words.  I  am  not,  therefore,  conscious  of  having 
overstepped  accuracy  in  describing  the  manner  -n  which  Scottish  lawyers  of 
the  old  time  occasionally  united  the  worship  of  Bacchus  w'th  that  of 
Themis.  My  informant  was  Alexander  Keith,  E  q.,  grandfather  to  my 
friend,  the  present  Sir  Alexander  Keith  of  Ravelstone,  and  apprentice  at 
the  time  to  the  writer  who  conducted  the  cause. 

[It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  add  an  extract  from  Lockhart's 
Me?Hoirs  respecting  a  circumstance  in  the  A'^thor's  career  of  much  sugges- 
tive interest. 


"  In  March  1793,  when  the  Court  of  Sessions  rose,  Scott  proceeded  into 


NOTES. 


387 


Galloway,  where  he  had  not  before  been,  in  order,  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  persons  and  localities  mixed  up  with  the  case  of  a  certain 
Rev.  Mr.  M'Naught,  minister  of  Girthon,  in  Kirkcudbright,  whose  trial,  on 
charges  of  habitual  drunkenness,  and  other  improper  conduct,  was  about 
to  take  place  before  the  '  General  Assembly '  of  the  Kirk. 

"  The  argument  of  the  cause  (for  which  he  received  five  guineas)  was 
sustained  by  Scott  in  a  speech  of  considerable  length  at  the  bar  of  the  As- 
sembly. It  was  far  the  most  important  business  in  which  any  solicitor  had 
as  yet  employed  him,  and  The  Club  mustered  strong  in  the  gallery.  He 
began  in  a  low  voice,  but  by  degrees  gathered  more  confidence  ;  and  when 
it  became  necessary  for  him  to  analyze  the  evidence  touching  a  certain  penny- 
wedding,  repeated  some  very  course  specimens  of  his  client's  alleged  con- 
versation, in  a  tone  so  bold  and  free,  that  he  was  called  to  order  with  great 
austerity  by  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Venerable  Court.  This 
seemed  to  confuse  him  not  a  little;  so  when,  by  and  by,  he  had  to  recite  a 
stanza  of  one  of  M'Naught' s  convivial  ditties,  he  breathed  it  out  in  a  faint 
and  hesitating  style;  whereupon,  thinking  he  needed  encouragement,  the 
allies  in  the  gallery  astounded  the  Assembly  by  cordial  shouts  of  Hear ! 
hear  I — encore  !  encore  !  They  were  immediately  turned  out,  and  Scott  got 
through  the  rest  of  his  harangue  very  little  to  his  own  satisfaction. 

**  He  believed,  in  a  w^ord,  that  he  had  made  a  complete  failure,  and  is- 
sued from  the  Court  in  a  melancholy  mood.  At  the  door  he  found  Adam 
Fergusson  waiting  to  inform  him  that  the  brethren  so  unceremoniously 
extruded  from  the  gallery  had  sought  shelter  in  a  neighboring  tavern,  where 
they  hoped  he  would  join  them.  He  complied  with  the  invitation,  but 
seemed  for  a  long  while  incapable  of  enjoying  the  merriment  of  his  friends. 
'  Com^,  Duns, ^  cried  Fergucson; — *  cheer  up,  man,  and  fill  another  tum- 
bler; here's  *****  going  to  give  us  The  Tailor.^ — *  Ah !  '  he  answered 
with  a  groan — '  the  tailor  was  a  better  man  than  me,  sirs;  for  he  didna 
venture  ben  until  he  kenned  the  way.''  A  certain  comical  old  song,  which 
had,  perhaps,  been  a  favorite  with  the  minister  of  Girthon — 

*  The  tailor  he  came  here  to  sew, 
And  weel  he  kenned  the  way  o*t,* 

was,  however,  sung  and  chorussed ;  and  the  evening  ended  in  the  full  jollity 
of  High  Jinks. 

**  Mr.  M'Naught  was  deposed  from  the  ministry  ***** 
^*  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  research  he  had  made  with  a  view  to 
pleading  this  man's  cause,  carried  him  for  the  first,  and  I  believe  for  the 
last  time,  into  the  scenery  of  his  Guy  Mannering;  and  I  may  add,  that  seve- 
ral of  the  names  of  the  minor  characters  of  the  novel  (that  of  M''Guffog,  for 
example)  appear  in  the  list  of  witnesses  for  and  against  his  client." — J.  G, 
Lockhart.] 

Note  K,  p.  295. — Gypsy  Cookery. 

We  must  again  have  recourse  to  the  contribution  to  Blackwood's  Maga- 
zine, April  1817  : — 

**  To  the  admirers  of  good  eating,  gypsy  cookery  seems  to  have  little  to 
recommend  it.  I  can  assure  you  however,  that  the  cook  of  a  nobleman 
of  high  distinction,  a  person  who  never  reads  even  a  novel  without  an  eye 
to  the  enlargement  of  the  culinary  science,  has  added  to  the  Almanach  des 
Gourmands  a  certain  Potage  cL  la  Meg  Merrilies  de  Der Jicleicgk,  cowsisimg 
of  game  and  poultry  of  all  kinds,  stewed  with  vegetables  into  a  soup,  which 
rivals  in  savor  and  richness  the  gallant  messes  of  Camacho's  wedding  ;  and 


388 


NOTES. 


which  the  Baron  of  Bradwardine  would  certainly  have  reckoned  among  the 
Epul{E  lautiores.^^ 

The  artist  alluded  to  in  this  passage  is  Mons.  Florence,  cook  to  Henry 
and  Charles,  late  Dukes  of  ]3uccleuch  and  of  high  distinction  in  his  pro- 
fession. 

Note  L,  p.  315. — Lord  Monboddo. 

The  Burnet,  whose  taste  for  the  evening  meal  of  the  ancients  is  quoted 
by  Mr.  Pleydell,  was  the  celebrated  metaphysician  and  excellent  man  Lord 
Monboddo,  whose  ccencs  will  not  be  soon  forgorgotten  by  those  who  have 
shared  his  classic  hospitality.  As  a  Scottish  Judge,  he  took  the  designa- 
tion of  his  family  estate.  His  philosophy,  as  is  well  known,  was  of  a  fanci- 
ful and  somewhat  fantastic  character  ;  but  his  learning  was  deep,  and  he 
was  possessed  of  a  singular  power  of  eloquence,  which  reminded  the  hearer 
of  the  OS  rotimdum  of  the  Grove  or  Academe.  Enthusiastically  partial  to 
classic  habits,  his  entertainments  were  always  given  in  the  evening,  when 
there  was  a  circulation  of  excellent  Bourdeaux,  in  flasks  garlanded  with 
roses,  which  were  also  strewed  over  the  table  after  the  manner  of  Horace. 
The  best  society,  whether  in  respect  of  rank  or  literary  distinction,  was 
always  to  be  found  in  St.  John's  Street,  Canongate.  The  conversation  of 
the  excellent  old  man,  his  high  gentleman-like  and  chivalrous  spirit,  the 
learning  and  wit  with  which  he  defended  his  fanciful  paradoxes,  and  the 
kind  and  liberal  spirit  of  his  hospitality,  must  render  these  nodes  ccenceqtie 
dear  to  all  who,  like  the  author  (though  then  young)  had  the  honor  of 
sitting  at  his  board. 

Note  M,  p.  317. — Lawyers'  Sleepless  Nights. 

It  is  probably  true,  as  observed  by  Counselor  Pleydell,  that  a  lawyer's 
anxiety  about  his  case,  supposing  him  to  have  been  some  time  in  practice, 
will  seldom  disturb  his  rest  or  digestion.  Clients  will,  however,  sometimes 
fondly  entertain  a  different  opinion.  I  was  told  by  an  excellent  judge, 
now  no  more,  of  a  country  gentleman,  who,  addressing  his  leading  counsel, 
my  informer,  then  an  advocate  in  great  practice,  on  the  morning  of  the  day 
on  which  the  case  was  to  be  pleaded,  said,  with  ?\x\^v\7\.x  bonJionwiie^  ^'  Weel, 
my  lord  (the  counsel  was  Lord  Advocate),  the  awful  day  has  come  at  last. 
I  have  nae  been  able  to  sleep  a  wink  for  thinking  of  it — nor,  I  daresay, 
your  lordship  either." 


ADDITIONAL  NOTK 

GALWEGIAN  LOCALITIES  AND  PERSONAGES  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN 
SUPPOSED  TO  BE  ALLUDED  TO  IN  THE  NOVEL. 

An  old  English  proverb  says,  that  more  know  Tom  Fool  than  Tom  Fool 
knows;  and  the  influence  of  the  adage  seems  to  extend  to  works  composed 
under  the  influence  of  an  idle  or  foolish  planet.  Many  corresponding 
circumstances  arc  detected  by  readers,  of  which  the  author  did  not  suspect 
the  existence.  He  must,  however,  regard  it  as  a  great  conqiiinicnt,  tliat,  in 
detailing  incidents  purely  imaginary,  he  has  been  so  fortunate  in  approxi- 


NOTES. 


389 


mating  reality,  as  to  remind  his  readers  of  actual  occurrences.  It  is  there 
fore  with  pleasure  he  notices  some  pieces  of  local  history  and  tradition, 
which  liavc  been  supposed  to  coincide  with  the  fictitious  persons,  incidents, 
and  scenery  of  Guy  Mannering. 

The  prototype  of  Dirk  Hatteraick  is  considered  as  having  been  a  Dutch 
skipper  called  Yawkins.  This  man  was  well  known  on  the  coast  of 
Galloway  and  Dumfriesshire,  as  sole  proprietor  and  master  of  a  Buckkar^ 
or  smuggling  lugger,  called  The  Black  Prince.  Being  distinguished  by  his 
nautical  skill  and  intrepidity,  his  vessel  was  frequently  freighted,  and  his 
own  services  employed,  by  French,  Dutch,  Manx,  and  Scottish  smuggling 
companies. 

A  person  well  known  by  the  name  of  Buckkar-Tea,  from  having  been 
a  noted  smuggler  of  that  article,  and  also  by  that  of  Bogle-Bush,  the  place 
of  his  residence,  assured  my  kind  informant,  Mr.  Train,  that  he  had 
frequently  seen  upward  of  two  hundred  Lingtowmen  assemble  at  one  time, 
and  go  off  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  fully  laden  with  contraband 
goods. 

In  those  halycon  days  of  the  free  trade,  the  fixed  price  for  carrying  a 
box  of  tea,  or  bale  of  tobacco,  from  the  coast  of  Galloway  to  Edinburgh, 
was  fifteen  shillings,  and  a  man  with  two  horses  carried  four  such  packages. 
The  trade  was  entirely  destroyed  by  Mr.  Pitt's  celebrated  commutation 
law,  which,  by  reducing  the  duties  upon  excisable  articles,  enabled  the 
lawful  dealer  to  compete  with  the  smuggler.  The  statute  was  called  in 
Galloway  and  Dumfriesshire,  by  those  who  had  thriven  upon  the  contra- 
band trade,     the  burning  and  starving  act.'* 

Sure  of  such  active  assistance  on  shore,  Yawkins  demeaned  himself  so 
boldly,  that  his  mere  name  was  a  terror  to  the  officers  of  the  revenue.  He 
availed  himself  of  the  fears  which  his  presence  inspired  on  one  particular 
night,  when,  happening  to  be  ashore  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  goods 
in  his  sole  custody,  a  strong  party  of  excisemen  came  down  on  him.  Far 
from  shunning  the  attack,  Yawkins  sprung  forward,  shouting,  Come  on, 
my  lads  1  Yawkins  is  before  you.'*  The  revenue  officers  were  intimidated 
and  relinquished  their  prize,  though  defended  only  by  the  courage  and  ad- 
dress of  a  single  man.  On  his  proper  element,  Yawkins  was  equally  suc- 
cessful. On  one  occasion,  he  was  landing  his  cargo  at  the  Manxman's 
Lake,  near  Kirkcudbright,  when  two  revenue  cutters  (the  Pigmy  and  the 
Dwarf)  hove  in  sight  at  once  on  different  tacks,  the  one  coming  round  by 
the  Isles  of  Fleet,  the  other  between  the  Point  of  Rueberry  and  the  Muckle 
Ron.  The  dauntless  free-trader  instantly  weighed  anchor,  and  bore  down 
right  between  the  luggers,  so  close  that  he  tossed  his  hat  on  the  deck  of 
the  one,  and  his  wig  on  that  of  the  other,  hoisted  a  cask  to  his  maintop,  to 
show  his  occupation,  and  bore  away  under  an  extraordinary  pressure  of 
canvas,  without  receiving  injury.  To  account  for  these  and  other  hair- 
breadth escapes,  popular  superstition  alleged  that  Yawkins  insured  his 
celebrated  buckkar  by  compounding  with  the  devil  for  one-tenth  of  his  crew 
every  voyage.  How  they  arranged  the  separation  of  the  stock  and  tithes, 
is  left  to  our  conjecture.  The  buckkar  was  perhaps  called  The  Black  Prince 
in  honor  of  the  formidable  insurer. 

The  Black  Prince  used  to  discharge  her  cargo  at  Luce,  Balcarry,  and  else- 
where on  the  coast;  but  her  owner's  favorite  landing-places  were  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Dee  and  the  Cree,  near  the  old  castle  of  Rueberry,  about 
six  miles  below  Kirkcudbright.  There  is  a  cave  of  large  dimensions  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rueberry,  which,  from  its  being  frequently  used  by  Yawkins, 
and  his  supposed  connection  with  the  smugglers  on  the  shore,  is  now 
called  Dirk  Hatteraick's  cave.  Strangers  who  visit  this  place,  the  scenery 
of  which  is  highly  romantic,  are  also  shown  under  the  name  of  the  Ganger's 


PfOTES. 


Loup,  a  tremendous  precipice,  being  the  same,  it  is  asserted,  from  which 
Kennedy  was  precipitated. 

Meg  Merrilies  is  in  Galloway  considered  as  having  had  her  origin  in  the 
traditions  concerning  the  celebrated  Flora  Marshal,  one  of  the  royal  consorts 
of  Willie  Marshal,  more  commonlv  called  the  Caird  of  Barullion,  King  of 
the  Gypsies  of  the  Western  Lowlands.  That  potentate  was  himself  de- 
serving of  notice,  from  the  following  peculiarities.  He  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  Kirkmichael,  about  the  year  167 1;  and  as  he  died  at  Kirkcud- 
bright 23d  November  1792,  he  must  then  have  been  in  the  one  hundred 
and  twentieth  year  of  his  age.  It  cannot  be  said  that  this  unusually  long 
lease  of  existence  was  noted  by  any  peculiar  excellence  of  conduct  or  habits 
of  life.  Willie  had  been  pressed  and  enlisted  seven  times,  and  had  deserted 
as  often ;  besides  three  times  running  away  from  the  naval  service.  He 
had  been  seventeen  times  lawfully  married;  and  besides  such  a  reasonably 
large  share  of  matrimonial  comforts,  was,  after  his  hundredth  year,  the 
avowed  father  of  four  children,  by  less  legitimate  affections.  He  subsisted 
in  his  extreme  old  age,  by  a  pension  from  the  present  Earl  of  Selkirk's 
grandfather.  Will  Marshal  is  buried  in  Kirkcudbright  church,  where  his 
monument  is  still  shown,  decorated  with  a  scutcheon  suitably  blazoned  W'^^h 
two  tups'  horns  and  two  cutty  spoons. 

In  his  youth  he  occasionally  took  an  evening  walk  on  the  highway,  with 
the  purpose  of  assisting  travelers  by  relieving  them  of  the  weight  of  their 
purses.  On  one  occasion,  the  Caird  of  Barullion  robbed  the  Laird  of  Bar- 
gaily,  at  a  place  between  Carsphairn  and  Dalmellington.  His  purpose  was 
not  achieved  without  r.  severe  struggle,  in  which  the  gypsy  lost  his  bonnet, 
and  was  obliged  to  escape,  leaving  it  on  the  road.  A  respectable  farmer 
happened  to  be  the  next  passenger,  and  seeing  the  bonnet,  alighted,  took 
it  up,  and  rather  imprudently  put  it  on  his  own  head.  At  this  instant,  Bar- 
gally  came  up  with  some  assistants,  and  recognizing  the  bonnet,  charged 
the  farmer  of  Bantoberick  with  having  robbed  him,  and  took  him  into  cus- 
tody. There  being  some  likeness  between  the  parties,  Bargally  persisted 
in  his  charge,  and  though  the  respectability  of  the  farmer's  character  was 
proved  or  admitted,  his  trial  before  the  Circuit  Court  came  on  accordingly. 
The  fatal  bonnet  lay  on  the  table  of  the  Court;  Bargally  swore  that  it  was 
the  identical  article  worn  by  the  man  who  robbed  him;  and  he  and  others 
likewise  deponed  that  they  had  found  the  accused  on  the  spot  where  the 
crime  was  committed,  with  the  bonnet  on  his  head.  The  case  looked 
gloomily  for  the  prisoner,  and  the  opinion  of  the  judge  seemed  unfavor- 
able. I3ut  there  was  a  person  in  Court  who  knew  well  both  who  did  and 
who  did  not  commit  the  crime.  This  was  the  Caird  of  Barullion,  who, 
thrusting  himself  up  to  the  bar,  near  the  place  where  Bargally  was  stand- 
ing, suddenly  seized  on  the  bonnet,  put  it  on  his  head,  and  looking  the 
Laird  full  in  the  face,  asked  him,  with  a  voice  which  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Court  and  crowded  audience — Look  at  me,  sir,  and  tell  me,  by  the 
oath  you  have  sworn — Am  not  /  the  man  who  robbed  you  between  Cars- 
phairn and  Dalmellington  }  "  Bargally  replied,  in  great  astonishment, 
**  By  Heaven  I  you  are  the  very  man." — "  You  see  what  sort  of  memory 
this  gentleman  has,"  said  the  ▼olunteer  pleader:  he  swears  to  the  bonnet, 
whatever  features  are  under  it.  If  you,  yourself  my  Lord,  will  put  it  on 
your  head,  he  will  be  willing  to  swear  that  your  Lordship  was  the  party 
who  robbed  him  between  Carsphairn  and  Dalmellington."  The  tenant  of 
15antoberick  was  unanimously  acquitted,  and  thus  Willie  Marshal  ingeni- 
ously contrived  to  save  an  innocent  man  from  danger  without  incurring  any 
himself,  since  Bargally's  evidence  must  have  seemed  to  everyone  too  fluctu- 
ating to  be  relied  upon. 

While  the  King  of  the  Gypsies  was  thus  laudibly  occupied,  his  royal 


NOTES. 


consort,  Flora,  Contrived,  It  is  said,  to  steal  the  hood  from  the  Judge's 
gown;  for  which  offence,  combined  with  her  presumptive  guilt  as  a  gypsy, 
she  was  banished  to  New  Enp^land,  whence  she  never  returned. 

Now,  I  cannot  grant  that  the  idea  of  Meg  Merrilies  was,  in  the  first  con- 
coction of  the  character,  derived  from  Flora  Marshal,  seeing  I  have  already 
said  she  was  identified  with  Jean  Gordon,  and  as  I  have  not  the  Laird  of 
Bargally's  apology  for  charging  the  same  fact  on  two  several  individuals. 
Yet  I  am  quite  content  that  Meg  should  be  considered  as  a  representative 
of  her  sect  and  class  in  general — Flora,  as  well  as  others. 

The  other  instances  in  which  my  Gallovidian  readers  have  obliged  me 
by  assigning  to 

 ^airy  nothings 

A  local  habitation  and  a  name, 

shall  also  be  sanctioned  so  far  as  the  Author  may  be  entitled  to  do  so.  I 
think  the  facetious  Joe  Miller  records  a  case  pretty  much  in  point;  where 
the  keeper  of  a  Museum,  while  showing,  as  he  said,  the  very  sword  with 
which  Balaam  was  about  to  kill  his  ass,  was  interrupted  by  one  of  the  visi- 
tors, who  reminded  him  that  Balaam  was  not  possessed  of  a  sword,  but  only 
wished  for  one.  *•  True,  sir,"  replied  the  ready-witted  cicerone;  but  this 
is  the  very  sword  he  wished  for."  The  Author  in  application  of  this 
story  has  only  to  add,  that,  though  ignorant  of  the  coincidence  between  the 
fictions  of  the  tale  and  some  real  circumstances,  he  is  contented  to  believe 
he  must  unconsciously  have  thought  or  dreamed  of  the  last  while  engaged 
in  the  composition  of  Guy  Mannering. 


GLOSSARY  TO  GUY  MANNERING. 


Abuke,  above. 
Again-e'kn,  about  evening. 
AiBLiNS,  perhaps. 
AiK,  oak. 
Ail,  prevent. 
AwMOUS,  alms. 

Bairn,  a  child. 

Ballant,  a  ballad,  fable. 

Barrow-tram,  shaft  of  a  wheelbarrow. 

Baulk,  plot  of  ground. 

Bedral,  a  sexton. 

BiGGiT,  built. 

Bikk,  birch  twig. 

BiTTocK,  more  than  a  bit. 

Blate,  bashful. 

Blunker,  bungler. 

Blythe,  meny. 

Boddle,  a  small  copper  coin* 

Bogle,  ghost,  scarecrow. 

Bonnie,  pretty. 

BouNTiTH,  a  bounty. 

Brat,  a  peevish  child. 

Braw,  fine,  brave. 

Brock,  a  badger. 

Brod,  a  plate. 

C  A  DIE,  a  street-porter. 
Canny,  quiet. 
Cast,  fate. 
Chield,  a  fellow. 
Chumlay,  chimney. 
Clanjamfrav,  rabble. 
Claver,  gossip. 
Clod,  to  thud. 
Clour,  to  smash  or  thump. 
CoFT,  bought. 
Coi.mk-shangih,  quarrel. 
C'oup,  upset. 

Creel,  basket  for  the  back. 
Cuddy,  a  donkey. 

Daft,  crazy. 
Deil,  devil. 
Dunnart,  stupid. 

Doo,  a  pigeon. 
Dooms,  absolutely. 
DowiE,  sad. 

Dowse  tmh  glim,  put  out  the  light 


DuB,  a  pool. 
Duds,  clothes. 

Eassbl,  eastward. 
Een,  eyes. 
EiLDiNG,  fuel. 

Evening  till,  likening  to,  making  equal. 

Fair  strae  death,  a  natural  death. 
Far-yaud,  a  cry  of  encouragement  to  a 

shepherd's  dog. 
Fash,  trouble. 
Feck,  a  part. 
Feckless,  feeble. 
Fell,  the  skin. 
Fell,  terrible. 
Fie,  mad. 

FiENT  A  HAET,  the  deuce ! 
File,  fidget. 
Flit  remove. 
Forbye,  besides. 
Foumart,  a  pole-cat. 

Gae-doun,  a  bout. 
Gangrel,  vagrant. 
Gang-there-out,  wandering. 
Gar'd,  ordered,  forced. 
Gate,  way  or  direction. 
Gauger,  exciseman. 
Gaun,  going. 

Gay  or  gey,  good,  considerably. 
Gear,  property. 
GiEN,  given. 

Giff  gaff,  mutual  obligation. 
Gliffing,  an  instant. 
Glower,  stare. 
GouD,  gold. 
Gowan,  a  daisy. 
Grue,  a  greyhound. 
GuDEMAN,  husband. 
GuisARD,  a  mummer. 
GuMPHioN,  a  funeral  banner. 
Gyrb  carling,  a  witch. 

Hadden,  held. 

Hafflin,  half-^rown. 

Hallan,  partition  at  the  doorway 

Hansel,  a  present. 

Hantlb,  a  number  of. 


GLOSSARY. 


Haud,  hold. 

Heezie,  hoist, 

Heuch,  a  dell. 

HiRSEL,  to  edge  down. 

HoRSE-couPER,  horse-dealer. 

HouDiE,  midwife. 

HouT  FIE  !  tut  fie  I 

HowK,  dig. 

HowM,  hollow. 

Hum  dudgeon,  the  pet. 

Hunt  the  gowk,  go  on  a  fool's  errand. 

Ilka,  each. 

Kaim,  a  camp,  a  rising  ground. 

KiLLOGiE,  the  fireplace  of  a  lime-kiln. 

KiMMER,  a  gossip. 

Kipper,  salt  preserve. 

KiST,  a  chest. 

Kittle,  ticklish,  slippery. 

Knevell,  to  beat  or  knead. 

Lair,  learning. 
Langsyne,  long  ago. 
LiB-KEN,  a  cell. 

Likewake,  ceremony  of  watching  the  dead. 

LiMMER,  jade. 

LiPPEN,  trust. 

Loaning,  meadow. 

Loup,  leap. 

Low,  blaze. 

Lug,  the  ear. 

LuNT,  to  blaze  up. 

Mutch  KIN,  Scotch  measure  equal  to  a  pint. 

NiFF-NAFFY,  precisc  and  troublesome  about 
trifles. 

Orra,  odd. 
OwER,  over. 

Paiks,  punishment. 
Peenging,  whining. 
Pirn,  a  reel. 
Pow,  the  head. 
Prig,  beg  or  beat  down. 
Prin,  a  pin. 

Rampauging,  roaring,  scolding. 
Randle-treh,  wild  one. 
Randy,  wild. 
Redding,  clearing  up. 
Ripe,  to  rake. 
Rotten,  a  rat. 
Roup,  to  auction. 
Ruckle,  rattle. 


Sain,  bless. 
Sark,  a  shirt. 
Saugh,  a  willow. 
Saulie,  a  mute. 
Scart,  scratch. 
Screed,  a  yarn. 
Sect,  sex. 
Sib,  related  to. 
Sic,  such. 
Siller,  money. 
Shieling,  a  cot. 
Sherra,  sheriff. 
Shoon,  shoes. 
Slap,  a  breach. 
Slack,  a  hollow. 
Slowhound,  sleuthhound. 
Smaik,  a  poor  wretch. 
Souple,  a  switch- 
Spae,  to  foretell. 
Speir,  to  ask,  inquire. 
Splokes,  quarrels. 
Sprug,  a  sparrow. 
Spunk,  a  match. 

Stibbler,  a  probationer,  a  novice. 

Stickit,  stuck. 

Stirk,  a  heifer. 

Stirred,  disturbed  or  harmed. 

Streak,  to  stretch. 

SuNKiE,  a  stool. 

Swear,  difficult. 

Taen,  taken. 

Tass,  a  glass. 

Tent,  care. 

Thack,  thatch. 

Thae,  these. 

Thr apple,  the  throat. 

Tipp,  a  mouthful,  a  glass. 

Tod,  a  fox. 

TuLZiE,  a  scuffle. 

TwASOME,  second. 

Unco,  very  particularly. 

Wale,  choice. 
Ware,  beware. 
Warlock,  witch,  wizard. 
Waster,  a  trident. 
Waur,  worse. 
Wean,  an  infant. 

Weird  is  dreed,  the  destiny  is  fulfilled 

Wessel,  westward. 

Wheen,  a  few. 

Whigging,  jogging. 

Whittret,  a  weasel. 

Worricow,  hobgoblin,  scarecrow. 

Wot,  knew. 

Wuddie,  a  rope,  the  gallows. 
Yaffing,  chatter. 


INDEX  TO  GUY  MANNERING. 


A  forfeit!  a  forfeit!  220. 

Ailie  Dinmont  and  her  family,  134,  148. 

Allan,  Mrs.,  the  housekeeper,  surprise  at  the 

Dominie,  297. 
Antiburghers  and  swearing,  184. 
Astrologer,  M'Kinlay's  story  of,  ii. 
Astrology,  a  recent  believer  in,  and  his 

scheme,  xi.     Sampson's  opinion  of,  15. 

General  belief  in  19. 
Attack  on  Portanferry  Custom-house  and 

gaol,  309. 
Attack  on  Woodboume,  173. 
Author's  account  of  personages  in  Guy  Man- 

nering,  i.    Connection  with  scene  of  the 

novel,  387.    Incognito  and  Lay  of  Last 

Minstrel,  xix,  149. 

Badger-hunt  at  CharHes-hope,  147. 

Balaam's  sword,  anecdote,  note,  391. 

Bar,  Scottish,  convivial  habits  of,  note,  386. 

Bertram,  Godfrey,  his  pedigree,  6.  His 
wife's  accouchement,  11,  16.  Complaints 
about  the  commission  of  the  peace,  28. 
made  a  justice,  and  commences  his  eject- 
ments, 32.  Quarrel  with  the  gypsies,  39. 
Meets  the  ejected  gypsies,  42.  Late  hours 
of,  77,  81. 

Bertram,  Harry  {see  also  Brown),  birth  of, 
16,  66.  His  mother  hangs  the  charm  round 
his  neck,  31.  Companionship  with  the 
gypsies,  40.  Disappearance  with  Kennedy, 
49,  60.  Hatteraick's  account  of,  200.  Re- 
visits Ellangowan,  255.  Encounter  with 
Glossin,  257.  A  prisoner  before  Hazle- 
wood,  264.  His  examination,  268.  In- 
carcerated in  Portanferry  bridewell,  275. 
Desponding  situation,  280.  Unexpectedly 
joined  by  Dandie,  283.  Soliloquy  at  the 
gaol  window,  308,  Rescued  from  the 
smugglers,  311.  Arrives  at  Woodboume, 
322.  Examined  as  to  his  history,  324. 
recognized  by  the  Dominie,  329.  Intro- 
duced to  his  sister,  332.  Enters  Hatter- 
aick's cave,  351.  Recognized  by  the  vil- 
lagers, 3G0.  Appears  before  the  justices — 
evidence  as  to  his  birth,  367.  Produces  the 
charm,  371. 

Bertram,  Lucy.    See  Lucy. 

Bertram,  Mrs.,  accouchement  of,  11,  16. 
anxieties  about  her  boy,  50.  Dies  in 
giving  birth  to  Lucy,  54. 

Bertram,  Mrs.,  of  Singleside,  disposition  of 
her  property,  2o^)-2i3.  Funeral  of,  229. 
Expectants  at,  233. 

Bewcastle  Waste,  381. 


Breakfast  embarrassments  at  Woodbourae, 
338. 

Brown,  Vanbeest  {see  also  Bertram),  ac- 
quaintance with  Mrs.  Mannering  and  JuHa 
in  India,  and  quarrel  with  Colonel  Man- 
nering, 73.  Suspected  return  to  England, 
92.  His  history  and  wanderings,  102-117. 
Description  of,  ii6.  His  excursion  over 
the  Cumberland  Border,  1 18-123.  At 
Mump's  Ha' — meets  Dandie  Dinmont  and 
Meg  Merrilles,  124-128.  Rescues  Dandie, 
129.  Leaves  Charlies-hope  for  Kipple- 
tringan,  148.  Snowed  up,  and  seeks 
shelter  in  the  gypsy  hut,  151.  Escapes 
from  the  gypsies  under  Meg's  guidance, 
159.  Encounter  with  Hazlewood,  178. 
Cause  of  it,  187.  Goes  over  to  Cumberland 
and  corresponds  with  Julia,  248.  Revisits 
Ellangowan,  252.    See  also  Bertram. 

Burial  of  the  gypsy,  162. 

Caird  of  Barullion,  king  of  the  gypsies,  note^ 
390. 

Canny  moment,  lucky  fit,  12. 
Carlaverock  Castle,  the  prototype  of  Ellan- 
gowan, 23. 

Cave,  Dirk  Hatteraick's  at  Warrock  Point, 
198. 

Charlie,  Fighting,  of  Liddesdale,  note,  381. 
Charlies-hope,    reception    of  Dandie  and 

Brown,  134. 
Clan  surnames,  note,  383. 
Clients'  complaints.  240. 
Conscience,  Glossin's,  205. 
Convivial  habits  of  the  Scottish  bar,  note^ 

386. 

Crime,  Hazlewood's  opinion  of,  266. 
Crystal  and  hearts,  their  merit  in  fragility, 
318. 

Cumberland  Waste,  129. 
Curling  ncT  Woodboume,  177. 
Custom-house  of  Portanferry,  attack  on,  309. 

Dandie  Dinmont,  meeting  with,  at  Mimip's 
Ha',  124.  Encounter  with  the  ruffians, 
129.  Arrival  at  Charlies-hope,  134.  At 
the  lawyer's,  216.  His  law  cause  of  the 
Langtae-head,  221.  At  Miss  Bertram's 
funeral,  230,  233,  237.  Joins  Bertram  in 
the  Portanferry  bridewell,  283.  Awakes  to 
his  danger,  -09.  At  Woodboume,  321. 
Accompanies  Bertram  into  Hatteraick's 
cave,  351.  His  progress  arrested,  352. 
Note  on,  383, 

Dark  shall  be  light,  316. 


INDEX. 


395 


Davidson,  the  original  of  Dandie  Dinmont, 
383. 

Deacon  BearclifT  s  familiarity,  188. 

Demcleugh,  Kaim  of,  g>'psy  village,  38. 
Burial  scene  at,  154.  Ghostly  associations 
of  the  place,  292.    Revisited,  349. 

Dirk  Hatteraick,  first  interview  with,  24. 
brought  to  Glossin  an  unwelcome  prisoner, 
191.  Escape  from  the  old  castle,  197.  In 
his  cave  with  Glossin,  199.  His  cave  en- 
tered by  Bert. -am  and  Dandie,  352.  Seized 
by  Bertram,  355.  Examination  of,  365. 
His  pocket-book  opened,  368.  Visited  by 
Glossin  in  his  cell,  and  death,  374-376. 
Note  on,  389. 

Disconsolate  lovers,  French  relief  for,  319. 

Dominie  Sampson,  description  of,  9.  Be- 
comes tutor  to  young  Bertram,  31.  In 
search  for  young  Bertram,  51.  Confronts 
the  attorney,  79.  Appointed  guardian  to 
Lucy,  83.  His  longest  speech,  86.  In  his 
new  suit  of  clothes,  110.  Julia's  descrip- 
tion of,  164.  Extracting  bullets  from  the 
mutilated  tomes,  175.  Journey  to  Edin- 
burgh, acts  as  literary  dumb  waiter,  213. 
Difficulty  in  meeting  the  advocate's  sallies, 
242.  Falls  in  with  Meg  at  Dernckugh, 
293.  His  suspicious  meal  with  her,  295. 
Recognizes  Harry  Bertram,  325.  Breaks 
the  news  to  Lucy,  331.  Scalds  Plato  at 
breakfast,  338.  His  joy  in  returning  to 
Ellangowan,  377. 

Dominie  Sampson,  character  of,  founded  on 
the  Author's  tutor,  xviii. 

Donner  and  blitzen  !  you  will  have  it  then, 
374. 

Dream  of  Glossin,  195. 

Driver,  the  advocate's  clerk,  244. 

Dumble,  Dandie's  sagacious  pony,  132. 

Dundas  of  Arniston,  anecdote  of,  386. 

Durham  Garland,  x. 

Dutch  courtship,  318. 

Edinburgh,  temp,  of  tale,  214. 

Ellangowan  Castle  entered  by  Mannering, 
23.    Revisited  by  Brown  (Bertram),  255. 

Ellangowan  Place,  first  visit  to,  5.  Descrip- 
tion of,  7,  View  from,  16,  21.  Sale  of, 
77.  Bought  up  by  Glossin,  84.  Restored 
to  Bertram,  377. 

Erskine,  Rev.  Dr.,  his  sermon,  226. 

Fable  is  love's  world,  18. 
Faggot  votes  on  Ellangowan,  32. 
Fancy,  ear  of,  very  sensitive,  308. 
Farmers  in  south  of  Scotland,  134. 
Fighting  Charlie  of  Liddesdale,  381. 
Fire  at  Portanferry,  310. 
Flageolet  serenade,  92. 

Fletcher  of  Saltoun's    description  of  the 

gypsies,  36. 
Fouque's  Sintram,  x. 
Fox-hunt  at  Charlies-hope,  140, 
Funeral,  Scotch,  description  of,  229. 

Gabriel  Faa,  the  gypsy  huntsman,  145. 
His  history,  202.  Warns  Dandie  of  Harry 
Bertram's  danger,  285.  Gives  evidence  as 
to  Kennedy  and  young  Bertram,  369. 

Gallows,  rhyme  on,  185. 

Galwegian  localities  and  personages  connected 


with  the  novel,  note  on,  388. 

Gaol  of  Portanferry,  275. 

Gaol  where  Hatteraick  and  Glossin  were 
confined,  373. 

Gerunto — "Where  is  Gerunto  now?"  218, 
note  on,  385. 

Glossin,  Gilbert,  assists  old  Bertram  in  elec- 
tioneering, 32.  At  the  sale  of  Ellangowan, 
79.  Buys  up  the  estate,  84.  Unpleasant 
position  in  society,  180.  Interview  with 
Mrs.  M'Candlish  about  Brown,  183.  With 
Dirk  Hatteraick  in  his  hands,  191.  Com- 
plicity with  the  tragedy  at  Warroch  Point, 
195.  Meets  with  Hatteraick  in  the  cave, 
198.  Arranges  his  plot  against  Brown,  203. 
Rebuff  at  Woodbourne,  206.  Encounters 
young  Bertram  at  Ellangowan,  257. 
Chuckles  over  the  incarceration  of  Ber- 
tram, 274.  Appears  in  the  justice  room  at 
Hatteraick's  examination,  366.  Com- 
mitted to  the  county  gaol,  369.  Enters 
Hatteraick's  cell,  and  murder,  373. 

Gibbie's-Knowe,  last  meeting  with  Meg  Mer- 
rilies,  344. 

Gordon,  Jean,  prototype  of  Meg  Merrilies, 
xvii.  Madge,  queen  of  the  Yetholm  gyp- 
sies, xviii. 

Greyfriars  Church,  Edinburgh,  226. 

Groaning  Malt,  note  on,  381. 

Guy  Mannering,  origin  of  the  work,  i. 
author's  connection  with  the  scene  of 
389.  Note  on  localities  and  personages 
alluded  to,  390. 

Guy  Mannering,  Colonel.    See  Mannering. 

Gypsies,  Author's  acquaintance  with,  xii.  In 
Scotland,  35-38.  Ejectment  from  Ellan- 
gowan, 42.  In  the  hut  where  Brown  is 
concealed,  154.  Cookery,  note  on,  387. 
Superstitions,  note  on,  384. 

Hatteraick,  Dirk.    S^ee  Dirk. 

Hazlewood,  Charles,  employs  Dominie  Samp- 
son for  Lucy's  sake,  88.  His  visits  to 
Woodbourne,  114.  Attentions  to  Lucy, 
166.  Accidentally  wounded  by  Brown, 
178.  Is  warned  by  Meg  of  the  danger  of 
Portanferry  gaol,  302.  Joins  Bertram  in 
Hatteraick's  cave,  352. 

Hazlewood,  Sir  Robert,  receives  Harry  Ber- 
tram as  a  prisoner,  262.  His  sententious 
reasons  for  not  parting  with  the  dragoons, 
303.  Averse  to  discharge  young  Bertram, 
341. 

Herezeld  in  feudal  tenures,  362. 
Hewit,  old  Bertram's  natural  son,  367. 
High  Jinks  played  by  Pleydell,  218.  Note 
on,  385. 

It  is  not  the  lucre,  86. 

Jean  Gordon,  prototype  of  Meg  Merrilies, 
xvii.    Barbarous  death  of,  xviii. 

Jenny  Gibson  and  the  expectants  of  the  Sin- 
gleside  property,  238. 

Jock  Jabos  guides  Mannering  to  Ellangowan, 
5,  Corrects  the  precentor,  66.  Interro- 
gated by  Glossin,  186.  Drives  off  Brown 
and  Dandie  from  the  prison,  312. 

Johnson,  Sam.,  Dr.,  his  admiration  for  a  post- 
chaise,  123. 

Julia  Mannering,  acquaintance  with  Brown 


39^ 


TNDEX, 


73.  Serenaded  from  the  lake,  92,  99.  Ex- 
tracts from  her  letters,  96,  107.  First 
meeting  with  Lucy,  112.  Flirtations  at 
Woodbourne,  i6b.  Vexations  about 
Brown,  170.  Alarming  meeting  with 
Brown,  178.  Letters  to  Brown,  251.  Ex- 
amined by  her  father,  334. 
Justice  of  the  peace,  old  Bertram's  commis- 
sion, 28-32. 

Kaim  of  Derncleugh,    See  Derncleugh. 
Keith  of  Dunottar,  anecdote  by,  385. 
Ken-no  cheese,  note  on,  33;. 
Kennedy,  Frank,  excise  officer,  42-46.  Found 

dead  at  Warroch  Point,  52-56.  Hatteraick's 

dreams  of,  205.    Death  of,  described  by 

witnesses,  365-370. 
Kippletringan,   Mannering's  journey  to,  2. 

Gordon  Arms  Inn,  61. 
Kittlecourt,  Sir  Thomas,  28-32. 

Law  like  laudanum,  373.    The  chimney  of 

civilized  society,  240. 
Lawyers'  anxiety,  317.    Of  old  Edinburgh, 

215.      Convivial    habits,  218.  Sleepless 

nights,  note  on,  388.    Their  tools  of  trade, 

228. 

Lay  of  Last  Mmstrel,  reason  for  quoting, 

.HQ- 
Library  at  Woodbourne,  116. 
Liddesdale  roads,  239. 

Lochside,  Gudeman  of,  among  the  gypsies, 
xvii. 

Lovers,  disconsolate,  French  relief  for,  319. 
Luckie  Howatson,  11. 

Lucy   Bertram  by  her  father's   side,  78. 

Leaves  Ellangowan,  85.    Her  lover,  89. 

Received  as  a  guest  at  Woodbourne,  109. 

Julia's  opinion  of,  164.     Recognizes  her 

lost  brother,  332. 
Lum-cleeks,  note  on,  384. 

M'Candlish  of  the  Gordon  Arms,  Kipple- 
tringan,  61.  Mrs.  interrogated  by  Glossin 
about  Brown,  183-188. 

M'Casqviil,  an  expectant  of  Singlesides,  233. 

M*Guffog  brings  Hatteraick  a  prisoner  to 
Glossin,  190.  Shows  Bertram  into  his  cell 
at  Portan ferry,  276.  Lets  Glossin  enter 
Hatteraick's  cell,  378. 

M'Guffog,  Mrs.  of  the  Bridewell,  275. 

M'Guffog,  noie^  387. 

M'Kinlay,  John,  his  Gallovidian  story,  i. 

M'Morlan,  interview  with  Manncring  about 
the  property,  75.  Disappointed  at  the  sale, 
84.  Receives  Lucy  and  the  Dominie  into 
his  house,  86.  His  reception  by  Sir  R. 
Hazlewood,  and  orders  the  guard  back  to 
Portanfcrry,  305. 

Macers  before  Supreme  Court,  378, 

M' Naught  of  Girthin,  note,  387. 

Madge  Gordon,  queen  of  the  Yetholm  gyp- 
sies, xvi.  ^ 

Malt,  groaning,  note^  381. 

Marshal,  Flora  and  Will,  the  gypsies,  notc^ 
.^90- 

Matilda  Marchmont,  Julia's  correspondent, 
^95-  . 

Mannermg  seeks  a  guide  for  Kipjiletringan, 
3.  Views  the  heavens,  and  reads  youn^ 
Bertram's  fortune.  16-21,  30.    Second  visit 


to  Kippletringan,  63.  Letter  to  Merv3m, 
describing  his  life,  and  acquaintance  with 
Vanbeest  Brown,  71-75.  Second  visit  to 
EUengowan,  76.  Silences  Giossin,  80. 
Letter  about  liis  daughter,  and  return  to 
England,  91-95.  Interview  with  his  daugh- 
ter, 104.  Takes  up  his  residence  at  Wood- 
bourne, 108.  Arranging  the  Bishop's  li- 
brary, 115.  Visit  to  Edinburgh  on  law 
business,  213.  Meets  with  Dandie  at  the 
lawyer's,  2x6.  At  Miss  Bertram's  funeral, 
229.  Introduced  to  David  Hume,  Dr. 
C'erk,  Adam  Smith,  etc.,  241.  Return  to 
Woodbourne,  289.  Impatiently  expectant, 
319.  Receives  Bertram  and  Dandie,  322. 
Reconciliation  with  Brown  (Bertram),  330. 
Advice  to  his  daughter,  334.  Bails  out 
Bertram,  341. 

Meg  Merrilies,  first  interview  with,  12.  At 
Ellangowan  Castle,  24.  Malediction  on 
old  Bertram,  44.  Examined  about  the  dis* 
ai:)pearance  of  Harry  Bertram,  60.  At 
Mump's  Ha',  126.  In  the  gypsy  hut  with 
the  dead  body,  152.  Craves  twa  boons 
from  Bertram,  162.  Hatteraick's  opinion 
of  her  occult  influence,  205.  At  Gilsland, 
246.  Falls  in  with  the  Dominie,  and  gives 
him  a  letter  to  Mannering,  293.  Warns 
young  Hazlewood  about  withdrawing  the 
guard  from  Portanfeny,  302.  Writes  Man- 
nering to  send  a  coach  to  Portanfcrry,  316. 
Takes  Bertram  and  Dandie  to  Hatteraick's 
cave,  346.  Death  and  declaration  of,  357. 
Note  on,  390.  Character  of,  founded  on 
Jean  Gordon,  xvi. 

Merchant  of  Venice,  lovers'  scene  in,  99. 

Mervyn,  letter  from,  to  Mannering,  91. 

Monboddo,  Lord,  note,  388. 

Monkeys,  Lucian's  fable  of,  232. 

Mump's  Ha',  meeting  of  Brown  and  Dan- 
die, 124.    Note  on,  381. 

Murder  of  Glossin  in  the  jail,  374. 

Music  at  Woodbourne,  317. 

My  bairn  !  my  bairn  !  53. 

On  n'arrete  pas  dans  un  si  beauchemin,  314. 
Otterscopescaurs,  fox-hunt,  140. 

Pass  breath,  come  death,  361. 
Pedestrianism,  exhilarating  effects,  123. 
Pepper  and  Mustard  terriers,  125. 

Mutilated  by  the  badger,  147.    Note  on, 

383. 

Pleydell,  Mr.  the  advocate,  218.  Always 
speaks  truth  of  a  Saturday  night,  223.  His 
house,  227.  Examines  Rebecca  about 
Meg  Merrilies'  story,  .24);.  Arrives  at 
Woodbourne,  313.  Examines  young  Ber- 
tram, 324.  Offers  bail  for  Bertram,  341. 
His  fees  from  the  young  ladies,  364.  Ex- 
amines Hatteraick  and  Glossin,  365. 

Portanferry  bridewell,  275.  Custom-housc 
broken  into  by  the  smugglers,  308. 

Precentor  Skreigh,  63. 

Prodigious!  14,  115,378. 

Proof,  legal,  and  moral  conviction,  339. 

Protocol  the  attorney,  235. 

Quid,  the  tobacconist,  233. 

Reading,  good,  characteristics  of,  166, 


INDEX. 


397 


Rebecca,  Singleside's  waiting-maid,  her  ex- 
amination, 245. 
Redding  straik,  154,  387. 
Ride  your  ways,  Earl  of  Ellangowan,  44. 
Riding,  favorite  exercise  on  the  Border,  149. 
Right  makes  our  might,  259. 
Roads  in  Liddesdale,  temp,  tale,  239. 
Robertson,  Rev.  Dr.,  the  historian,  226. 
Roman  wall  of  Cumberland,  123. 

Salmon-leistering  at  Charlies-hope,  143. 

Sampson,  Abel.    See  Dominie. 

Sapling,  breaking  the,  45. 

Saufen  Bier  and  Brantewein,  200. 

Scottish  bar,  convivial  habits,  note^  386. 

Self-defence,  91. 

Serenade  of  Julia,  92,  99, 

Sheriff,  examination  of  Kennedy's  body,  54. 

Sintram,  by  Motte  Fouque,  x. 

Skreigh,  the  precentor,  63. 

Sleepless  night,  lawyers',  note,  388. 

Smith,  Adam,  carried  off  by  gypsies,  41. 

Smugglers'  attack  on  Woodboume,  171, 

Attack  on  Portanferry  custom-house,  309. 

Note  on,  389. 
Smuggling,  old  Bertram's  opinion  of,  28,  30, 

48.    At  Ellangowan,  46. 
Snow,  effects  on  a  landscape,  197. 
Stickit  minister,  10. 
Stratagems  in  law,  342. 
Streaking  the  corpse  of  the  gypsy,  155. 
Superstitions,  gypsy,  note,  584. 
Supper,  Pleydell's  favorite  meal,  315. 
Surnames,  clan,  note^  384. 


Swearing  among  the  Antiburghers,  184. 

Tam  Hudson,  the  gamekeeper,  125. 
Tappit  Hen,  note,  386. 
Terriers,  Dandie  Dinmont's,  383. 
The  Hour's  come,  and  the  Man,  355. 
Thomson,  Rev.  George,  prototype  of  Don*. 

inie  Sampson,  xviii. 
The  Mumps  of  Mump's  Ha',  127. 
Time,  measurement  of,  80. 
Trefoil,  vervain,  John's-wort,  dill,  13. 
Tripoli,  come  from,  385. 

wist  ye,  twine  ye  !  24. 

Warroch  Point,  49,  52,  56.  Tragedy  at, 
as  remembered  by  Harry  Bertram,  326. 

Warroch  wood  revisited,  350. 

Wasp,  Brown's  terrier,  annoys  the  enemy, 
130.  Left  at  Charlies-hope,  147.  Its  long 
trot  with  Dandie,  286.  Sounds  the  alarm 
at  Portanfeisry,  308. 

Wasted,  weary,  wherefore  stay?  152. 

Whistling  up  the  rent,  329. 

Will,  reading  Miss  Bertram's,  235. 

Woodbourne,  description  of,  108.  Attacked 
by  smugglers,  171-176.  Visit  of  Pleydell, 
and  attentions  to  the  ladies,  314.  Arrival 
of  carriage  with  Bertram  and  Dandie,  321. 
Embarrassed  breakfast  party,  338. 

Yawkins,  the  smuggler,  note,  389. 

Yungfrauw  Hagenslaapen,  Hatteraick's  log- 
ger, 26.  Chased  by  the  revenue  cutter. 
42-57- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


This  novel  was  written  at  a  time  when  circumstances  did  not 
place  within  my  reach  the  stories  of  a  library  tolerably  rich  in  his- 
torical works,  and  especially  the  memoirs  of  the  middle  ages, 
amidst  which  I  had  been  accustomed  to  pursue  the  composition  of 
my  fictitious  narratives.  In  other  words,  it  was  chiefly  the  work 
of  leisure  hours  in  Edinburgh,  not  of  quiet  mornings  in  the  coun- 
try. In  consequence  of  trusting  to  a  memory,  strongly  tenacious 
certainly,  but  not  less  capricious  in  its  efforts,  I  have  to  confess  on 
this  occasion  more  violations  of  accuracy  in  historical  details  than 
can  perhaps  be  alleged  against  others  of  my  novels.  In  truth, 
often  as  I  have  been  complimented  on  the  strength  of  my  mem- 
ory, I  have  through  life  been  entitled  to  adopt  old  Beattie  of  Meik- 
ledale's  answer  to  his  parish  minister  when  eulogizing  him  with 
respect  to  the  same  faculty  :  No,  doctor,"  said  the  honest  bor- 
der laird,  I  have  no  command  of  my  memory,  it  only  retains 
what  happens  to  hit  my  fancy,  and  like  enough,  sir,  if  you  were  to 
preach  to  me  for  a  couple  of  hours  on  end,  I  might  be  unable  at 
the  close  of  the  discourse  to  remember  one  word  of  it."  Perhaps 
there  are  few  men  whose  memory  serves  them  with  equal  fidelity 
as  to  many  different  classes  of  subjects  ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
that  while  mine  has  rarely  failed  me  as  to  any  snatch  of  verse  or 
trait  of  character  that  had  once  interested  my  fancy,  it  has  gener- 
ally been  a  frail  support,  not  only  as  to  names,  and  dates  and 
other  minute  technicalities  of  history,  but  as  to  many  more  impor- 
tant things. 

I  hope  this  apology  will  suffice  for  one  mistake  which  has  been 
pointed  out  to  me  by  the  descendant  of  one  of  the  persons  intro- 
duced in  this  story,  and  who  complains  with  reason  that  I  have 
made  a  peasant  deputy  of  the  ancestor  of  a  distinguished  and  no- 
ble family,  none  of  whom  ever  declined  from  the  high  rank  to 
which,  as  far  as  my  pen  trenched  on  it,  I  now  beg  leave  to  restore 


INTRODUCTION. 


them.  The  rtame  of  the  person  who  figures  as  deputy  of  Soleure 
in  these  pages  was  always,  it  seems,  as  it  is  now,  that  of  a 
patrician  house.  I  am  reminded  by  the  same  correspondent  of 
another  shp,  probably  of  less  consequence.  The  Emperor  of  the 
days  my  novel  refers  to,  though  the  representative  of  that  Leopold 
who  fell  in  the  great  battle  of  Sempach,  never  set  up  any  preten- 
sions against  the  liberties  of  the  gallant  Swiss,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, treated  with  uniform  prudence  and  forbearance  such  of  that 
nation  as  had  established  their  independence,  and  with  wise,  as 
well  as  generous  kindness,  others  who  still  continue  to  acknow- 
ledge fealty  to  the  imperial  crown.  Errors  of  this  sort,  however 
trivial,  ought  never,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  pointed  out  to  an  author, 
without  meeting  with  a  candid  and  respectful  acknowledgment. 

With  regard  to  a  general  subject  of  great  curiosity  and  inter- 
est in  the  eyes  at  least  of  all  antiquarian  students,  upon  which  I 
have  touched  at  some  length  in  this  narrative,  I  mean  the  Vehmic 
tribunals  of  Westphalia,  a  name  so  awful  in  men's  ears  during 
many  centuries,  and  which,  through  the  genius  of  Goethe,  has 
again  been  revived  in  public  fancy  with  a  full  share  of  its  ancient 
terrors,  I  am  bound  to  state  my  opinion,  that  a  wholly  new  and 
most  important  light  has  been  thrown  upon  this  matter  since  Anne 
of  Geierstein  first  appeared,  by  the  elaborate  researches  of  my  in- 
genious friend,  Mr.  Francis  Palgrave,*  whose  proof-sheets,  con- 
taining the  passages  I  alluded  to,  have  been  kindly  forwarded  to 
me,  and  whose  complete  work  will  be  before  the  public  ere  this 
Introduction  can  pass  through  the  press. 

In  Germany,"  says  this  very  learned  writer,  "there  existed  a 
singular  jurisdiction,  which  claimed  a  direct  descent  from  the 
Pagan  policy  and  mystic  ritual  of  the  earliest  Teuto7is. 

We  learn  from  the  historians  of  Saxony,  that  the  *  Frey  Feld 
gricht,'  or  Free  Field  Court  of  Corbey,  was,  in  Pagan  times 
under  the  supremacy  of  the  Priests  of  the  Eresburgh,  the  Temple 
which  contained  the  Irminsule,  or  pillar  of  Irmin.  After  the  con- 
version of  the  people,  the  possessions  of  the  temple  were  conferred 
by  Louis  the  Pious  upon  the  Abbey  which  arose  upon  its  site. 
The  court  was  composed  of  sixteen  persons,  who  held  their  offices 
for  life.  The  senior  member  presided  as  the  Gerefa  or  Graff ; 
the  junior  performed  the  humbler  duties  of  ^  Frohner,'  or  sum- 
moner  ;  the  remaining  fourteen  acted  as  the  Echevins,  and  by 
them  all  judgments  were  pronounced  or  declared.  When  any 
one  of  these  died,  a  new  member  was  elected  by  the  Priests,  from 
amongst  the  twenty-two  septs  or  families  inhabiting  the  Gau  or 
district,  and  who  included  all  the  hereditary  occupants  of  the  soil. 
Afterward,  the  selection  was  made  by  the  Monks,  but  always  with 
the  assent  of  the  Graff  and  of  the  *  Frohner.' 

The  seat  of  judgment,  the  King's  seat,  or  '  Konig-stuhl,* 
was  always  established  on  the  greensward  ;  and  we  collect  from 
the  context,  that  the  tribunal  was  also  raised  or  appointed  in  the 
common  fiehls  of  the  Gau,  for  the  ])urpose  of  deciding  disputes 


*  xVow  Sir  Francis  I'algra^e. 


INTRODUCTION. 


V 


relating  to  the  land  within  its  precinct.  Such  a  ^  King's  seat'  was 
a  plot  sixteen  feet  in  length,  and  sixteen  feet  in  breadth  ;  and 
when  the  ground  was  first  consecrated,  the  Frohner  dug  a  grave  in 
the  centre,  into  which  each  of  the  Free  Echevins  threw  a  handful 
of  ashes,  a  coal,  and  a  tile.  If  any  doubt  arose  whether  a  place  of 
judgment  had  been  duly  hallowed,  the  Judges  sought  for  the 
tokens.  If  they  were  not  found,  then  all  the  judgments  which  had 
been  given  became  null  and  void.  It  was  also  of  the  very  essence 
of  the  Court  that  it  should  be  held  beneath  the  sky  and  by  the 
light  of  the  sun.  All  the  ancient  Teutonic  judicial  assemblies 
were  held  in  the  open  air  ;  but  some  relics  of  solar  worship  may, 
perhaps,  be  traced  in  the  usage  and  in  the  language  of  this  tribu- 
nal. The  forms  adopted  in  the  Free  Field  Court  also  betray  a 
singular  affinity  to  the  doctrines  of  the  British  Bards  respecting 
their  Gorseddau,  or  Conventions,  which  were  always  held  in  the 
open  air  in  the  eye  of  the  light  and  in  face  of  the  sun.* 

"When  a  criminal  was  to  be  judged,  or  a  cause  to  be  decided, 
the  Graff  and  the  Free  Echevins  assembled  around  the  ^  Konig- 
stuhl ;  '  and  the  *  Frohner,'  having  proclaimed  silence,  opened  the 
proceedings  by  reciting  the  following  rhymes  : 

*'  Sir  Graff,  with  permit- sion, 
I  beg  you  to  say, 

According  to  law,  and  without  delay, 

If  I,  your  Knave, 

Who  judgment  crave, 

With  your  good  grace, 

Upon  the  King's  seat  this  seat  may  place  ? 

To  this  address  the  Graff  replied  : 

"  While  the  sun  shines  with  even  light 

Upon  Masters  and  Knaves,  I  shall  declare 
The  law  of  might,  according  to  right. 
Place  the  King's  seat  true  and  square ; 
Let  even  measure,  for  justice'  sake. 
Be  given  in  sight  of  God  and  man, 
That  the  plaintiff  his  complaint  may  make, 
And  the  defendant  answer — if  he  can. 

"  In  conformity  to  this  permission,  the  ^  Frohner*  placed  the 
seat  of  judgment  in  the  middle  of  the  plot,  and  then  he  spake  for 
the  second  time  : 

"  Sir  Graff.  Master  brave, 
I  remind  you  of  your  honor,  here, 
And  moreover  that  I  am  your  Knave  ; 
Tell  me,  therefore,  for  law  sincere. 
If  these  mete-wands  are  even  and  sure, 
Fit  for  the  rich  and  fit  for  the  poor. 
Both  to  measure  land  and  condition  ; 
Tell  me  as  you  would  eschew  perdition. 

*Owen  Pugh's  Elegies  of  Lewarch  Hen,  Pref  ,  p.  46. — The  Place  of  these 
meetings  was  set  npart  by  forming  a  circle  of  stones  around  the  Mac7t  Gorsi-dd, 
or  stone  of  the  Gorsedd. 


INTRODUCTION. 


And  so  speaking,  he  laid  the  mete-wand  on  the  ground.  The 
Graff  then  began  to  try  the  measure,  by  placing  his  right  foot 
against  the  wand,  and  he  was  followed  by  the  other  Free  Echevins 
in  rank  and  order,  according  to  seniority.  The  length  of  the 
mete-wand  being  thus  proved,  the  Frohner  spake  for  the  third 
time  : 

*'  Sir  Graff,  I  ask  by  permission, 
If  I  with  your  mete-wand  may  mete 
Openly,  and  without  displeasure. 
Here  the  king's  free  judgment  seat  ? 

^*  And  the  Graff  replied  : 

I  permit  right, 

And  I  forbid  wrong, 

Under  the  pains  and  penalties 

That  to  the  old  known  laws  belong. 

^'Now  was  the  time  of  measuring  the  mystic  plot  ;  it  was  meas- 
ured by  the  mete-wand  along  and  athwart,  and  when  the  dimen- 
sions were  found  to  be  true,  the  Graff  placed  himself  in  the  seat 
of  judgment,  and  gave  the  charge  to  the  assembled  Free  Echevins, 
warning  them  to  pronounce  judgment  according  to  right  and  jus- 
tice. 

"  On  this  day,  with  common  consent, 
And  under  the  clear  firmament 
A  free  field  court  is  established  here, 
In  the  open  eye  of  day  ; 
Enter  soberly,  ye  who  may. 
The  seat  in  its  place  is  pight. 
The  mete-wand  is  found  to  be  right ; 
Declare  your  judgments  without  delay; 
And  let  the  doom  be  truly  given, 
Whilst  yet  the  Sun  shines  bright  in  heaven. 

"  Judgment  was  given  by  the  Free  Echevins  according  to  plu- 
rality of  voices.'* 

After  observing  that  the  Author  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  had,  by 
what  he  calls  a  "  very  excusable  poetical  license,"  transferred 
something  of  these  judicial  rhymes  from  the  Free  Field  Court  of 
the  Abbey  of  Corbey  to  the  Free  Vchmic  Tribunals  of  Westphalia, 
Mr.  Palgrave  proceeds  to  correct  many  vulgar  errors,  in  which  the 
novel  he  remarks  on  no  doubt  had  shared,  with  respect  to  the  ac- 
tual constitution  of  those  last-named  courts.  The  protocols  of 
their  proceedings,"  he  says,  do  not  altogether  realize  the  popu- 
lar idea  of  their  terrors  and  tyranny."  It  may  be  allowed  to  me  to 
question  whether  the  mere  protocols  of  such  tribunals  arc  quite 
enough  to  annul  all  the  import  of  tradition  respecting  them  ;  but 
in  the  following  details  there  is  no  doubt  much  that  will  instruct 
the  antif[uarian,  as  well  as  amuse  the  popular  reader. 

^'  The  Court,"  says  Mr.  Palgrave,  ^*  was  held  with  known  and 
notorious  publicity  beneath  the  *  eye  of  light  \ '  and  the  sentences, 


mTRODiJCTIOM. 


vli 


though  speedy  and  severe,  were  founded  upon  a  regular  system  of 
established  jurisprudence,  not  so  strange,  even  to  England,  as  it 
may  at  first  sight  appear. 

Westphalia,  according  to  its  ancient  constitution,  was  divided 
into  districts  called  *  Freygraffschafften,*  each  of  which  usually 
contained  one,  and  sometimes  many,  Vehmic  tribunals,  whose 
boundaries  were  accurately  defined.  The  right  of  the  '  Stuhlherr,* 
or  Lord,  was  of  a  feudal  nature,  and  could  be  transferred  by  the 
ordinary  modes  of  alienation  ;  and  if  the  Lord  did  not  choose  to  act 
in  his  own  person,  he  nominated  a  *  Freigraff '  to  execute  the  office 
in  his  stead.  The  court  itself  was  composed  of  '  Freyschoppfen,' 
Scabini,  or  Echevins,  nominated  by  the  Graff,  and  who  were  di- 
vided into  two  classes  ;  the  ordinary,  and  the  ^  Wissenden '  or 

*  Witan,'  who  were  admitted  under  a  strict  and  singular  bond  of 
secrecy. 

^'  The  initiation  of  these,  the  participators  in  all  the  mysteries 
of  the  tribunal,  could  only  take  place  upon  the  *red  earth,'  or 
within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  Duchy  of  Westphalia.  Bareheaded 
and  ungirt,  the  candidate  is  conducted  before  the  dread  tribunal. 
He  is  interrogated  as  to  his  qualifications,  or  rather  as  to  the  ab- 
sence of  any  disqualification.  He  must  be  freeborn,  a  Teuton, 
and  clear  of  any  accusation  cognizable  by  the  tribunal,  of  which  he 
is  to  become  a  member.  If  the  answers  are  satisfactory,  he  then 
takes  the  oath,  swearing  by  the  Holy  Law  that  he  will  conceal  the 
secrets  of  the  Holy  Vehme  from  wife  and  child — from  father  and 
mother — from  sister  and  brother — from  fire  and  water — from  every 
creature  upon  which  the  sun  shines,  or  upon  which  the  rain  falls — 
from  every  being  between  earth  and  heaven. 

Another  clause  relates  to  his  active  duties.  He  further 
swears  that  he  will  '  say  forth '  to  the  tribunal  all  crimes  or  of- 
fences which  fall  beneath  the  secret  ban  of  the  Emperor,  which  he 
knows  to  be  true,  or  which  he  has  heard  from  trustworthy  report  ; 
and  that  he  will  not  forbear  to  do  so,  for  love  nor  for  loathing,  for 
gold  nor  for  silver  nor  precious  stones.  This  oath  being  imposed 
upon  him,  the  new  Freischopff  was  then  intrusted  with  the  se- 
crets of  the  Vehmic  tribunal.  He  received  the  password  by  which 
he  was  to  know  his  fellows,  and  the  grip  or  sign  by  which  they  rec- 
ognized each  other  in  silence  ;  and  he  was  warned  of  the  terrible 
punishment  awaiting  the  perjured  brother.  If  he  discloses  the  se- 
crets of  the  Court,  he  is  to  expect  that  he  will  be  suddenly  seized 
by  the  ministers  of  vengeance.  His  eyes  are  bound,  he  is  cast 
down  on  the  soil,  his  tongue  is  torn  out  through  the  back  of  his 
neck — and  he  is  then  to  be  hanged  seven  times  higher  than  any 
other  criminal.  And  whether  restrained  by  the  fear  of  punishment 
or  by  the  stronger  ties  of  mystery,  no  instance  was  ever  known  of 
any  violation  of  the  secrets  of  the  tribunal. 

'^Thus  connected  by  an  invisible  bond,  the  members  of  the 

*  Holy  Vehme  '  became  extremely  numerous.  In  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  league  contained  upward  of  one  hundred  thousand 
members.  Persons  of  every  rank  sought  to  be  associated  to  this 
powerful  community,  and  to  participate  in  the  immunities  which 


viii 


INTRODUCTIOM. 


the  brethren  possessed.  Princes  were  eager  to  allow  their  minis- 
ters  to  become  the  members  of  this  mysterious  and  holy  alliance  ; 
and  the  cities  of  the  Empire  were  equally  anxious  to  enroll  their 
magistrates  in  the  Vehmic  union. 

The  supreme  government  of  the  Vehmic  tribunals  was  vested 
in  the  great  or  general  Chapter,  composed  of  the  Freegraves  and 
all  the  other  initiated  members,  high  and  low.  Over  this  assembly 
the  Emperor  might  preside  in  person,  but  more  usually  by  his  dep- 
uty, the  Stadtholder  of  the  ancient  Duchy  of  Westphalia  ;  an  office 
which,  after  the  fall  of  Henry  the  Lion,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  was 
annexed  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Cologne. 

Before  the  general  Chapter  all  the  members  were  liable  to 
account  for  their  acts.  And  it  appears  that  the  *  Freegraves '  re- 
ported the  proceedings  which  had  taken  place  within  their  jurisdic- 
tions in  the  course  of  the  year.  Unworthy  members  were  expelled 
or  sustained  a  severe  punishment.  Statutes,  or  '  Reformations,' 
as  they  were  called,  were  here  enacted  for  the  regulation  of  the 
Courts  and  the  amendment  of  any  abuses  ;  and  new  and  unfore- 
seen cases  for  which  the  existing  laws  did  not  provide  a  remedy 
received  their  determination  in  the  Vehmic  Parliament. 

As  the  Echevins  were  of  two  classes,  uninitiated  and  initiated, 
so  the  Vehmic  Court  had  also  a  twofold  character.  The  '  Offenbare 
Ding^  was  an  Open  Court  or  Folkmoot ;  but  the  '  Heimliche  Acht* 
was  the  far-famed  Secret  Tribunal. 

The  first  was  held  three  times  in  each  year.  According  to 
the  ancient  Teutonic  usage,  it  usually  assembled  on  Thursday,  an- 
ciently called  ^  Dingstag,'  or  court-day,  as  well  as  ^  Dienstag,'  or 
serving  day,  the  first  open  or  working-day  after  the  two  great  weekly 
festivals  of  Sun-day  and  Moon-day.  Here  all  the  householders  of 
the  district,  whether  free  or  bond,  attended  as  suitors.  The  ^  Of- 
fenbare Ding'  exercised  a  civil  jurisdiction  ;  and  in  this  Folkmoot 
appeared  any  complainant  or  appellant  who  sought  to  obtain  the 
aid  of  the  Vehmic  tribunal,  in  those  cases  when  it  did  not  possess 
that  summary  jurisdiction  from  which  it  has  obtained  such  fearful 
celebrity.  Here  also  the  suitors  of  the  district  made  presentments 
or  *  wroge,*  as  they  are  termed,  of  any  offences  committed  within 
their  knowledge,  and  which  were  to  be  punished  by  the  Graff  and 
Echevins. 

The  criminal  jurisdiction  of  the  Vehmic  Tribunal  took  the 
widest  range.  The  *  Vehme '  could  punish  mere  slander  and  con- 
tumely. Any  violation  of  the  Ten  Commandments  was  to  h<i  re- 
stained  by  the  Eclievins.  Secret  crimes,  not  to  be  proved  by  the 
ordinary  testimony  of  witnesses,  such  as  magic,  witchcraft,  and 
poison,  were  particularly  to  be  restrained  by  tlic  Vehmic  Judges  ; 
and  they  sometimes  designated  their  jurisdiction  as  comprehend- 
ing every  offence  against  the  honor  of  man  or  the  precepts  of  relig- 
ion. Such  a  definition,  if  definition  it  can  be  called,  evidently  al- 
lowed them  to  bring  every  action  of  which  an  individual  might 
conii)lain  within  the  scope  of  their  tribunals.  The  forcible  usurp- 
ation of  land  becnme  an  offence  against  the  *  Vehme.'  And  if  the 
property  of  an  humble  individual  was  occupied  by  the  proud  Burgh- 


INTRODUCTION. 


ix 


ers  of  the  Hanse,  the  power  of  the  Defendants  might  afford  a  rea- 
sonable excuse  for  the  interference  of  the  Vehmic  power. 

"  The  Echevins,  as  Conservators  of  the  Ban  of  the  Empire, 
were  bound  to  make  constant  circuits  within  their  districts,  by 
night  and  by  day.  If  they  could  apprehend  a  thief,  a  murderer,  or 
the  perpetrator  of  any  other  heinous  crime,  in  possession  of  the 
*  mainour,'  or  in  the  very  act — or  if  his  own  mouth  confessed  the 
deed,  they  hung  him  upon  the  next  tree.  But  to  render  this  exe- 
cution legal,  the  following  requisites  were  necessary  :  Fresh  suit, 
or  the  apprehension  and  execution  of  the  offender  before  daybreak 
or  nightfall  ;  the  visible  evidence  of  the  crime  ;  and  lastly,  that 
three  Echevins,  at  least,  should  seize  the  offender,  testify  against 
him,  and  judge  of  the  recent  deed. 

^'  If,  without  any  certain  accuser,  and  without  the  indication  of 
crime,  an  individual  was  strongly  and  vehemently  suspected  ;  or 
when  the  nature  of  the  offence  was  such  as  that  its  proof  could  only 
rest  upon  opinion  and  presumption,  the  offender  then  became  sub- 
ject to  what  the  German  jurists  term  the  inquisitorial  proceeding; 
it  became  the  duty  of  the  Echevin  to  denounce  the  '  Leumund,'  or 
manifest  evil  fame,  to  the  secret  tribunal.  If  the  Echevins  and  the 
Freygraff  were  satisfied  with  the  presentment,  either  from  their 
own  knowledge  or  from  the  information  of  their  compeer,  the 
offender  was  said  to  be  *  verfambt ' — his  life  was  forfeited  ;  and 
wherever  he  was  found  by  the  brethren  of  the  tribunal,  they  exe- 
cuted him  without  the  slightest  delay  or  mercy.  An  offender  who 
had  escaped  from  the  Echevins  was  liable  to  the  same  punish- 
ment ;  and  such  also  was  the  doom  of  the  party  who,  after  having 
been  summoned  pursuant  to  an  appeal  preferred  in  open  court, 
made  default  in  appearing.  But  one  of  the  *  Wissenden'  was  in 
no  respect  liable  to  the  summary  process,  or  to  the  inquisitorial 
proceeding,  unless  he  had  revealed  the  secrets  of  the  Court.  He 
was  presumed  to  be  a  true  man  ;  and  if  accused  upon  vehement 
suspicion,  or  '  Leumund,'  the  same  presumption  or  evil  repute 
which  was  fatal  to  the  uninitiated,  might  be  entirely  rebutted  by 
the  compurgatory  oath  of  the  free  Echevin.  If  a  party,  accused  by 
appeal,  did  not  shun  investigation,  he  appeared  in  the  open  court, 
and  defended  himself  according  to  the  ordinary  rules  of  law.  If 
he  absconded,  or  if  the  evidence  or  presumptions  were  against  him, 
the  accusations  then  came  before  the  Judges  of  the  Secret  Court, 
who  pronounced  the  doom.  The  accusatorial  process,  as  it  was 
termed,  was  also,  in  many  cases,  brought  in  the  first  instance  be- 
fore the  '  Heimliche  Acht.'  Proceeding  upon  the  examination  of 
witnesses,  it  possessed  no  peculiar  character,  and  its  forms  were 
those  of  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice.  It  was  only  in  this  manner 
that  one  of  the  '  Wissenden  '  or  Witan  could  be  tried  ;  and  the 
privilege  of  being  exempted  from  the  summary  process,  or  from 
the  effects  of  the  ^  Leumund,'  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  rea- 
sons which  induced  so  many  of  those  who  did  not  tread  the  '  red 
earth  '  to  seek  to  be  included  in  the  Vehmic  bond. 

There  was  no  mystery  in  the  assembly  of  the  Heimliche 
Acht,    Under  the  oak,  or  under  the  lime-tree,  the  Judges  as- 


X 


INTRODUCTION. 


sembled  in  broad  daylight  and  before  the  eye  of  heaven  ;  but  the 
tribunal  derived  its  name  from  the  precautions  which  were  taken 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  disclosure  of  its  proceedings 
which  might  enable  the  offender  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  the 
Vehme.  Hence  the  fearful  oath  of  secrecy  which  bound  the 
Echevins.  And  if  any  stranger  was  found  present  in  the  Court, 
the  unlucky  intruder  instantly  forfeited  his  life  as  a  punishment  of 
his  temerity.  If  the  presentment  or  denunciation  did  chance  to 
become  known  to  the  offender,  the  law  allowed  him  a  right  to  ap- 
peal. But  the  permission  was  of  very  little  utility  ;  it  was  a  pro- 
fitless boon,  for  the  Vehmic  Judges  always  labored  to  conceal  the 
judgment  from  the  hapless  criminal,  who  seldom  was  aware  of  his 
sentence  until  his  neck  was  encircled  by  the  halter. 

Charlemagne,  according  to  the  traditions  of  Westphalia,  was 
the  founder  of  the  Vehmic  tribunal ;  and  it  was  supposed  that  he 
instituted  the  Court  for  the  purpose  of  coercing  the  Saxons,  ever 
ready  to  relapse  into  the  idolatry  from  which  they  had  been  re- 
claimed, not  by  persuasion,  but  by  the  sword.  This  opinion, 
however,  is  not  confirmed  either  by  documentary  evidence  or  by 
contemporary  historians.  And  if  we  examine  the  proceedings  of 
the  Vehmic  tribunal,  we  shall  see  that,  in  principle,  it  differs  in 
no  essential  character  from  the  summary  jurisdiction  exercised  in 
the  townships  and  Hundreds  of  Anglo-Saxon  England.  Amongst 
us,  the  thief  or  the  robber  was  equally  liable  to  summary  punish- 
ment, if  apprehended  by  the  men  of  the  township  ;  and  the  same 
rules  disqualified  them  from  proceeding  to  summary  execution. 
An  English  outlaw  was  exactly  in  the  situation  of  him  who  had 
escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  Echevins,  or  who  had  failed 
to  appear  before  the  Vehmic  Court — he  was  condemned  unheard, 
nor  was  he  confronted  with  his  accusers.  The  inquisitorial  pro- 
ceedings, as  they  are  termed  by  the  German  jurists,  are  identical 
with  our  ancient  presentments.  Presumptions  are  substituted  for 
proofs,  and  general  opinion  holds  the  place  of  a  responsible 
accuser.  He  who  was  untrue  to  all  the  people  in  the  Saxon  age, 
or  Hable  to  the  malcredcnce  of  the  inquest  at  a  subsequent  period, 
was  scarcely  more  fortunate  than  he  who  was  branded  as  ^  Leu- 
mund'  by  the  Vehmic  law. 

In  cases  of  open  delict  and  of  outlawry  there  was  substanti- 
ally no  difference  whatever  between  the  English  and  the  Vehmic 
proceedings.  But  in  the  inquisitorial  process,  the  delinquent  was 
allowed,  according  to  our  older  code,  to  run  the  risk  of  the  ordeal. 
He  was  accused  by  or  before  the  Hundred,  or  the  Thanes  of  the 
Wapentake  ;  and  his  own  oath  cleared  him,  if  a  true  man  :  but  he 
*  bore  the  iron  '  if  unable  to  avail  himself  of  the  credit  derived 
from  a  good  and  fair  reputation.  The  same  course  may  have  been 
originally  adopted  in  Westphalia  ;  for  the  *  Wissend,'  when  ac- 
cused, could  exculpate  himself  by  his  compurgatory  oath,  being 
presumed  to  be  of  good  fame  ;  and  it  is  therefore  probable  that  an 
uninitiated  offender,  standing  a  stage  lower  in  character  and 
credibility,  was  allowed  the  last  resort  of  the  ordeal.  But  when 
the  *  Judgment  of  God'  was  abolished  by  the  decrees  of  the 


INTRODUCnON. 


xi 


Church,  it  did  not  occur  to  the  Vehmic  Judges  to  put  the  offender 
upon  his  second  trial  by  the  visne,  which  now  forms  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristie  of  the  Enghsh  law,  and  he  was  at  once 
considered  as  condemned.  The  Heimliche  Acht  is  a  presentment 
not  traversable  by  the  offender. 

"  The  Vehmic  Tribunals  can  only  be  considered  as  the  original 
jurisdiciions  of  the  '  Old  Saxons which  survived  the  subjugation 
of  their  country.  The  singular  and  7nystic  forms  of  initiation ^  the 
system  of  enigmatical  phrases  ^  the  use  of  the  signs  and  syinbols  of 
recognition  may  probably  be  ascribed  to  the  period  when  the 
whole  system  was  imited  to  the  worship  of  the  Deities  of  Ven- 
geance ^  and  when  the  sentence  was  promulgated  by  the  Dooms- 
men  ^  assembled,  like  the  A  si  of  old,  before  the  altars  of  Thar  or 
Woden.  Of  this  connection  with  ancient  pagan  policy,  so  clearly 
to  be  traced  in  the  Icelandic  Courts,  the  English  territorial  juris- 
dictions offer  some  very  faint  vestiges  ;  but  the  mystery  had  long 
been  dispersed,  and  the  whole  system  passed  into  the  ordinary 
machinery  of  the  law. 

^*As  to  the  Vehmic  Tribunals,  it  is  acknowledged  that,  in  a 
truly  barbarous  age  and  country,  their  proceedings,  however 
violent,  were  not  without  utility.  Their  severe  and  secret  ven- 
geance often  deterred  the  rapacity  of  the  noble  robber,  and  pro- 
tected the  humble  suppliant  ;  the  extent,  and  even  the  abuse,  of 
their  authority  was  in  some  measure  justified  in  an  Empire 
divided  into  numerous  independent  jurisdictions,  and  not  sub- 
jected to  any  paramount  tribunal  able  to  administer  impartial 
justice  to  the  oppressed.  But  as  the  times  improved,  the  Vehmic 
tribunals  degenerated.  The  Echevins,  chosen  from  the  inferior 
ranks,  did  not  possess  any  personal  consideration.  Opposed  by 
the  opulent  cities  of  the  Hanse,  and  objects  of  the  suspicion  and 
the  enmity  of  the  powerful  aristocracy,  the  tribunals  of  some  dis- 
tricts were  abolished  by  law,  and  others  took  the  form  of  ordinary 
territorial  jurisdictions  ;  the  greater  number  fell  into  desuetude. 
Yet,  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  few  Vehmic 
tribunals  existed  in  name,  though,  as  it  may  be  easily  supposed, 
without  possessing  any  remnant  of  their  pristine  power." — Pal- 
(;rave  on  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  English  Commonwealth. 
Proofs  and  Illustrations,  p.  157. 

I  have  marked  by  Romati  letters  the  most  important  passage 
of  the  above  quotation.  The  view  it  contains  seems  to  me  to  have 
every  appearance  of  truth  and  justice — and  if  such  should,  on 
maturer  investigation,  turn  out  to  be  the  fact,  it  will  certainly  con- 
fer no  small  honor  on  an  English  scholar  to  have  discovered  the 
key  to  a  mystery  which  had  long  exercised  in  vain  the  laborious 
and  profound  students  of  German  antiquity. 

There  are  probably  several  other  points  on  which  I  ought  to 
have  embraced  this  opportunity  of  enlarging  ;  but  the  necessity  of 
preparing  for  an  excursion  to  foreign  countries,  in  quest  of  health 
and  strength,  that  have  been  for  some  time  sinking,  makes  me  cut 
short  my  address  upon  the  present  occasion. 

Although  I  had  never  been  in  Switzerland,  and  numerous  mis- 


xii 


TNTRODUCTION, 


takes  must  of  course  have  occurred  in  my  attempts  to  desctibe  the 
local  scenery  of  that  romantic  region,  I  must  not  conclude  without 
a  statement  highly  gratifying  to  myself,  that  the  work  met  with  a 
reception  of  more  than  usual  corcMality  among  the  descendants  of 
the  Alpine  heroes  whose  manners  I  have  ventured  to  treat  of ;  and 
I  have  in  particular  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  several  Swiss 
gentlemen  who  have,  since  the  novel  was  published,  enriched  my 
little  collection  of  armor  with  specimens  of  the  huge  weapon  that 
sheared  the  lances  of  the  Austrian  chivalry  at  Sempach,  and  was 
employed  with  equal  success  on  the  bloody  days  of  Granson  and 
Morat.  Of  the  ancient  doublehanded  espadons  of  the  Switzer,  I 
have,  in  this  way,  received,  I  think,  not  less  than  six,  in  excellent 
preservation,  from  as  many  different  individuals,  who  thus  testi- 
fied their  general  approbation  of  these  pages.  They  are  not  the 
less  interesting,  that  gigantic  swords,  of  nearly  the  same  pattern 
and  dimensions,  were  employed  in  their  conflicts  with  the  bold 
knights  and  men-at-arms  of  England,  by  Wallace  and  the  sturdy 
foot-soldiers  who,  under  his  guidance,  laid  the  foundations  of 
Scottish  independence. 

The  reader  who  wishes  to  examine  with  attention  the  histori- 
cal events  of  the  period  which  the  novel  embraces,  will  find  ample 
means  of  doing  so  in  the  valuable  works  of  Zschokke  and  M.  de 
Barante — which  last  author's  account  of  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy  is 
among  the  most  valuable  of  recent  accessions  of  European  litera- 
ture— and  in  the  new  Parisian  edition  of  Froissart,  which  has  not 
as  yet  attracted  so  much  attention  in  this  country  as  it  well  de- 
serves to  do.* 

W.  S. 

Abbotsford,  Sept.  17,  1831. 


*  [Note  A.    Remarks  on  the  Nov«l.] 


The  mists  boil  up  around  the  glaciers;  clouds 
Rise  curling  fast  beneath  me,  white  and  sulphury, 
Like  foam  from  the  roused  ocean —       *  * 
*      *      *      *  I  am  giddy. 

Manfred. 

The  course  of  four  centuries  has  well-nigh  elapsed  since 
the  series  of  events  which  are  related  in  the  following  chapters 
took  place  on  the  Continent.  The  records  which  contained  the 
outlines  of  the  history,  and  might  be  referred  to  as  proof  of  its 
veracity,  were  long  preserved  in  the  superb  library  of  the 
Monastery  of  Saint  Gall,  but  perished,  with  many  of  the  literary 
treasures  of  that  establishment,  when  the  convent  was  plundered 
by  the  French  Revolutionary  armies.  The  events  are  fixed  by 
historical  date  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century — that 
important  period,  when  chivalry  still  shone  with  a  setting  ray, 
soon  about  to  be  totally  obscured  ;  in  some  countries,  by  the 
establishment  of  free  institutions,  in  others,  by  that  of  arbitrary 
power,  which  alike  rendered  useless  the  interference  of  those 
self-endowed  redressers  of  wrongs,  whose  only  warrant  of  au- 
thority was  the  sword. 

Amid  the  general  light  which  had  recently  shone  upon 
Europe,  France,  Burgundy  and  Italy,  but  more  especially  Austria, 
had  been  made  acquainted  with  the  character  of  a  people,  o£ 


2 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


whose  very  existence  they  had  before  been  scarcely  conscious. 
It  is  true,  that  the  inhabitants  of  those  countries  which  lie  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Alps,  that  immense  barrier,  were  not  ignorant, 
that,  notwithstanding  their  rugged  and  desolate  appearance,  the 
secluded  valleys  which  winded  among  those  gigantic  mountains 
nourished  a  race  of  hunters  and  shepherds;  meb,  who,  living  in 
a  state  of  primeval  simplicity,  compelled  from  the  soil  a  sub- 
sistence gained  by  severe  labor,  followed  the  chase  over  the 
most  savage  precipices  and  through  the  darkest  pine  forests, 
or  drove  their  cattle  to  spots  which  afforded  them  a  scanty 
pasturage,  even  in  the  vicinage  of  eternal  snows.  But  the 
existence  of  such  a  people,  or  rather  of  a  number  of  small  com- 
munities who  followed  nearly  the  same  poor  and  hardy  course 
of  life,  had  seemed  to  the  rich  and  powerful  princes  in  the  neigh- 
borhood a  matter  of  as  little  consequence,  as  it  is  to  the  stately 
herds  which  repose  in  a  fertile  meadow,  that  a  few  half-starved 
goats  find  their  scantv  food  among  the  rocks  which  overlook 
their  rich  domain. 

But  wonder  and  attention  began  to  be  attracted  toward 
these  mountaineers,  about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
when  reports  were  spread  abroad  of  severe  contests,  in  which  the 
German  chivalry,  endeavoring  to  suppress  insurrecti*ons  among 
their  Alpine  vassals,  had  sustained  repeated  and  bloody  defeats, 
although  having  on  their  side  numbers  and  discipline,  and  the 
advantage  of  the  most  perfect  military  equipment  then  known 
and  confided  in.  Great  was  the  wonder  that  cavalry,  which 
made  the  only  efficient  part  of  the  feudal  armies  of  these  ages, 
should  be  routed  by  men  on  foot ;  that  warriors  sheathed  in 
complete  steel  should  be  overpowered  by  naked  peasants  who 
wore  no  defensive  armor,  and  were  irregularly  provided  with 
pikes,  halberds,  and  clubs,  for  the  purpose  of  attack  ;  above  all, 
it  seemed  a  species  of  miracle,  that  knights  and  nobles  of  the 
highest  birth  should  be  defeated  by  mountaineers  and  shepherds. 
But  the  repeated  victories  of  the  Swiss  atLaupen,  Sempach,  and 
on  other  less  distinguished  occasions,  plainly  intimated  that  a 
new  principle  of  civil  organization,  as  well  as  of  military  move- 
ments, had  arisen  amid  the  stormy  regions  of  Helvetia. 

Still,  although  the  decisive  victories  which  obtained  liberty 
for  the  Swiss  Cantons,  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  resolution  and 
wisdom  with  which  the  members  of  the  little  confederation  had 
maintained  themselves  against  the  utmost  exertions  of  Austria^ 
had  spread  their  fame  abroad  through  all  the  neighboring 
countries;  and  although  they  themselves  were  conscious  of 
the  character  and  actual  power  which  repeated  victories  had 
acquired  for   themselves  and  their  country,  yet  down  to  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


3 


middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  at  a  later  date  the  Swiss 
retained  in  a  great  measure  the  wisdom,  moderation,  and 
simplicity  of  their  ancient  manners ;  so  much  so,  that  those 
who  were  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  troops  of  the 
Republic  in  battle,  were  wont  to  resume  the  shepherd's  staflE 
when  they  laid  down  the  truncheon,  and,  like  the  Roman 
dictators,  to  retire  to  complete  equality  with  their  fellow-citizens 
from  the  eminence  of  military  command  to  which  their  talents, 
and  the  call  of  their  country,  had  raised  them. 

It  is,  then,  in  the  Forest  Cantons  of  Switzerland,  in  the 
autumn  of  1474,  while  these  districts  were  in  the  rude  and  simple 
state  we  have  described,  that  our  tale  opens. 

Two  travelers,  one  considerably  past  the  prime  of  life,  the 
other  probably  two  or  three  and  twenty  years  old,  had  passed 
the  night  at  the  little  town  of  Lucerne,  the  capital  of  the  Swiss 
state  of  the  same  name,  and  beautifully  situated  on  the  lake  of 
the  Four  Cantons.  Their  dress  and  character  seemed  those  of 
merchants  of  a  higher  class,  and  while  they  themselves  journeyed 
on  foot,  the  character  of  the  country  rendering  that  by  far  the 
most  easy  mode  of  pursuing  their  route  a  young  peasant  lad, 
from  the  Italian  side  of  the  Alps,  followed  them  with  a  sumpter 
mule,  laden  apparently  with  men's  wares  and  baggage,  which  he 
sometimes  mounted,  but  more  frequently  led  by  the  bridle. 

The  travelers  were  uncommonly  fine-looking  men,  and  seemed 
connected  by  some  very  near  relationship, — probably  that  of 
father  and  son  ;  for  at  the  little  inn  where  they  lodged  on  the 
preceding  evening,  the  great  deference  and  respect  paid  by  the 
younger  to  the  elder  had  not  escaped  the  observation  of  the 
natives,  who,  like  other  sequestered  beings,  were  curious  in  pro- 
portion to  the  limited  means  of  information  which  they  possessed. 
They  observed  also,  that  the  merchants,  under  pretence  of  haste, 
declined  opening  their  bales,  or  proposing  traffic  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Lucerne,  alleging  in  excuse  that  they  had  no  commodities 
fitted  for  the  market.  The  females  of  the  town  were  the  moie 
displeased  with  the  reserve  of  the  mercantile  travelers,  because 
they  were  given  to  understand  that  it  was  occasioned  by  the 
wares  in  which  they  dealt  being  too  costly  to  find  customers 
among  the  Helvetian  mountains ;  for  it  had  transpired,  by  means 
of  their  attendant,  that  the  strangers  had  visited  Venice,  and 
had  there  made  many  purchases  of  rich  commodities,  which  were 
brought  from  India  and  Egypt  to  that  celebrated  emporium,  as 
to  the  common  mart  of  the  Western  World,  and  thence  dispersed 
into  all  quarters  of  Europe.  Now  the  Swiss  maidens  had  of 
late  made  the  discovery  that  gauds  and  gems  were  fair  to  look 
upon,  and  though  without  the  hope  of  being  able  to  possess 


4 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


themselves  of  such  ornaments,  they  felt  a  natural  desire  to 
review  and  handle  the  rich  stores  of  the  merchants,  and  some 
displeasure  at  being  prevented  from  doing  so. 

It  was  also  observed,  that  though  the  strangers  were  suffi- 
ciently courteous  in  their  demeanor,  they  did  not  evince  that 
studious  anxiety  to  please,  displayed  by  the  traveling  pedlers  or 
merchants  of  Lombardy  or  Savoy,  by  whom  the  inhabitants  of 
the  mountains  were  occasionally  visited  ;  and  who  had  been 
more  frequent  in  their  rounds  of  late  years,  since  the  spoils  of 
victory  had  invested  the  Swiss  with  some  wealth,  and  had  taught 
many  of  them  new  wants.  Those  peripatetic  traders  were  civil 
and  assiduous,  as  their  calling  required  ;  but  the  new  visitors 
seemed  men  who  were  indifferent  to  traffic,  or  at  least  to  such 
slender  gains  as  could  be  gathered  in  Switzerland. 

Curiosity  w^as  further  excited  by  the  circumstance,  that  they 
spoke  to  each  other  in  a  language  which  was  certainly  neither 
German,  Italian,  nor  French,  but  from  which  an  old  man  serving 
in  the  cabaret,  who  had  once  been  as  far  as  Paris,  supposed 
they  might  be  English  ;  a  people  of  whom  it  was  only  known  in 
these  mountains,  that  they  were  a  fierce  insular  race,  at  war  with 
the  French  for  many  years,  and  a  large  body  of  whom  had  long 
since  invaded  the  Forest  Cantons,  and  sustained  such  a  defeat 
in  the  valley  of  Reussweil,  as  was  well  remembered  by  the 
gray-haired  men  of  Lucerne,  who  received  the  tale  from  their 
fathers. 

The  lad  who  attended  the  strangers  was  soon  ascertained  to 
be  a  youth  from  the  Orisons  country,  who  acted  as  their  guide, 
so  far  as  his  knowledge  of  the  mountains  permitted.  He  said 
they  designed  to  go  to  Bale,  but  seemed  desirous  to  travel  by 
circuitous  and  unfrequented  routes.  The  circumstances  just 
mentioned  increased  the  general  desire  to  know  more  of  the 
travelers  and  of  their  merchandise.  Not  a  bale,  however,  was 
unpacked,  and  the  merchants,  leaving  Lucerne  next  morning, 
resumed  their  toilsome  journey,  preferring  a  circuitous  route 
and  bad  roads,  through  the  peaceful  cantons  of  Switzerland,  to 
encountering  the  exactions  and  rapine  of  the  robber  chivalry  of 
Germany,  who,  like  so  many  sovereigns,  made  war  each  at  his 
own  pleasure,  and  levied  tolls  and  taxes  on  every  one  who 
passed  their  domains  of  a  mile's  breadth,  with  all  the  insolence 
of  petty  tyranny 

For  several  hours  after  leaving  Lucerne,  the  journey  of  our 
travelers  was  successfully  prosecuted.  The  road,  though  precip- 
itous  and  difficult,  was  rendered  interesting  by  those  splendid 
phenomena,  which  no  country  exhibits  in  a  more  astonishing 
manner  than  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  where  the  rocky 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEIN, 


s 


pass,  the  verdant  valley,  the  broad  lake,  and  the  rushing  tor- 
rent, the  attributes  of  other  hills  as  well  as  these,  are  interspersed 
with  the  magnificent  and  yet  fearful  horrors  of  the  glaciers,  a 
feature  peculiar  to  themselves. 

It  was  not  an  age  in  which  the  beauties  or  grandeur  of  a 
landscape  made  much  impression  either  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  traveled  through  the  country,  or  who  resided  in  it.  To 
the  latter,  the  objects,  however  dignified,  were  familiar,  and 
associated  with  daily  habits  and  with  daily  toil;  and  the  former 
saw,  perhaps,  more  terror  than  beauty  in  the  wild  region  through 
which  they  passed,  and  were  rather  solicitous  to  get  safe  to 
their  night's  quarters,  than  to  comment  on  the  grandeur  of  the 
scenes  which  lay  between  them  and  their  place  of  rest.  Yet 
our  merchants,  as  they  proceeded  on  their  journey,  could  not 
help  being  strongly  impressed  by  the  character  of  the  scenery 
around  them.  Their  road  lay  along  the  side  of  the  lake,  at 
times  level  and  close  on  its  very  margin,  at  times  rising  to  a 
great  height  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  winding  along  the 
verge  of  precipices  which  sunk  down  to  the  water  as  sharp  and 
sheer  as  the  wall  of  a  castle  descending  upon  the  ditch  which 
defends  it.  At  other  times  it  traversed  spots  of  a  milder 
character, — delightful  green  slopes,  and  lowly  retired  valleys, 
affording  both  pasturage  and  arable  ground,  sometimes  water- 
ed by  small  streams,  which  winded  by  the  hamlet  of  wooden 
huts  with  their  fantastic  little  church  and  steeple,  meandered 
round  the  orchard  and  the  mount  of  vines,  and,  murmuring 
gently  as  they  flowed,  found  a  quiet  passage  into  the  lake. 

"  That  stream,  Arthur,"  said  the  elder  travelei,  as  with  one 
consent  they  stopped  to  gaze  on  such  a  scene  as  I  have  de- 
scribed, "  resembles  the  life  of  a  good  and  a  happy  man.'' 

"  And  the  brook,  which  hurries  itself  headlong  down  yon  dis- 
tant hill,  marking  its  course  by  a  streak  of  white  foam,"  an- 
swered Arthur, — "  what  does  that  resemble  ?  " 

"  That  of  a  brave  and  unfortunate  one,"  replied  his  father. 

"  The  torrent  for  me,"  said  Arthur ;  a  headlong  course 
which  no  human  force  can  oppose,  and  then  let  it  be  as  brief 
as  it  is  glorious." 

"  It  is  a  young  man's  thought,"  replied  his  father ;  "  but  I 
am  well  aware  that  it  is  so  rooted  in  thy  heart  that  nothing 
but  the  rude  hand  of  adversity  can  pluck  it  up." 

"  As  yet  the  root  clings  fast  to  my  heart's  strings,"  said  the 
young  man  ;  "  and  methinks  adversity's  hand  hath  had  a  fair 
grasp  of  it." 

"  You  speak,  my  son,  of  what  you  little  understand,"  said 
his  father.    "  Know,  that  till  the  middle  of  life  be  passed,  men 


6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


scarce  distinguish  true  prosperity  from  adversity,  or  rather  they 
court  as  the  favors  of  fortune  what  they  should  more  justly 
regard  as  the  marks  of  her  displeasure.  Look  at  yonder  moun- 
tain, which  wears  on  its  shaggy  brow  a  diadem  of  clouds,  now 
raised  and  now  depressed,  while  the  sun  glances  upon,  but  is 
unable  to  dispel  it ; — a  child  might  believe  it  to  be  a  crown  of 
glory — a  man  knows  it  to  be  the  signal  of  tempest/' 

Arthur  followed  the  direction  of  his  father's  eye  to  the  darkl 
and  shadowy  eminence  of  Mount  Pilatus. 

"  Is  the  mist  on  yonder  wild  mountain  so  ominous  then  ?  " 
asked  the  young  man. 

"  Demand  of  Antonio,"  said  his  father  ;  "  he  will  tell  you  the 
legend." 

The  young  merchant  addressed  himself  to  the  Swiss  lad  who 
acted  as  their  attendant,  desiring  to  know  the  name  of  the 
gloomy  height,  which,  in  that  quarter,  seems  the  leviathan  of  the 
huge  congregation  of  mountains  assembled  about  Lucerne. 

The  lad  crossed  himself  devoutly,  as  he  recounted  the  popular 
legend,  that  the  wicked  Pontius  Pilate,  Proconsul  of  Judea,  had 
here  found  the  termination  of  his  impious  life  ;  having,  after 
spending  years  in  the  recesses  of  that  mountain  which  bears  his 
name,  at  length,  in  remorse  and  despair,  rather  than  in  peni- 
tence, plunged  into  the  dismal  lake  which  occupies  the  summit. 
Whether  water  refused  to  do  the  executioner's  duty  upon  such 
a  wretch,  or  whether,  his  body  being  drowned,  his  vexed  spirit 
continued  to  haunt  the  place  where  he  committed  suicide, 
Antonio  did  not  pretend  to  explain.  But  a  form  was  often,  he 
said,  seen  to  emerge  from  the  gloomy  waters,  and  go  through 
the  action  of  one  washing  his  hands  ;  and  when  he  did  so,  dark 
clouds  of  mist  gathered  first  round  the  bosom  of  the  Infernal 
Lake  (such  it  had  been  styled  of  old),  and  then  wrapping  the 
whole  upper  part  of  the  mountain  in  darkness,  presaged  a 
tempest  or  hurricane,  which  was  sure  to  follow  in  a  short  space. 
He  added,  that  the  evil  spirit  was  peculiarly  exasperated  at  the 
audacity  of  such  strangers  as  ascended  the  mountain  to  gaze  at 
his  place  of  punishment,  and  that,  in  consequence,  the  magis- 
trates of  Lucerne  had  prohibited  any  one  from  approaching 
Mount  Pilatus,  under  severe  penalties.  Antonio  once  more 
crossed  himself  as  he  finished  his  legend  ;  in  which  act  of  devo- 
tion he  was  imitated  by  his  hearers,  too  good  Catholics  to 
entertain  any  doul^i  of  the  truth  of  the  story. 

"  How  the  accursed  heathen  scowls  upon  us  !  "  said  the 
youncrcr  of  the  merchants,  while  the  cloud  darkened  and 
seemed  to  settle  on  the  brow  of  Mount  Pilatus.    "  Vade  retro 
—be  thou  defied,  sinner !  " 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


7 


A  rising  wind,  rather  heard  than  felt,  seemed  to  groan 
forth,  in  the  tone  of  a  dying  lion,  the  acceptance  of  the  suffer- 
ing spirit  to  the  rash  challenge  of  the  young  Englishman.  The 
mountain  was  seen  to  send  down  its  rugged  sides  thick  wreaths 
of  heaving  mist,  which,  rolling  through  the  rugged  chasms  that 
seamed  the  grisly  hill,  resembled  torrents  of  rushing  lava  pour- 
ing down  from  a  volcano.  The  ridgy  precipices,  which  formed 
the  sides  of  these  huge  ravines,  showed  their  splintery  and 
rugged  edges  over  the  vapor,  as  if  dividing  from  each  other  the 
descending  streams  of  mist  which  rolled  around  them.  As  a 
strong  contrast  to  this  gloomy  and  threatening  scene,  the  more 
distant  mountain  range  of  Rigi  shone  brilliant  with  all  the  hues 
of  an  autumnal  sun. 

While  the  travelers  watched  this  striking  and  varied  con- 
trast, which  resembled  an  approaching  combat  betwixt  the 
powers  of  Light  and  Darkness,  their  guide,  in  his  mixed  jargon 
of  Italian  and  German,  exhorted  them  to  make  haste  on  their 
journey.  The  village  to  which  he  proposed  to  conduct  them, 
he  said,  was  yet  distant,  the  road  bad,  and  difficult  to  find,  and 
if  the  Evil  One  "  (looking  to  Mount  Pilatus,  and  crossing  him- 
self) "  should  send  his  darkness  upon  the  valley,  the  path  would 
be  both  doubtful  and  dangerous.  The  travelers,  thus  admon- 
ished, gathered  the  capes  of  their  cloaks  close  round  their 
throats,  pulled  their  bonnets  resolvedly  over  their  brows,  drew 
the  buckle  of  the  broad  belts  which  fastened  their  mantles,  and 
each  with  a  mountain  staff  in  his  hand,  well  shod  with  an  iron 
spike,  they  pursued  their  journey  with  unabated  strength  and 
undaunted  spirit. 

With  every  step  the  scenes  around  them  appeared  to  change. 
Each  mountain,  as  if  its  firm  and  immutable  form  were  flexible 
and  varying,  altered  in  appearance,  like  that  of  a  shadowy 
apparition,  as  the  position  of  the  strangers  relative  to  them 
changed  with  their  motions,  and  as  the  mist,  which  continued 
slowly  though  constantly  to  descend,  influenced  the  rugged 
aspect  of  the  hills  and  valleys  which  it  shrouded  with  its 
vapory  mantle.  The  nature  of  their  progress,  too,  never  direct, 
but  winding  by  a  narrow  path  along  the  sinuosities  of  the 
valley,  and  making  many  a  circuit  round  precipices  and  other 
obstacles  which  it  was  impossible  to  surmount,  added  to  the 
wild  variety  of  a  journey,  in  which,  at  last,  the  travelers  totally 
lost  any  vague  idea  which  they  had  previously  entertained  con- 
cerning the  direction  in  which  the  road  led  them. 

I  would,''  said  the  elder,  we  had  that  mystical  needle 
which  mariners  talk  of,  that  points  ever  to  the  north,  and 
enables  them  to  keep  their  way  on  the  waters,  when  there  is 


8 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


neither  cape  nor  headland,  sun,  moon,  nor  stars,  nor  any  mark 
in  heaven  or  earth,  to  tell  them  how  to  steer.'' 

It  would  scarce  avail  us  among  these  mountains,''  answered 
the  youth  ;  for  though  that  wonderful  needle  may  keep  its 
point  to  the  northern  Pole-star,  when  it  is  on  a  flat  surface  like 
the  sea,  it  is  not  to  be  thought  it  would  do  so  when  these  huge 
mountains  arise  like  walls,  betwixt  the  steel  and  the  object  of 
its  sympathy." 

"I  fear  me,"  replied  the  father,  "we  shall  find  our  guide, 
who  has  been  growing  hourly  more  stupid  since  he  left  his  own 
valley,  as  useless  as  you  suppose  the  compass  would  be  among 
the  hills  of  this  wild  countr3^ — Canst  tell,  my  boy,"  said  he, 
addressing  Antonio  in  bad  Italian,  if  we  be  in  the  road  we 
purposed  " 

"  If  it  pjease  Saint  Antonio  " — said  the  guide,  who  was 
obviously  too  much  confused  to  answer  the  question  directly. 

"  And  that  water,  half  covered  with  mist,  which  glimmers 
through  the  fog,  at  the  foot  of  this  huge  black  precipice — is  it 
still  a  part  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  or  have  we  lighted  upon 
another  since  we  ascended  that  last  hill  ?  " 

Antonio  could  only  answer  that  they  ought  to  be  on  fhe 
Lake  of  Lucerne  still,  and  that  he  hoped  that  what  they  saw 
below  them  was  only  a  winding  branch  of  the  same  sheet  of 
water.    But  he  could  say  nothing  with  certainty. 

"  Dog  of  an  Italian  !  "  exclaimed  the  younger  traveler, 
"  thou  deservest  to  have  thy  bones  broken,  for  undertaking  a 
charge  which  thou  art  as  incapable  to  perform  as  thou  art  to 
guide  us  to  heaven  !  " 

"  Peace,  Arthur,"  said  his  father ;  "  if  you  frighten  the  lad, 
he  runs  off,  and  we  lose  the  small  advantage  we  might  have  by 
his  knowledge  ;  if  you  use  your  baton,  he  rewards  you  wdth  the 
stab  of  a  knife, — for  such  is  the  humor  of  a  revengeful  Lom- 
bard. Either  way,  you  are  marred  instead  of  helped. — Hark 
thee  hither,  my  boy,"  he  continued,  in  his  indifferent  Italian; 
"be  not  afraid  of  that  hot  youngster,  whom  I  will  not  permit 
to  injure  thee  ;  but  tell  me,  if  thou  canst,  the  names  of  the 
villages  by  which  we  are  to  make  our  journey  to-day." 

The  gentle  mode  in  which  the  elder  traveler  spoke  reas- 
sured the  lad,  who  had  been  somewhat  alarmed  at  the  harsh 
tone  and  menacing  expressions  of  his  younger  companion; 
and  he  poured  forth,  in  his  patois,  a  flood  of  names,  in  which 
the  German  guttural  sounds  were  strangely  intermixed  with  the 
soft  accents  of  the  Italian,  but  which  carried  to  the  hearer  no 
intelligible  information  concerning  the  ()l)ject  of  his  question  ; 
50  that  at  length  he  was  forced  to  conclude,  "  Even  lead  on,  ?n 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


9 


Our  Lady's  name,  or  in  Saint  Antonio's  if  you  like  it  better ; 
we  shall  but  lose  time,  I  see,  in  trying  to  understand  each 
other." 

They  moved  on  as  before,  with  this  difference,  that  the 
guide,  leading  the  mule,  now  went  first,  and  was  followed  by 
the  other  two,  whose  motions  he  had  formerly  directed  by  call- 
ing to  them  from  behind.  The  clouds  meantime  became 
thicker  and  thicker,  and  the  mist,  which  had  at  first  been  a 
thin  vapor,  began  now  to  descend  in  the  form  of  a  small  thick 
rain,  which  gathered  like  dew  upon  the  capotes  of  the  travelers. 
Distant  rustling  and  groaning  sounds  were  heard  among  the 
remote  mountains,  similar  to  those  by  which  the  Evil  Spirit  of 
Mount  Pilatus  had  seemed;  to  announce  the  storm.  The  boy 
again  pressed  his  companions  to  advance,  but  at  the  same  time 
threw  impediments  in  the  way  of  their  doing  so,  by  the  slow- 
ness and  indecision  which  he  show^ed  in  leading  them  on. 

Having  proceeded  in  this  manner  for  three  or  four  miles, 
which  uncertainty  rendered  doubly  tedious,  the  travelers  were 
at  length  engaged  in  a  narrow  path,  running  along  the  verge  of 
a  precipice.  Beneath  was  water,  but  of  what  description  they 
could  not  ascertain.  The  wdnd,  indeed,  which  began  to  be  felt 
in  sudden  gusts,  sometimes  swept  aside  the  mist  so  completely, 
as  to  show  the  waves  glimmering  below ;  but  whether  they 
were  those  of  the  same  lake  on  which  their  morning  journey 
had  commenced,  whether  it  was  another  and  separate  sheet  of 
water  of  a  similar  character,  or  whether  it  was  a  river  or  large 
brook,  the  view  afforded  was  too  indistinct  to  determine.  Thus 
far  was  certain,  that  they  were  not  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake 
of  Lucerne,  where  it  displays  its  usual  expanse  of  waters  ;  for 
the  same  hurricane  gusts  which  showed  them  water  in  the  bot- 
tom af  the  glen,  gave  them  a  transient  view  of  the  opposite  i 
side,  at  what  exact  distance  they  could  not  well  discern,  but 
near  enough  to  show  tall  abrupt  rocks  and  shaggy  pine-trees, 
here  united  in  groups,  and  there  singly  anchored  among  the 
cliffs  which  overhung  the  water.  This  was  a  more  distinct 
landscape  than  the  further  side  of  the  lake  would  have  offered, 
had  they  been  on  the  right  road. 

Hitherto  the  path,  though  steep  and  rugged,  was  plainly 
enough  indicated,  and  showed  traces  of  having  been  used  both 
by  riders  and  foot  passengers.  But  suddenly,  as  Antonio  with 
the  loaded  mule  had  reached  a  projecting  eminence,  around 
the  peak  of  which  the  path  made  a  sharp  turn,  he  stopped 
short,  with  his  usual  exclamation,  addressed  to  his  patron 
saint.  It  appeared  to  Arthur  that  the  mule  shared  the  terrors 
pt  the  guide  ;  for  it  started  back,  put  forward  its  fore-feet 


lO 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


separate  from  each  other,  and  seemed,  by  the  attitude  which  it 
assumed,  to  intimate  a  determination  to  resist  every  proposal 
to  advance,  at  the  same  time  expressing  horror  and  fear  at  the 
prospect  which  lay  before  it. 

Arthur  pressed  forward,  not  only  from  curiosity,  but  that  he 
might  if  possible  bear  the  brunt  of  any  danger  before  his  father 
came  up  to  share  it.  In  less  time  than  we  have  taken  to  tell 
the  story,  the  young  man  stood  beside  Antonio  and  the  mule, 
upon  a  platform  of  rock  on  which  the  road  seemed  absolutely 
to  terminate,  and  from  the  further  side  of  which  a  precipice 
sunk  sheer  down,  to  what  depth  the  mist  did  not  permit  him  to 
discern,  but  certainly  uninterrupted  for  more  than  three  hun- 
dred feet. 

The  blank  expression  which  overcast  the  visage  of  the  younger 
traveler,  and  traces  of  which  might  be  discerned  in  the  phys- 
iognomy of  the  beast  of  burden,  announced  alarm  and  morti- 
fication at  this  unexpected,  and,  as  it  seemed,  insurmountable 
obstacle.  Nor  did  the  looks  of  the  father,  who  presently  after 
came  up  to  the  same  spot,  convey  either  hope  or  comfort.  He 
stood  with  the  others  gazing  on  the  misty  gulf  beneath  them, 
and  looking  all  around,  but  in  vain,  for  some  continuation  of 
the  path,  which  certainly  had  never  been  originally  designed 
to  terminate  in  this  summary  manner.  As  they  stood  uncer- 
tain what  to  do  next,  the  son  in  vain  attempting  to  discover 
some  mode  of  passing  onward,  and  the  father  about  to  propose 
that  they  should  return  by  the  road  which  had  brought  them 
hither,  a  loud  howl  of  the  wind,  more  wild  than  they  had  yet 
heard,  swept  down  the  valley.  All  being  aware  of  the  danger 
of  being  hurled  from  the  precarious  station  which  they  occu- 
pied, snatched  at  bushes  and  rocks  by  which  to  secure  them- 
selves, and  even  the  poor  mule  seemed  to  steady  itself  in  order 
to  withstand  the  approaching  hurricane.  The  gust  came  with 
such  unexpected  fury  that  it  appeared  to  the  travelers  to 
shake  the  very  rock  on  which  they  stood,  and  would  have  swept 
them  from  its  surface  like  so  many  dry  leaves,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  momentary  precautions  which  they  had  taken  for  their 
safety.  But  as  the  wind  rushed  down  the  glen,  it  completely 
removed  for  the  space  of  three  or  four  minutes  the  veil  of  mist 
which  former  gusts  had  only  served  to  agitate  or  discompose, 
and  showed  them  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  interruption  which 
they  had  met  with  so  unexpectedly. 

The  rapid  but  correct  eye  of  Arthur  was  then  able  to  ascer- 
tain that  the  path,  after  leaving  the  platform  of  rock  on  which 
they  stood,  had  orii^inally  passed  upward  in  the  same  direc- 
tion along  the  edge  of  a  steep  bank  of  earth,  which  had  thqn 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


formed  the  Uf^per  covering  of  a  stratum  of  precipitous  rocks. 
But  it  had  chanced  in  some  of  the  convulsions  of  nature  which 
take  place  in  those  wild  regions,  where  she  works  upon  a  scale 
so  formidable,  that  the  earth  had  made  a  slip,  or  almost  a  pre- 
cipitous descent,  from  the  rock,  and  been  hurled  downward 
with  the  path,  which  was  traced  along  the  top,  and  with 
bushes,  trees,  or  whatever  grew  upon  it,  into  the  channel  oi 
the  stream  ;  for  such  they  could  now  discern  the  water  beneath 
them  to  be,  and  not  a  lake  or  an  arm  of  a  lake,  as  they  had 
hitherto  supposed. 

The  immediate  cause  of  this  phenomenon  might  probably 
have  been  an  earthquake,  not  unfrequent  in  that  country.  The 
bank  of  earth,  now  a  confused  mass  of  ruins  inverted  in  its 
fall,  showed  some  trees  growing  in  a  horizontal  position,  and 
others,  which,  having  pitched  on  their  heads  in  their  descent, 
were  at  once  inverted  and  shattered  to  pieces,  and  lay  a  sport 
to  the  streams  of  the  river  which  they  had  heretofore  covered 
with  gloomy  shadow.  The  gaunt  precipice  which  remained 
behind,  like  the  skeleton  of  some  huge  monster  divested  of  its 
flesh,  formed  the  wall  of  a  fearful  abyss,  resembling  the  face  of  a 
newly  wrought  quarry,  more  dismal  of  aspect  from  the  rawness 
of  its  recent  formation,  and  from  its  being  as  yet  uncovered 
with  any  of  the  vegetation  with  which  nature  speedily  mantles 
over  the  bare  surface  even  of  her  sternest  crags  and  precipices. 

Besides  remarking  these  appearances,  which  tended  to  show 
that  this  interruption  of  the  road  had  been  of  recent  occurrence, 
Arthur  was  able  to  observe,  on  the  further  side  of  the  river, 
higher  up  the  valley,  and  rising  out  of  the  pine  forest,  inter- 
spersed with  rocks,  a  square  building  of  considerable  height, 
like  the  ruins  of  a  Gothic  tower.  He  pointed  out  this  remark- 
able object  to  Antonio,  and  demanded  if  he  knew  it  ;  justly 
conjecturing  that,  from  the  peculiarity  of  the  site,  it  was  a 
landmark  not  easily  to  be  forgotten  by  any  who  had  seen  it 
before.  Accordingly,  it  was  gladly  and  promptly  recognized  by 
the  lad,  who  called  cheerfully  out,  that  the  place  was  Geierstein, 
that  is,  as  he  explained  it,  the  Rock  of  the  Vultures.  He  knew 
it,  he  said,  by  the  old  tower,  as  well  as  by  a  huge  pinnacle  of  rock 
which  arose  near  it,  almost  in  the  form  of  a  steeple,  to  the  top 
of  which  the  lammer-geier  (one  of  the  largest  birds  of  prey  known 
to  exist)  had  in  former  days  transported  the  child  of  an  ancient 
lord  of  the  castle.  He  proceeded  to  recount  the  vow  which  was 
made  by  the  Knight  of  Geierstein  to  our  Lady  of  Einsiedlen  ; 
and,  while  he  spoke,  the  castle,  rocks,  woods,  and  precipices, 
again  faded  in  mist.  But  as  he  concluded  his  wonderful  narra- 
tive with  the  miracle  which  restored  the  infant  again  to  its  father's 


12 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


arms,  he  cried  out  suddenly,  Look  to  yourselves — the  storm  ! 
• — the  storm  ! "  It  came  accordingly,  and  sweeping  the  mist 
before  it,  again  bestowed  on  the  travelers  a  view  of  the  horrors 
around  them. 

"  Ay !  "  quoth  Antonio,  triumphantly,  as  the  gust  abated, 
old  Pontius  loves  little  to  hear  of  Our  Lady  of  Einsiedlen  ; 
but  she  will  keep  her  own  with  him — Ave  Maria  ! 

That  tower,"  said  the  young  traveler,  seems  uninhabited. 
I  can  descry  no  smoke,  and  the  battlement  appears  ruinous." 

^'It  has  not  been  inhabited  for  many  a  day,  "  answered  the 
guide.  But  I  would  I  were  at  it,  for  all  that.  Honest  Arnold 
Biederman,  the  Landamman"  (chief  magistrate)  of  the  Can- 
ton of  Unterwalden,  dwells  near,  and,  I  warrant  you,  distressed 
strangers  will  not  want  the  best  that  cupboard  and  cellar  can 
find  them,  wherever  he  holds  rule." 

"  I  have  heard  of  him,"  said  the  elder  traveler,  whom  An- 
tonio had  been  taught  to  call  Seignor  Philipson ;  "  a  good  and 
hospitable  man,  and  one  who  enjoys  deserved  weight  with  his 
countrymen." 

"  You  have  spoken  him  right,  Seignor,"  answered  the  guide  ; 
"  and  I  would  we  could  reach  his  house,  where  you  should  be 
sure  of  hospitable  treatment,  and  a  good  direction  for  your  next 
day's  journey.  But  how  we  are  to  get  to  the  Vulture's  Castle, 
unless  we  had  wings  like  the  vulture,  is  a  question  hard  to 
answer." 

Arthur  replied  by  a  daring  proposal,  which  the  reader  will 
find  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

 Away  with  nie — 

Tlje  clouds  grow  thicker — there — now  lean  on  me — 
Place  your  foot  here — here,  take  this  staff,  and  cling 
A  moment  to  that  shrub — now  give  me  your  hand. 
#  *  «  * 

The  chalet  will  be  gain'd  within  an  hour. 

Manfred. 

After  surveying  the  desolate  scene  as  accurately  as  the 
stormy  stale  of  the  atmosphere  would  permit,  the  )  C)unger  of 
the  travelers  observed,  "In  any  other  country,  I  should  say  the 
tempest  begins  to  abate  ;  but  what  to  expect  in  this  land  of  des 
olation,  it  were  rash  to  decide.    If  the  apostate  spirit  of  Pilate 


AlVNE  OF  CEIERSTEIN. 


13 


be  actually  on  the  blast,  these  lingering  and  more  distant  howls 
seem  to  intimate  that  he  is  returning  to  his  place  of  punishment. 
The  pathway  hath  sunk  with  the  ground  on  which  it  was  traced 
— I  can  see  part  of  it  lying  down  in  the  abyss,  marking,  as  with 
a  streak  of  clay,  yonder  mass  of  earth  and  stone.  But  I  think 
it  possible,  with  your  permission,  my  father,  that  I  could  still 
scramble  forward  along  the  edge  of  the  precipice  till  I  come  in 
sight  of  the  habitation  which  the  lad  tells  us  of.  If  there  be 
actually  such  a  one,  there  must  be  an  access  to  it  somewhere ; 
and  if  I  cannot  find  the  path  out,  I  can  at  least  make  a  signal 
to  those  who  dwell  near  the  Vulture's  Nest  yonder,  and  obtain 
some  friendly  guidance.'' 

I  cannot  consent  to  your  incurring  such  a  risk,"  said  his 
father  ;  "  let  the  lad  go  forward,  if  he  can  and  will.  He  is 
mountain  bred,  and  I  will  reward  him  richly." 

But  Antonio  declined  the  proposal  absolutely  and  decidedly. 
I  am  mountain  bred,"  he  said,    but  I  am  no  chamois-hunter  ; 
and  I  have  no  wings  to  transport  me  from  cliff  to  cliff,  like  a 
raven — gold  is  not  worth  life." 

"And  God  forbid,"  said  Seignor  Philipson,  "that  I  should 
tempt  thee  to  weigh  them  against  each  other  ! — Go  on,  then,  my 
son, — I  follow  thee." 

"  Under  your  favor,  dearest  sir,  no,"  replied  the  young  man  ; 
"  it  is  enough  to  endanger  the  life  of  one — and  mine,  far  the 
most  worthless,  should,  by  all  the  rules  of  wisdom  as  well  as 
nature,  be  put  first  in  hazard." 

"  No,  Arthur,"  replied  his  father  in  a  determined  voice  ; 
"  no,  my  son — I  have  survived  much,  but  I  will  not  survive 
thee." 

"  I  fear  not  for  the  issue,  father,  if  you  permit  me  to  go  alone  ; 
but  I  cannot — dare  not — undertake  a  task  so  perilous,  if  you 
persist  in  attempting  to  share  it,  with  no  better  aid  than  mine. 
While  I  endeavored  to  make  a  new  advance,  I  should  be  ever 
looking  back  to  see  how  you  might  attain  the  station  which  I 
was  about  to  leave — And  bethink  you,  dearest  father,  that  if  I 
fall,  I  fall  an  unregarded  thing,  of  as  little  moment  as  the  stone 
or  tree  which  has  toppled  headlong  down  before  me.  But  you 
— should  your  foot  slip,  or  your  hand  fail,  bethink  you  what  and 
how  much  must  needs  fall  with  you  !  " 

"Thou  art  right,  my  child,"  said  the  father,  "  I  still  have 
that  which  binds  me  to  life,  even  though  I  were  to  lose  in  thee 
all  that  is  dear  to  me. — Our  Lady  and  our  Lady's  Knight  bless 
thee  and  prosper  thee,  my  child  !  Thy  foot  is  young,  thy  hand, 
is  strong — thou  hast  not  climbed  Plynlimmon  in  vain.  Be 
bold,  but  be  wary — remember  there  is  a  man  who,  failing  thee, 


14 


ANNR  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


ha3  but  one  act  of  duty  to  bind  him  to  the  earth,  and,  that  dis* 
charged,  will  soon  follow  thee.'' 

The  young  man  accordingly  prepared  for  his  journey,  and, 
stripping  himself  of  his  cumbrous  cloak,  showed  his  well-pro- 
portioned limbs  in  a  jerkin  of  gray  cloth,  which  sat  close  to  his 
person.  The  father's  resolution  gave  way  when  his  son  turned 
round  to  bid  him  farewell.  He  recalled  his  permission,  and  in 
a  peremptory  tone  forbade  him  to  proceed.  But,  without  listen 
ing  to  the  prohibition,  Arthur  had  commenced  his  perilous  ad- 
venture. Descending  from  the  platform  on  which  he  stood,  by 
the  boughs  of  an  old  ash-tree,  which  thrust  itself  out  of  the  cleft 
of  a  rock,  the  youth  was  enabled  to  gain,  though  at  great  risk, 
a  narrow  ledge,  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice,  by  creeping  along 
which  he  hoped  to  pass  on  till  he  made  himself  heard  or  seen 
from  the  habitation,  of  whose  existence  the  guide  had  informed 
him.  His  situation,  as  he  pursued  this  bold  purpose,  appeared 
so  precarious,  that  even  the  hired  attendant  hardly  dared  to  draw 
breath  as  he  gazed  on  him.  The  ledge  which  supported  him 
seemed  to  grow  so  narrow  as  he  passed  along  it,  as  to  become 
altogether  invisible,  while,  sometimes  with  his  face  to  the  preci- 
pice, sometimes  looking  forward,  sometimes  glancing  his  eyes 
upward,  but  never  venturing  to  cast  a  look  below,  lest  his  brain 
should  grow  giddy  at  a  sight  so  appalling,  he  wound  his  way 
onward.  To  his  father  and  the  attendant,  who  beheld  his  prog- 
ress, it  was  less  that  of  a  man  advancing  in  the  ordinary  manner, 
and  resting  by  aught  connected  with  the  firm  earth,  than  that  of 
an  insect  crawling  along  the  face  of  a  perpendicular  wall,  of  whose 
progressive  movement  we  are  indeed  sensible,  but  cannot  per- 
ceive the  means  of  its  support.  And  bitterly,  most  bitterly,  did 
the  miserable  parent  now  lament,  that  he  had  not  persisted  in 
his  purpose  to  encounter  the  baffling  and  even  perilous  measure 
of  retracing  his  steps  to  the  habitation  of  the  preceding  night. 
He  should  then,  at  least,  have  partaken  the  fate  of  the  son  of 
his  love. 

Meanwhile,  the  young  man's  spirits  were  strongly  braced 
for  the  performance  of  his  perilous  task.  He  laid  a  powerful 
restraint  on  his  imagination,  which  in  general  was  sufficiently 
active,  and  refused  to  listen,  even  for  an  instant,  to  any  of  the 
horriljle  insinuations  by  which  fancy  augments  actual  danger. 
He  endeavored  manfully  to  reduce  all  around  him  to  the  scale  of 
right  reason,  as  the  best  support  of  true  courage.  This  ledge 
of  rock,"  he  urged  to  himself,  "  is  but  narrow,  yet  it  has  breadth 
enough  to  support  me  ;  these  cliffs  and  crevices  in  the  surface 
are  small  and  distant,  but  the  one  affords  as  secure  a  resting- 
place  to  my  feet,  the  other  as  available  a  grasp  to  my  hands^  as 


ANNE  OF  GRiERSTEm. 


if  I  stood  on  a  platform  of  a  cubit  broad,  and  rested  my  arm  on 
a  balustrade  of  marble.  My  safety,  therefore,  depends  on  myself. 
If  I  move  with  decision,  step  firmly,  and  hold  fast,  what  signifies 
how  near  I  am  to  the  mouth  ot  an  abyss  ?" 

Thus  estimating  the  extent  of  his  danger  by  the  measure  of 
sound  sense  and  reality,  and  supported  by  some  degree  of  prac- 
tice in  such  exercise,  the  brave  youth  went  forward  on  his 
awful  journey,  step  by  step,  winning  his  way  with  a  caution,  and 
fortitude,  and  presence  of  mind,  which  alone  could  have  saved 
him  from  instant  destruction.  At  length  he  gained  a  point 
where  a  projecting  rock  formed  the  angle  of  the  precipice,  so 
far  as  it  had  been  visible  to  him  from  the  platform.  This, 
therefore,  was  the  critical  point  of  his  undertaking ;  but  it  was 
also  the  most  perilous  part  of  it.  The  rock  projected  more  than 
six  feet  forward  over  the  torrent,  which  he  heard  raging  at  the 
depth  of  a  hundred  yards  beneath,  with  a  noise  like  subterran- 
ean thunder.  He  examined  the  spot  with  the  utmost  care, 
and  was  led  by  the  existence  of  shrubs,  grass  and  even  stunted 
trees  to  believe  that  this  rock  marked  the  furthest  extent  of 
the  slip  or  slide  of  earth,  and  that,  could  he  but  turn  round  the 
angle  of  which  it  was  the  termination,  he  might  hope  to  attain 
the  continuation  of  the  path  which  had  been  so  strangely 
interrupted  by  this  convulsion  of  nature.  But  the  crag  jutted 
out  so  much  as  to  afford  no  possibility  of  passing  either  under 
or  around  it  ;  and  as  it  rose  several  feet  above  the  position 
which  Arthur  had  attained,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  climb  over 
it.  This  was,  however,  the  course  which  he  chose,  as  the  only 
mode  of  surmounting  what  he  hoped  might  prove  the  last 
obstacle  to  his  voyage  of  discovery.  A  projecting  tree  afforded 
him  the  means  of  raising  and  swinging  himself  up  to  the  top 
of  the  crag.  But  he  had  scarcely  planted  himself  on  it,  had 
scarcely  a  moment  to  congratulate  himself,  on  seeing,  amid  a 
wild  chaos  of  cliffs  and  wood,  the  gloomy  ruins  of  Geierstein, 
with  smoke  arising,  and  indicating  something  like  a  human 
habitation  beside  them,  when,  to  his  extreme  terror,  he  felt  the 
huge  cliff  on  which  he  stood  tremble,  stoop  slowly  forward,  and 
gradually  sink  from  its  position.  Projecting  as  it  was,  and 
shaken  as  its  equilibrium  had  been  by  the  most  recent  earth- 
quake, it  lay  now  so  insecurely  poised,  that  its  balance  was 
entirely  destroyed,  even  by  the  addition  of  the  young  man's 
weight. 

Aroused  by  the  imminence  of  the  danger,  Arthur,  by  an 
instinctive  attempt  at  self-preservation,  drew  cautiously  back 
from  the  falling  crag  into  the  tree  by  which  he  had  ascended, 
and  turned  his  bead  back  as  if  spell-bound,  to  watch  the  descent 


i6 


of  the  fatal  rock  from  which  he  had  just  retreated.  It  tottered 
for  two  or  three  seconds,  as  if  uncertain  which  way  to  fall ;  and 
had  it  taken  a  sidelong  direction,  must  have  dashed  the  adven- 
turer from  his  place  of  refuge,  or  borne  both  the  tree  and  him 
down  headlong  into  the  river.  After  a  moment  of  horrible  un- 
certainty, the  power  of  gravitation  determined  a  direct  and 
forward  descent.  Down  went  the  huge  fragment,  which  must 
have  weighed  at  least  twenty  tons,  rending  and  splintering  in 
its  precipitate  course  the  trees  and  bushes  which  it  encountered, 
and  settling  at  length  in  the  channel  of  the  torrent  with  a  din 
equal  to  the  discharge  of  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery.  The 
sound  was  re-echoed  from  bank  to  bank,  from  precipice  to 
precipice,  with  emulative  thunders  ;  nor  was  the  tumult  silent 
till  it  rose  into  the  region  of  eternal  snows,  which,  equally 
insensible  to  terrestrial  sounds,  and  unfavorable  to  animal  life, 
heard  the  roar  in  their  majestic  solitude,  but  suffered  it  to  die 
away  without  a  responsive  voice. 

What,  in  the  meanwhile,  were  the  thoughts  of  the  distracted 
father,  who  saw  the  ponderous  rock  descend,  but  could  not 
mark  whether  his  only  son  had  borne  it  company  in  its  dread- 
ful fall !  His  first  impulse  was  to  rush  forward  along  the  face 
of  the  precipice,  which  he  had  seen  Arthur  so  lately  traverse  ; 
and  when  the  lad  Antonio  withheld  him,  by  throwing  his 
arms  around  him,  he  turned  on  the  guide  with  the  fury  of  a 
bear  which  had  been  robbed  of  her  cubs. 

"  Unhand  me,  base  peasant,"  he  exclaimed,  "  or  thou  diest 
on  the  spot ! 

"  Alas  !  "  said  the  poor  boy,  dropping  on  his  knees  before 
him,  "  I,  too,  have  a  father ! 

The  appeal  went  to  the  heart  of  the  traveler,  who  instantly 
let  the  lad  go,  and  holding  up  his  hands  and  lifting  his  eyes 
toward  heaven,  said,  in  accents  of  the  deepest  agony,  mingled 
with  devout  resignation,  "  Fiat  voluntas  tua  I — he  was  my  last, 
and  loveliest,  and  best  beloved,  and  most  worthy  of  my  love  ; 
and  yonder,'^  he  added,  ^'  yonder  over  the  glen  soar  the  birds 
of  prey,  who  are  to  feast  on  his  young  blood. — But  I  will  see  him 
once  more,''  exclaimed  the  miserable  parent,  as  the  huge  carrion 
vulture  floated  past  him  on  the  thick  air, — "  I  will  see  my 
Arthur  once  more,  ere  the  wolf  and  the  eagle  mangle  him — I 
will  see  all  of  him  that  earth  still  holds.  l3etain  me  not — but 
abide  here,  and  watch  me  as  I  advance.  If  I  fall,  as  is  most 
likely,  I  charge  you  to  take  the  sealed  papers,  which  you  will 
find  in  the  valise,  and  carry  them  to  the  person  to  whom  they 
are  addressed,  with  the  least  possible  delay.  There  is  money 
enough  in  the  purse  to  bury  me  with  my  poor  boy,  and  to  cause 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


17 


masses  be  said  for  our  souls,  and  yet  leave  you  a  rich  recom- 
pense for  your  journey." 

The  honest  Swiss  lad,  obtuse  in  his  understanding,  but  kind 
and  faithful  in  his  disposition,  blubbered  as  his  employer  spoke, 
and,  afraid  to  offer  further  remonstrance  or  opposition,  saw  his 
temporary  master  prepare  himself  to  traverse  the  same  fatal 
precipice,  over  the  verge  of  which  his  ill-fated  son  had  seemed 
to  pass  to  the  fate  which,  with  all  the  wildness  of  a  parent's 
anguish,  his  father  was  hastening  to  share. 

Suddenly  there  was  heard  from  beyond  the  fatal  angle  from 
which  the  mass  of  stone  had  been  displaced  by  Arthur's  rash 
ascent,  the  loud,  hoarse  sound  of  one  of  those  huge  horns, 
made  out  of  the  spoils  of  the  urus,  or  wild  bull,  of  Switzerland, 
which  in  ancient  times  announced  the  terrors  of  the  charge  of 
these  mountaineers,  and,  indeed,  served  them  in  war  instead 
of  all  musical  instruments. 

*^  Hold,  sir,  hold  !  "  exclaimed  the  Grison ;  "  yonder  is  a 
signal  from  Geierstein.  Some  one  will  presently  come  to  our 
assistance,  and  show  us  the  safer  way  to  seek  for  your  son. — 
And,  look  you — at  yon  green  bush  that  is  glimmering  through 
the  mist.  Saint  Antonio  preserve  me,  as  I  see  a  white  cloth  dis- 
played there — it  is  just  beyond  the  point  where  the  rock  fell.'' 

The  father  endeavored  to  fix  his  eyes  on  the  spot,  but  they 
filled  so  fast  with  tears,  that  they  could  not  discern  the  object 
which  the  guide  pointed  out. — "  It  is  all  in  vain,"  he  said, 
dashing  the  tears  from  his  eyes — "  I  shall  never  see  more  of 
him  than  his  lifeless  remains  !  " 

You  will — you  will  see  him  in  life  !  "  said  the  Grison  ; 
Saint  Antonio  wills  it  so — See,  the  white  cloth  waves  again  !  " 

"  Some  remnant  of  his  garments,"  said  the  despairing 
father, — "  some  wretched  memorial  of  his  fate. — No,  my  eyes 
see  it  not — I  have  beheld  the  fall  of  my  house — would  that 
the  vultures  of  these  crags  had  rather  torn  them  from  their 
sockets  !  " 

"  Yet  look  again,"  said  the  Swiss  ;  the  cloth  hangs  not 
loose  upon  a  bough — I  can  see  that  it  is  raised  on  the  end  of 
a  staff,  and  is  distinctly  waved  to  and  fro.  Your  son  makes 
a  signal  that  he  is  safe." 

*'And  if  it  be  so,"  said  the  traveler,  clasping  his  hands 
together,  "  blessed  be  the  eyes  that  see  it,  and  the  tongue  that 
tells  it !  If  we  find  my  son,  and  find  him  alive,  this  day  shall 
be  a  lucky  one  for  thee  too." 

"  Nay,"  answered  the  lad,  "  I  only  ask  that  you  will  abide 
still,  and  act  by  counsel,  and  I  will  hold  myself  quit  for  my 
services.    Only  it  is  not  creditable  tp  an  honest  lad  to  havQ 


i8 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


people  lose  themselves  by  their  own  wilfulness  ;  for  the  blames 
after  all,  is  sure  to  fall  upon  the  guide,  as  if  he  could  prevent 
old  Pontius  from  shaking  the  mist  from  his  brow,  or  banks  of 
earth  from  slipping  down  into  the  valley  at  a  time,  or  young 
harebrained  gallants  from  walking  upon  precipices  as  narrow  as 
the  edge  of  a  knife,  or  madmen,  whose  gray  hairs  might  make 
them  wiser,  from  drawing  daggers  like  bravoes  in  Lombardy." 

Thus  the  guide  ran  on,  and  in  that  vein  he  might  have  long 
continued,  for  Seignor  Philipson  heard  him  not.  Each  throb 
of  his  pulse,  each  thought  of  his  heart,  was  directed  toward 
the  object  which  the  lad  referred  to  as  a  signal  of  his  son's 
safety.  He  became  at  length  satisfied  that  the  signal  was 
actually  waved  by  a  human  hand  ;  and,  as  eager  in  the  glow  of 
reviving  hope,  as  he  had  of  late  been  under  the  influence  of 
desperate  grief,  he  again  prepared  for  the  attempt  of  advancing 
toward  his  son,  and  assisting  him,  if  possible,  in  regaining  a 
place  of  safety.  But  the  entreaties  and  reiterated  assurances  of 
his  guide  induced  him  to  pause. 

^  "  Are  you  fit,''  he  said,  to  go  on  the  crag  ?  Can  you  repeat 
your  Credo  and  Ave  without  missing  or  misplacing  a  word  ? 
for  without  that,  our  old  men  say  your  neck,  had  you  a  score  of 
them,  would  be  in  danger. — Is  your  eye  clear  and  your  feet 
firm  t  — I  trow  the  one  streams  like  a  fountain,  and  the  other 
shakes  like  the  aspen  which  overhangs  it  !  Rest  here  till 
those  arrive  who  are  far  more  able  to  give  your  son  help  than 
either  you  or  I  are.  I  judge  by  the  fashion  of  his  blowing, 
that  yonder  is  the  horn  of  the  Goodman  of  Geierstein,  Arnold 
Biederman.  He  hath  seen  your  son's  danger,  and  is  even  now 
providing  for  his  safety  and  ours.  There  are  cases  in  which 
the  aid  of  one  stranger,  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  is 
worth  that  of  three  brothers,  who  know  not  the  crags." 

"  But  if  yonder  horn  really  sounded  a  signal,"  said  the 
traveler,  "  how  chanced  it  that  my  son  replied  not  ?  " 

"  And  if  he  did  so,  as  is  most  likely  he  did,"  rejoined  the 
Grison,  "  how  should  we  have  heard  him  t  The  bugle  of  Uri 
itself  sounded  amid  these  horrible  dins  of  water  and  tempest 
like  the  reed  of  a  shepherd  boy  ;  and  how  think  you  we  should 
hear  the  holloa  of  a  man  ?  " 

"  Yet,  methinks,"  said  Seignor  Philipson,  "  I  do  hear  some* 
thing  amid  this  roar  of  elements  which  is  like  a  human  voice 
— but  it  is  not  Arthur's." 

"  I  wot  well,  no,"  answered  the  Grison  ;  that  is  a  woman's 
voice.  The  maidens  will  converse  with  each  other  in  that 
manner,  from  cliff  to  cliff,  through  storm  and  tempest,  were 
there  a  mile  between." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


19 


"  Now,  heaven  be  praised  for  this  providential  relief  !  ^'  said 
Seignor  Philipson  ;  "  I  trust  we  shall  yet  see  this  dreadfurday 
safely  ended.    I  will  holloa  in  answer.'' 

He  attempted  to  do  so,  but,  inexperienced  in  the  art  of 
making  himself  heard  in  such  a  country,  he  pitched  his  voice 
in  the  same  key  with  that  of  the  roar  of  wave  and  wind  ;  so 
that,  even  at  twenty  yards  from  the  place  where  he  was 
speaking,  it  must  have  been  totally  indistinguishable  from  that 
of  the  elemental  war  around  them.  The  lad  smiled  at  his 
patron's  ineffectual  attempts,  and  then  raised  his  voice  himself 
in  a  high,  wild,  and  prolonged  scream,  which,  while  produced 
with  apparently  much  less  effort  than  that  of  the  the  English- 
man, was  nevertheless  a  distinct  sound,  separated  from  others 
by  the  key  to  which  it  was  pitched,  and  was  probably  audible 
to  a  very  considerable  distance.  It  was  presently  answered  by 
distant  cries  of  the  same  nature,  which  gradually  approached  the 
platform,  bringing  renovated  hope  to  the  anxious  traveler. 

If  the  distress  of  the  father  rendered  his  condition  an  object 
of  deep  compassion,  that  of  the  son,  at  the  same  moment,  was 
sufficiently  perilous.  We  have  already  stated,  that  Arthur 
Philipson  had  commenced  his  precarious  journey  along  the 
precipice,  with  all  the  coolness,  resolution,  and  unshaken 
determination  of  mind,  which  was  most  essential  to  a  task 
where  all  must  depend  upon  firmness  of  nerve.  But  the  for- 
midable accident  which  checked  his  onward  progress,  was  of  a 
character  so  dreadful,  as  made  him  feel  all  the  bitterness  of  a 
death,  instant,  horrible,  and,  as  it  seemed,  inevitable.  The 
solid  rock  had  trembled  and  rent  beneath  his  footsteps,  and 
although,  by  an  effort  rather  mechanical  than  voluntary,  he 
had  withdrawn  himself  from  the  instant  ruin  attending  its 
descent,  he  felt  as  if  the  better  part  of  him,  his  firmness  of 
mind  and  strength  of  body,  had  been  rent  away  with  the 
descending  rock,  as  it  fell  thundering,  with  clouds  of  dust  and 
smoke,  into  the  torrents  and  whirlpools  of  the  vexed  gulf 
beneath.  In  fact,  the  seaman  swept  from  the  deck  of  a 
wrecked  vessel,  drenched  in  the  waves,  and  battered  against 
the  rocks  on  the  shore,  does  not  differ  more  from  the  same 
mariner,  when,  at  the  commencement  of  the  gale,  he  stood 
upon  the  deck  of  his  favorite  ship,  proud  of  her  strength  and 
his  own  dexterity,  than  Arthur  when  commencing  his  journey, 
from  the  same  Arthur,  while  clinging  to  the  decayed  trunk  of 
an  old  tree,  from  which,  suspended  between  heaven  and  earth, 
he  saw  the  fall  of  the  crag  which  he  had  so  nearly  accompanied. 
The  effects  of  his  terror,  indeed,  were  physical  as  well  as  moral, 
for  a  thousand  colors  played  before  his  eyes  ;  he  was  attacked 


20 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


by  a  sick  dizziness,  and  deprived  at  once  of  the  obedience  of 
those  limbs  which  had  hitherto  served  him  so  admirably  ;  his 
arms  and  hands,  as  if  no  longer  at  his  own  command,  now 
clung  to  the  branches  of  the  tree,  with  a  cramp-like  tenacity 
over  which  he  seemed  to  possess  no  power,  and  now  trembled 
in  a  state  of  such  complete  nervous  relaxation,  as  led  him  to 
fear  that  they  were  becoming  unable  to  support  him  longer  in 
his  position. 

An  incident,  in  itself  trifling,  added  to  the  distress  occasioned 
by  this  alienation  of  his  powers.  All  living  things  in  the  neigh- 
borhood had,  as  might  be  supposed,  been  startled  by  the  tre- 
mendous fall  to  which  his  progress  had  given  occasion.  Flights 
of  owls,  bats,  and  other  birds  of  darkness,  compelled  to  betake 
themselves  to  the  air,  had  lost  no  time  in  returning  into  their 
bowers  of  ivy,  or  the  harbor  afforded  them  by  the  rifts  and 
holes  of  the  neighboring  rocks.  One  of  this  ill-omened  flight 
chanced  to  be  a  lammer-geier,  or  Alpine  vulture,  a  bird  larger 
and  more  voracious  than  the  eagle  himself,  and  which  Arthui 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  see,  or  at  least  to  look  upon  closely, 
With  the  instinct  of  most  birds  of  prey,  it  is  the  custom  of  this 
creature,  when  gorged  with  food,  to  assume  some  station  of  in- 
accessible security,  and  there  remain  stationary  and  motionless 
for  days  together^  till  the  work  of  digestion  has  been  accom- 
plished, and  activity  returns  with  the  pressure  of  appetite.  Dis- 
turbed from  such  a  state  of  repose,  one  of  these  terrific  birds 
had  risen  from  the  ravine  to  which  the  species  gives  its  name, 
and  having  circled  unwillingly  round,  with  a  ghastly  scream  and 
a  flagging  wing,  it  had  sunk  down  upon  the  pinnacle  of  a  crag, 
not  four  yards  from  the  tree  in  which  Arthur  held  his  precarious 
station.  Although  still  in  some  degree  stupefied  by  torpor,  it 
seemed  encouraged  by  the  motionless  state  of  the  young  man  to 
suppose  him  dead,  or  dying,  and  sat  there  and  gazed  at  him, 
without  displaying  any  of  that  apprehension  which  the  fiercest 
animals  usually  entertained  from  the  vicinity  of  map. 

As  Arthur,  endeavoring  to  shake  off  the  incapacitating  effects 
of  his  panic  fear,  raised  his  eyes  to  look  gradually  and  cautiously 
around,  he  encountered  those  of  the  voracious  and  obscene  bird, 
whose  head  and  neck  denuded  of  feathers,  her  eyes  surrounded 
by  an  iris  of  an  orange  tawny  color,  and  a  position  more 
horizontal  than  erect,  distmguished  her  as  much  from  the  noble 
carriage  and  graceful  proportions  of  the  eagle,  as  those  of  the 
lion  place  him  in  the  ranks  of  creation  above  the  gaunt,  ravenous, 
grisly,  yet  dastard  wolf. 

As  if  arrested  by  a  charm,  the  eyes  of  young  Philipson  re- 
mained bent  on  this  ill-omened  and  ill-favored  bird,  without  hif 


11 


having  the  power  to  remove  them.  The  apprehensions  of 
dangers  ideal,  as  well  as  real,  weighed  upon  his  weakened  mind, 
disabled  as  it  was  by  the  circumstances  of  his  situation.  The 
near  approach  of  a  creature,  not  more  loathsome  to  the  human 
race,  than  averse  to  come  within  their  reach,  seemed  as  ominous 
as  it  was  unusual.  Why  did  it  gaze  on  hirn  with  such  glaring 
earnestness,  projecting  its  disgusting  form,  as  if  presently  to 
alight  upon  his  person  ?  The  foul  bird,  was  she  the  demon  of 
the  place  to  which  her  name  referred  ;  and  did  she  come  to 
exult,  that  an  intruder  on  her  haunts  seemed  involved  amid  their 
perils,  with  little  hope  or  chance  of  deliverance  ?  Or  was  it 
a  native  vulture  of  the  rocks,  whose  sagacity  foresaw  that  the 
rash  traveler  was  soon  destined  to  become  its  victim  t  Could 
the  creature,  whose  senses  are  said  to  be  so  acute,  argue  from 
circumstances  the  stranger's  approaching  death,  and  wait,  like 
a  raven  or  hooded  crow  by  a  dying  sheep,  for  the  earliest 
opportunity  to  commence  her  ravenous  banquet  ?  Was  he 
doomed  to  feel  its  beak  and  talons  before  his  heart's  blood 
should  cease  to  beat  ?  Had  he  already  lost  the  dignity  of 
humanity,  the  awe  which  the  being  formed  in  the  image  of  his 
Maker  inspires  into  all  inferior  creatures  ? 

Apprehensions  so  painful  served  more  than  all  that  reason 
could  suggest,  to  renew  in  some  degree  the  elasticity  of  the 
young  man's  mind.  By  waving  his  handkerchief,  using,  how- 
ever, the  greatest  precaution  in  his  movements,  he  succeeded  in 
scaring  the  vulture  from  his  vicinity.  It  rose  from  its  resting- 
place,  screaming  harshly  and  dolefully,  and  sailed  on  its  expanded 
pinions  to  seek  a  place  of  more  undisturbed  repose,  while  the 
adventurous  traveler  felt  a  sensible  pleasure  at  being  relieved 
of  its  disgusting  presence. 

With  more  collected  ideas,  the  young  man,  who  could  obtain, 
from  his  position,  a  partial  view  of  the  platform  he  had  left, 
endeavored  to  testify  his  safety  to  his  father,  by  displaying,  as 
high  as  he  could,  the  banner  by  which  he  had  chased  off  the 
vulture.  Like  them,  too,  he  heard,  but  at  a  less  distance,  the 
burst  of  the  great  Swiss  horn,  which  seemed  to  announce  some 
near  succor.  He  replied  by  shouting  and  waving  his  flag,  to 
direct  assistance  to  the  spot  where  it  was  so  much  required  ; 
and,  recalling  his  faculties,  which  had  almost  deserted  him,  he 
labored  mentally  to  recover  hope,  and  with  hope  the  means 
and  motive  for  exertion. 

A  faithful  Catholic,  he  eagerly  recommended  himself  in  prayer 
to  Our  Lady  of  Einsiedlen,  and,  making  vows  of  propitiation, 
besought  her  intercession,  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  his 
dreadful  condition.    **0r,  gracious  Ladyl"  he  concluded  his 


AJ^NE  OF  GEIEJ?3TEm. 


orison,  "  if  it  is  my  doom  to  lose  my  life  like  a  hunted  fox  amidst 
this  savage  wilderness  of  tottering  crags,  restore  at  least  my  nat- 
ural sense  of  patience  and  courage,  and  let  not  one  who  has  lived 
like  a  man,  though  a  sinful  one,  meet  death  like  a  timid  hare  !  ^' 

Having  devoutly  recommended  himself  to  that  Protectress 
of  whom  the  legends  of  the  Catholic  Church  form  a  picture  so 
amiable,  Arthur,  though  every  nerve  still  shook  with  his  late 
agitation,  and  his  heart  throbbed  with  a  violence  that  threatened 
to  suffocate  him,  turned  his  thoughts  and  observation  to  the 
means  of  effecting  his  escape.  But,  as  he  looked  around  him, 
be  became  more  and  more  sensible  how  much  he  was  enervated 
by  the  bodily  injuries  and  the  mental  agony  which  he  had  sus- 
tained during  his  late  peril.  He  could  not,  by  any  effort  of 
which  he  was  capable,  fix  his  giddy  and  bewildered  eyes  on  the 
scene  around  him ; — they  seemed  to  reel  till  the  landscape  danced 
along  with  them,  and  a  motley  chaos  of  thickets  and  tall  cliffs, 
which  interposed  between  him  and  the  ruinous  Castle  of  Geier- 
stein,  mixed  and  whirled  round  in  such  confusion,  that  nothing, 
save  the  consciousness  that  such  an  idea  was  the  suggestion  of 
partial  insanity,  prevented  him  from  throwing  himself  from  the 
tree,  as  if  to  join  the  wild  dance  to  which  his  disturbed  brain 
had  given  motion. 

^'  Heaven  be  my  protection  !  said  the  unfortunate  young 
man,  closing  his  eyes,  in  hopes,  by  abstracting  himself  from  the 
terrors  of  his  situation,  to  compose  his  too  active  imagination  ; 
"  my  senses  are  abandoning  me  !  ^' 

He  became  still  more  convinced  that  this  was  the  case, 
when  a  female  voice,  in  a  high-pitched  but  eminently  musical 
accent,  was  heard  at  no  great  distance,  as  if  calling  to  him.  He 
opened  his  eyes  once  more,  raised  his  head,  and  looked  toward 
the  place  from  whence  the  sounds  seemed  to  come,  though  far 
from  being  certain  that  they  existed  saving  in  his  own  dis- 
ordered imagination.  The  vision  which  appeared  had  almost 
confirmed  him  in  the  opinion  that  his  mind  was  unsettled,  and 
his  senses  in  no  state  to  serve  him  accurately. 

Upon  the  very  summit  of  a  pyramidical  rock  that  rose  out 
of  the  depth  of  the  valley,  was  seen  a  female  figure,  so  obscured 
by  mist,  that  only  the  outline  could  be  traced.  The  form,  re- 
flected against  the  sky,  appeared  rather  the  undefined  linea- 
ments of  a  spirit  than  of  a  mortal  maiden ;  for  her  person 
seemed  as  light,  and  scarcely  more  opaque,  than  the  thin  cloud 
that  surrounded  her  pedestal.  Arthur's  first  belief  was,  that 
the  Virgin  had  heard  his  vows,  and  had  descended  in  person 
to  his  rescue  ;  and  he  was  about  to  recite  his  Ave  Maria,  when 
the  voice  again  called  to  him  with  the  singular  shrill  modu- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTRIN 


lation  of  the  mountain  halloo,  by  which  the  natives  of  the  iV^ps 
can  hold  conference  with  each  other  from  one  mountain  range 
to  another,  across  ravines  of  great  depth  and  width. 

While  he  debated  how  to  address  this  unexpected  appari- 
tion, it  disappeared  from  the  point  which  it  at  first  occupied, 
and  presently  after  became  again  visible,  perched  on  the  cliff 
out  of  which  projected  the  tree  in  which  Arthur  had  taken 
refuge.  Her  personal  appearance,  as  well  as  her  dress,  made 
it  then  apparent  that  she  was  a  maiden  of  those  mountains,  fa* 
miliar  with  their  dangerous  paths.  He  saw  that  a  beautiful 
young  woman  stood  before  him,  who  regarded  him  with  a  mix- 
ture of  pity  and  wonder. 

Stranger,"  she  at  length  said,  "  who  are  you,  and  whence 
come  you  ? 

I  am  a  stranger,  maiden,  as  you  justly  term  me,"  answered 
the  young  man,  raising  himself  as  well  as  he  could.  I  left 
Lucerne  this  morning,  with  my  father  and  a  guide.  I  parted 
with  them  not  three  furlongs  from  hence.  May  it  please  you, 
gentle  maiden,  to  warn  them  of  my  safety,  for  I  know  my 
father  will  be  in  despair  upon  my  account.'*" 

"  Willingly,"  said  the  maiden  ;  "  but  I  think  my  uncle,  or 
some  one  of  my  kinsmen,  must  have  already  found  them,  and 
will  prove  faithful  guides.  Can  I  not  aid  you  t — are  you 
wounded  ? — are  you  hurt.'*  We  were  alarmed  by  the  fall  of  a 
rock — ay,  and  yonder  it  lies,  a  mass  of  no  ordinary  size." 

As  the  Swiss  maiden  spoke  thus,  she  approached  so  close 
to  the  verge  of  the  precipice,  and  looked  with  such  indifference 
into  the  gulf,  that  the  sympathy  which  connects  the  actor  and 
spectator  upon  such  occasions  brought  back  the  sickness  and 
vertigo  from  which  Arthur  had  just  recovered,  and  he  sunk 
back  into  his  former  more  recumbent  posture  with  something 
like  a  faint  groan. 

You  are  then  ill  ? "  said  the  maiden,  who  observed  him 
turn  pale — "  Where  and  what  is  the  harm  you  have  receiv^ed  ?  " 

None,  gentle  maiden,  saving  some  bruises  of  little  import ; 
but  my  head  turns,  and  my  heart  grows  sick,  when  I  see  you  so 
near  the  verge  of  the  cliff." 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  replied  the  Swiss  maiden. — "  Know,  stranger, 
that  I  do  not  stand  on  my  uncle's  hearth  with  more  security 
than  I  have  stood  upon  precipices,  compared  to  which  this  is  a 
child's  leap.  You,  too,  stranger,  if,  as  I  judge  from  the  traces, 
you  have  come  along  the  edge  of  the  precipice  which  the  earth- 
slide  hath  laid  bare,  ought  to  be  far  beyond  such  weakness, 
since  surely  you  must  be  well  entitled  to  call  yourself  a  crags* 
man." 


ANNE  OP  GElEkSTElN. 


'  I  might  have  called  myself  so  half-an-hour  since,"  ati- 
swered  Arthur ;  but  I  think  I  shall  hardly  venture  to  assume 
the  name  in  future." 

"  Be  not  downcast,"  said  his  kind  adviser,  "  for  a  passing 
qualm,  which  will  at  times  cloud  the  spirit  and  dazzle  the  eye- 
sight of  the  bravest  and  most  experienced.  Raise  yourself 
upon  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  advance  closer  to  the  rock  out 
of  which  it  grows.  Observe  the  place  well.  It  is  easy  for  you, 
when  you  have  attained  the  lower  part  of  the  projecting  stem, 
to  gain  by  one  bold  step  the  solid  rock  upon  which  I  stand ; 
after  which  there  is  no  danger  or  difficulty  worthy  of  mention 
to  a  young  man,  whose  limbs  are  whole,  and  whose  courage  is 
active." 

My  limbs  are  indeed  sound,"  replied  the  youth  ;  "but  I 
am  ashamed  to  think  how  much  my  courage  is  broken.  Yet  I 
will  not  disgrace  the  interest  you  have  taken  in  an  unhappy 
wanderer,  by  listening  longer  to  the  dastardly  suggestions  of  a 
feeling,  which  till  to-day  has  been  a  stranger  to  my  bosom." 

The  maiden  looked  on  him  anxiously,  and  with  much  in- 
terest, as,  raising  himself  cautiously,  and  moving  along  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  which  lay  nearly  horizontal  from  the  rock, 
and  seemed  to  bend  as  he  changed  his  posture,  the  youth  at 
length  stood  upright,  within  what,  on  level  ground,  had  been 
but  an  extended  stride  to  the  cliff  on  which  the  Swiss  maiden 
stood.  But  instead  of  being  a  step  to  be  taken  on  the  level 
and  firm  earth,  it  was  one  which  must  cross  a  dark  abyss,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  a  torrent  surged  and  boiled  with  incredible 
fury.  Arthur's  knees  knocked  against  each  other,  his  feet 
became  of  lead,  and  seemed  no  longer  at  his  command  ;  and 
he  experienced,  in  a  stronger  degree  than  ever,  that  unnerving 
influence,  which  those  who  have  been  overwhelmed  by  it  in  a 
situation  of  like  peril  never  can  forget,  and  which  others,  hap- 
pily strangers  to  its  power,  may  have  difficulty  even  in  com- 
prehending. 

The  young  woman  discerned  his  emotion,  and  foresaw  its  prob- 
able consequences.  As  the  only  mode  in  her  power  to  restore 
his  confidence,  she  sprung  lightly  from  the  rock  to  the  stem  of 
the  tree,  on  which  she  alighted  with  the  ease  and  security  of  a 
bird,  and  in  the  same  instant  back  to  the  cliff ;  and  extending 
her  hand  to  the  stranger,  "  My  arm,"  she  said,  "is  but  a  slight 
balustrade  ;  yet  do  but  step  forward  with  resolution,  and  you 
will  find  it  as  secure  as  the  battlement  of  Berne."  But  shame 
now  overcame  terror  so  much,  that  Arthur,  declining  assistance 
which  he  could  not  have  accepted  without  feeling  lowered  in 
his  own  eyes,  took  heart  of  grace,  and  successfully  achieved 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


25 


the  formidable  step  which  placed  him  upon  the  same  cliff  with 
his  kind  assistant. 

To  seize  her  hand  and  raise  it  to  his  lips,  in  affectionate 
token  of  gratitude  and  respect,  was  naturally  the  youth's  first 
action;  nor  was  it  possible  for  the  maiden  to  have  prevented 
him  from  doing  so,  without  assuming  a  degree  of  prudery 
foreign  to  her  character,  and  occasioning  a  ceremonious  debate 
upon  a  matter  of  no  great  consequence,  where  the  scene  of 
action  was  a  rock  scarce  five  feet  long  by  three  in  width,  and 
which  looked  down  upon  a  torrent  roaring  some  hundred  feet 
below. 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

Cursed  be  the  gold  and  silver,  which  persuade 
Weak  man  to  follow  tar  fatiguing  trade. 
The  lily,  peace,  outshines  the  silver  store, 
And  life  is  dearer  than  the  golden  ore  ; 
Yet  money  tempts  us  o'er  the  desert  brown, 
To  every  distant  mart  and  wealthy  town. 

Hassan,  or  the  Camel-driver, 

Arthur  Philipson,  and  Anne  of  Geierstein,  thus  placed 
together  in  a  situation  which  brought  them  into  the  closest 
possible  contiguity,  felt  a  slight  degree  of  embarrassment ;  the 
young  man,  doubtless,  from  the  fear  of  being  judged  a  poltroon 
in  the  eyes  of  the  maiden  by  whom  he  had  been  rescued,  and 
the  young  woman,  perhaps,  in  consequence  of  the  exertion  she 
had  made,  or  a  sense  of  being  placed  suddenly  in  a  situation 
of  such  proximity  to  the  youth  whose  life  she  had  probably 
saved. 

"And  now,  maiden,"  said  Arthur,  "I  must  repair  to  my 
father.  The  life  which  I  owe  to  your  assistance  can  scarce  be 
called  welcome  to  me,  unless  I  am  permitted  to  hasten  to  his 
rescue." 

He  was  here  interrupted  by  another  bugle-blast,  vyhich 
seemed  to  come  from  the  quarter  in  which  the  elder  Philipson 
and  his  guide  had  been  left  by  their  young  and  daring  com- 
panion. Arthur  looked  in  that  direction;  but  the  platform, 
which  he  had  seen  but  imperfectly  from  the  tree,  when  he^  was 
perched  in  that  place  of  refuge,  was  invisible  from  the  rock  on 
which  they  now  stood. 


26 


AN'NE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


^*  It  would  cost  me  nothing  to  step  back  on  yonder-root," 
said  the  young  woman,  *'to  spy  from  thence  whether  I  could 
see  aught  of  your  friends.  But  I  am  convinced  they  are  under 
safer  guidance  than  either  yours  or  mine ;  for  the  horn  an- 
nounces that  my  uncle,  or  some  of  my  young  kinsmen,  have 
reached  them.  They  are  by  this  time  on  their  way  to  the 
Geierstein,  to  which,  with  your  permission,  I  will  become  your 
guide  ;  for  you  may  be  assured  that  my  uncle  Arnold  will  not 
allow  you  to  pass  further  to-day ;  and  we  shall  but  lose  time 
by  endeavoring  to  find  your  friends,  who,  situated  where  you 
say  you  left  them,  will  reach  the  Geierstein  sooner  than  we 
shall.  Follow  me,  then,  or  I  must  suppose  you  weary  of  my 
guidance.^' 

"  Sooner  suppose  me  weary  of  the  life  which  your  guidance 
has  in  all  probability  saved,"  replied  Arthur,  and  prepared  to 
attend  her ;  at  the  same  time  taking  a  view  of  her  dress  and 
person,  which  confirmed  the  satisfaction  he  had  in  following 
such  a  conductor,  and  which  we  shall  take  the  liberty  to  detail 
somewhat  more  minutely  than  he  could  do  at  that  time. 

An  upper  vest,  neither  so  close  as  to  display  the  person,  a 
habit  forbidden  by  the  sumptuary  laws  of  the  canton,  nor  so 
loose  as  to  be  an  encumbrance  in  walking  or  climbing,  covered 
a  close  tunic  of  a  different  color,  and  came  down  beneath  the 
middle  of  the  leg,  but  suffered  the  ankle,  in  all  its  fine  propor- 
tions, to  be  completely  visible.  The  foot  was  defended  by  a 
sandal,  the  point  of  which  was  turned  upward,  and  the  crossings 
and  knots  of  the  strings,  which  secured  it  on  the  front  of  the 
leg,  were  garnished  with  silver  rings.  The  upper  vest  was 
gathered  round  the  middle  by  a  sash  of  party-colored  silk, 
ornamented  with  twisted  threads  of  gold  ;  while  the  tunic,  open 
at  the  throat,  permitted  the  shape  and  exquisite  whiteness  of  a 
well-formed  neck  to  be  visible  at  the  collar,  and  for  an  inch  or 
two  beneath.  The  small  portion  of  the  throat  and  bosom  thus 
exposed,  was  even  more  brilliantly  fair  than  was  promised  by  the 
countenance,  which  last  bore  some  marks  of  having  been  freely 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  by  no  means  in  a  degree  to  diminish 
its  beauty,  but  just  so  far  as  to  show  that  the  maiden  possessed 
the  health  which  is  purchased  by  habits  of  rural  exercise.  Her 
long  fair  hair  fell  down  in  a  profusion  of  curls,  on  each  side  of 
a  face,  whose  blue  eyes,  lovely  features,  and  dignified  simplic- 
ity of  expression,  implied  at  once  a  character  of  gentleness, 
and  the  self-relying  resolution  of  a  mind  too  virtuous  to  suspect 
evil,  and  too  noble  to  fear  it.  Above  these  locks,  beauty's 
natural  and  most  beseeming  ornament — or  rather,  I  should  say, 
amongst  them — was  placed  the  small  bonnet,  which,  from  iti 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


25r 


size,  little  answered  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  head,  but 
serv^ed  to  exercise  the  ingenuity  of  the  fair  wearer,  who  had  not 
failed,  according  to  the  prevailing  custom  of  the  mountain 
maidens,  to  decorate  the  tiny  cap  with  a  heron's  feather,  and 
the  then  unusual  luxury  of  a  small  and  thin  chain  of  gold,  long 
enough  to  encircle  the  cap  four  or  five  times,  and  having  the 
ends  secured  under  a  broad  medal  of  the  same  costly  metal. 

I  have  only  to  add,  that  the  stature  of  the  young  person  was 
something  above  the  common  size,  and  that  the  whole  contour 
of  her  form,  without  being  in  the  slightest  degree  masculine, 
resembled  that  of  Minerva,  rather  than  the  proud  beauties  of 
Juno,  or  the  yielding  graces  of  Venus.  The  noble  brow,  ihe 
well-formed  and  active  limbs,  the  firm  and  yet  light  step — above 
all,  the  total  absence  of  anything  resembling  the  consciousness 
of  personal  beauty,  and  the  open  and  candid  look,  which  seemed 
desirous  of  knowing  nothing  that  was  hidden,  and  conscious 
that  she  herself  had  nothing  to  hide,  were  traits  not  unworthy 
of  the  goddess  of  wisdom  and  of  chastity. 

The  road  which  the  young  Englishman  pursued,  under  the 
guidance  of  this  beautiful  young  woman,  was  difiicult  and  un- 
equal, but  could  not  be  termed  dangerous,  at  least  in  compari- 
son to  those  precipices  over  which  Arthur  had  recently  passed. 
It  was,  in  fact,  a  continuation  of  the  path  which  the  slip  or  slide 
of  earth,  so  often  mentioned,  had  interrupted ;  and  although  it 
had  sustained  damage  in  several  places  at  the  period  of  the  same 
earthquake,  yet  there  were  marks  of  these  having  been  already 
repaired  in  such  a  rude  manner  as  made  the  way  sufficient  for 
the  necessary  intercourse  of  a  people  so  indifferent  as  the  Swiss 
to  smooth  or  level  paths.  The  maiden  also  gave  Arthur  to 
understand,  that  the  present  road  took  a  circuit  for  the  purpose 
of  gaining  that  on  which  he  was  lately  traveling,  and  that  if  he 
and  his  companions  had  turned  off  at  the  place  where  this  new 
track  united  with  the  old  pathway,  they  would  have  escaped  the 
danger  which  had  attended  their  keeping  the  road  by  the  verge 
of  the  precipice. 

The  path  which  they  now  pursued  was  rather  averted  from 
the  torrent,  though  still  within  hearing  of  its  sullen  thunders, 
which  seemed  to  increase  as  they  ascended  parallel  to  its  course, 
till  suddenly,  the  road,  turning  short,  and  directing  itself  straight 
upon  the  old  castle,  brought  them  within  sight  of  one  of  the 
most  splendid  and  awful  scenes  of  that  mountainous  region. 

The  ancient  tower  of  Geierstein,  though  neither  extensive, 
nor  distinguished  by  architectural  ornament,  possessed  an  air 
of  terrible  dignity  by  its  position  on  the  very  verge  of  the  op- 
posite bank  of  the  torrent,  which,  just  at  the  angle  of  the  rock 


28 


ANNE  OF  GEIER STEIN. 


on  which  the  ruins  are  situated,  falls  sheer  over  a  cascade  of 
nearly  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  then  rushes  down  the  defile, 
through  a  trough  of  living  rock,  which  perhaps  its  waves  have 
been  deepening  since  time  itself  had  a  commencement.  Facing, 
and  at  the  same  time  looking  down  upon  this  eternal  roar  of 
waters,  stood  the  old  tower,  built  so  close  to  the  verge  of  the 
precipice,  that  the  buttresses  with  which  the  architect  had 
strengthened  the  foundation,  seemed  a  part  of  the  solid  rock 
itself,  and  a  continuation  of  its  perpendicular  ascent.  As  usual 
throughout  Europe  in  the  feudal  times,  the  principal  part  of 
the  building  was  a  massive  square  pile,  the  decayed  summit  of 
which,  was  rendered  picturesque  by  flanking  turrets  of  different 
sizes  and  heights,  some  round,  some  angular,  some  ruinous,  some 
tolerably  entire,  varying  the  outline  of  the  building  as  seen 
against  the  stormy  sky. 

A  projecting  sallyport,  descending  by  a  flight  of  steps  from 
the  tower,  had  in  former  times  given  access  to  abridge  connect- 
ing the  castle  with  that  side  of  the  stream  on  which  Arthur 
Philipson  and  his  fair  guide  now  stood.  A  single  arch,  or  rather 
one  rib  of  an  arch,  consisting  of  single  stones,  still  remained,  and 
spanned  the  river  immediately  in  front  of  the  waterfall.  In 
former  times  this  arch  had  served  for  the  support  of  a  wooden 
drawbridge,  of  more  convenient  breadth,  and  of  such  length  and 
weight  as  must  have  been  rather  unmanageable,  had  it  not  been 
lowered  on  some  solid  resting-place.  It  is  true  the  device  was 
attended  with  this  inconvenience,  that  even  when  the  drawbridge 
was  up,  there  remained  a  possibility  of  approaching  the  castle 
gate  by  means  of  this  narrow  rib  of  stone.  But  as  it  was  not 
above  eighteen  inches  broad,  and  could  only  admit  the  daring 
foe  who  should  traverse  it,  to  a  doorway  regularly  defended  by 
gate  and  portcullis,  and  having  flanking  turrets  and  projections, 
from  which  stones,  darts,  melted  lead,  and  scalding  water,  might 
be  poured  down  on  the  soldiery  who  should  venture  to  approach 
Geierstein  by  this  precarious  access,  the  possibility  of  such  an 
attempt  was  not  considered  as  diminishing  the  security  of  the 
garrison. 

In  the  time  we  treat  of,  the  castle  being  entirely  ruined  and 
dismantled,  and  the  door,  drawbridge,  and  portcullis  gone,  the 
dilapidated  gateway,  and  the  slender  arch  which  connected  the 
two  sides  of  the  stream,  were  used  as  a  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  banks  of  the  river,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighborhood,  whom  habit  had  familiarized  with  the  dangerous 
nature  of  the  passage. 

Arthur* Philipson  had,  in  the  meantime,  like  a  good  bow 
when  new  strung,  regained  the  elasticity  of  feeling  and  char- 


ANNE  OP  GElERSTEm. 


acter  which  was  natural  to  him.  It  was  not,  indeed,  with  per- 
fect composure  that  he  followed  his  guide,  as  she  tripped  lightly 
ove.'  the  narrow  arch,  composed  of  rugged  stones,  and  rendered 
wet  and  slippery  with  the  perpetual  drizzle  of  the  mist  issuing 
from  the  neighboring  cascade.  Nor  was  it  without  apprehen- 
sion that  he  found  himself  performing  this  perilous  feat  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  waterfall  itself,  whose  deafening  roar  he 
could  not  exclude  from  his  ears,  though  he  took  care  not  to 
turn  his  head  toward  its  terrors,  lest  his  brain  should  again  be 
dizzied  by  the  tumult  of  the  waters  as  they  shot  forward  from 
the  precipice  above,  and  plunged  themselves  into  what  seemed 
the  fathomless  gulf  below.  But  notwithstanding  these  feelings 
of  agitation,  the  natural  shame  to  show  cowardice  where  a 
beautiful  young  female  exhibited  so  much  indifference,  and  the 
desire  to  regain  his  character  in  the  eyes  of  his  guide,  pre- 
vented Arthur  from  again  giving  way  to  the  appalling  feelings 
by  which  he  had  been  overwhelmed  a  short  time  before. 
Stepping  firmly  on,  yet  cautiously  supporting  himself  with  his 
piked  staff,  he  traced  the  light  footsteps  of  his  guide  along  the 
bridge  of  dread,  and  followed  her  through  the  ruined  sallyport, 
to  which  they  ascended  by  stairs  which  were  equally  dilapidated. 

The  gateway  admitted  them  into  a  mass  of  ruins,  formerly  a 
sort  of  courtyard  to  the  donjon,  which  rose  in  gloomy  dignity 
above  the  wreck  of  what  had  been  works  destined  for  external 
defence,  or  buildings  for  internal  accommodation.  They  quickly 
passed  through  these  ruins,  over  which  vegetation  had  thrown 
a  wild  mantle  of  ivy,  and  other  creeping  shrubs,  and  issued 
from  them  through  the  main  gate  of  the  castle  into  one  of  those 
spots  in  which  Nature  often  embosoms  her  sweetest  charms,  in 
the  midst  of  districts  chiefly  characterized  by  waste  and  desola- 
tion. 

The  Castle,  in  this  aspect  also,  rose  considerably  above  the 
neighboring  ground,  but  the  elevation  of  the  site,  which  toward 
the  torrent  was  an  abrupt  rock,  was  on  this  side  a  steep 
eminence,  which  had  been  scarped  like  a  modern  glacis,  to 
render  the  building  more  secure.  It  was  now  covered  with 
young  trees  and  bushes,  out  of  which  the  tower  itself  seemed  to 
rise  in  ruined  dignity.  Beyond  this  hanging  thicket  the  view 
was  of  a  very  different  character.  A  piece  of  ground,  amount- 
ing to  more  than  a  hundred  acres,  seemed  scooped  out  of  the 
rocks  and  mountains,  which  retaining  the  same  savage  char- 
acter with  the  tract  in  which  the  travelers  had  been  that  morn- 
ing bewildered,  enclosed,  and  as  it  were  defended,  a  limited 
space  of  a  mild  and  fertile  character.    The  surface  of  this  little 


30 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


domain  was  considerably  varied,  but  its  general  aspect  was  a 
gentle  slope  to  the  south-west. 

The  principal  object  which  it  presented  w^as  a  large  house 
composed  of  huge  logs,  without  any  pretence  to  form  or  sym- 
metry, but  indicating,  by  the  smoke  which  arose  from  it,  as  well 
as  the  extent  of  the  neighboring  offices,  and  the  improved  and 
cultivated  character  of  the  fields  around,  that  it  was  the  abode, 
not  of  splendor  certainly,  but  of  ease  and  competence.  An 
orchard  of  thriving  fruit-trees  extended  to  the  southward  of  the 
dwelling.  Groves  of  walnut  and  chestnut  grew  in  stately  array, 
and  even  a  vineyard,  of  three  or  four  acres,  showed  that  the 
cultivation  of  the  grape  was  understood  and  practiced.  It  is 
now  universal  in  Switzerland,  but  was,  in  those  early  days, 
almost  exclusively  confined  to  a  few  more  fortunate  proprietors, 
who  had  the  rare  advantage  of  uniting  intelligence  with  opulent, 
or  at  least  easy  circumstances. 

There  were  fair  ranges  of  pasture  fields,  into  which  the  fine 
race  of  cattle  w4iich  constitute  the  pride  and  wealth  of  the 
Swiss  mountaineers  had  been  brought  down  from  the  more 
Alpine  grazings  where  they  had  fed  during  the  summer,  to  be 
near  shelter  and  protection  when  the  autumnal  storms  might 
be  expected.  On  some  selected  spots,  the  lambs  of  the  last 
season  fed  in  plenty  and  security,  and  in  others,  huge  trees, 
the  natural  growth  of  the  soil,  were  suffered  to  remain,  from 
motives  of  convenience  probably,  that  they  might  be  at  hand 
when  timber  was  required  for  domestic  use,  but  giving, 
at  the  same  time,  a  w^oodland  character  to  a  scene  otherwise 
agricultural  Through  this  mountain-paradise  the  course  of 
a  small  brook  might  be  traced,  now^  showing  itself  to  the  sun, 
which  had  by  this  time  dispelled  the  fogs,  now  intimating  its 
course,  by  its  gently  sloping  banks,  clothed  in  some  places 
with  lofty  trees,  or  concealing  itself  under  thickets  of  hawthorn 
and  nut  bushes.  This  stream,  by  a  devious  and  gentle  course, 
which  seemed  to  indicate  a  reluctance  to  leave  this  quiet 
region,  found  its  way  at  length  out  of  the  sequestered  domain, 
and,  like  a  youth  hurrying  from  the  gay  and  tranquil  sports  of 
boyhood,  into  the  wild  career  of  active  life,  finally  united  itself 
with  the  boisterous  torrent,  which,  breaking  down  tumultuously 
from  the  mountains,  shook  the  ancient  Tower  of  Geierstein, 
as  it  rolled  down  the  adjacent  rock,  and  then  rushed  howling 
through  the  defile  in  which  our  youthful  traveler  had  well- 
nigh  lost  his  life. 

Eager  as  the  younger  Philipson  was  to  rejoin  his  father, 
he  could  not  help  pausing  for  a  moment  to  wonder  how  so  much 
beauty  should  be  found  amid  such  scenes  of  horror,  and  to 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


31 


look  back  on  the  Tower  of  Geierstein,  and  on  the  huge  cliff 
from  which  it  derived  its  name,  as  if  to  ascertain,  by  the  sight 
of  these  distinguished  landmarks,  that  he  was  actually  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  savage  wild  where  he  had  encountered  so 
much  danger  and  terror.  Yet  so  narrow  were  the  limits  of 
this  cultivated  farm,  that  it  hardly  required  such  a  retrospect 
to  satisfy  the  spectator  that  the  spot  susceptible  of  human  in- 
dustry, and  on  which  it  seemed  that  a  considerable  degree  of 
labor  had  been  bestovvcd,  bore  a  very  small  proportion  to 
the  wilderness  in  which  it  was  situated.  It  was  on  all  sides 
surrounded  by  lofty  hills,  in  some  places  rising  into  walls  of 
rock,  in  others  clothed  with  dark  and  savage  forests  of  the  pine 
and  the  larch,  of  primeval  antiquity.  Above  these,  from  the  emi- 
nence on  which  the  tower  was  situated,  could  be  seen  the 
almost  rosy  hue  in  which  an  immense  glacier  threw  back  the 
sun  ;  and,  still  higher  over  the  frozen  surface  of  that  icy  sea, 
arose,  in  silent  dignity,  the  pale  peaks  of  those  countless  moun- 
tains, on  which  the  snow  eternally  rests. 

What  we  have  taken  some  time  to  describe,  occupied  young 
Philipson  only  for  one  or  two  hurried  minutes  ;  for  on  a  slop- 
ing lawn,  which  was  in  front  of  the  farm-house,  as  the  mansion 
might  be  properly  styled,  he  saw  five  or  six  persons,  the  fore- 
most of  whom,  from  his  gait,  his  dress,  and  the  form  of  his  cap, 
he  could  easily  distinguish  as  the  parent  whom  he  hardly  ex- 
pected at  one  time  to  have  again  beheld. 

He  followed,  therefore,  his  conductress  with  a  glad  step, 
as  she  led  the  way  down  the  steep  ascent  on  which  the  ruined 
tower  was  situated.  They  approached  the  group  whom  Arthur 
had  noticed,  the  foremost  of  which  was  his  father,  who  hastily 
came  forward  to  meet  him,  in  company  with  another  person,  of 
advanced  age,  and  stature  well  nigh  gigantic,  and  who,  from  his 
simple  yet  majestic  bearing,  seemed  the  worthy  countryman 
of  William  Tell,  Stauffacher,  Winkelried,  and  other  Swiss 
worthies,  whose  stout  hearts  and  hardy  arms  had,  in  the  pre- 
ceding age,  vindicated  against  countless  hosts  their  personal 
liberty,  and  the  independence  of  their  country. 

With  a  natural  courtesy,  as  if  to  spare  the  father  and  son 
many  witnesses  to  a  meeting  which  must  be  attended  with 
emotion  the  Landamman  himself,  in  walking  forward  with 
the  elder  Philipson,  signed  to  those  by  whom  he  was  attended, 
all  of  whom  seemed  young  men,  to  remain  behind: — they  re- 
mained accordingly,  examining,  as  it  seemed,  the  guide  An- 
tonio, upon  the  adventures  of  the  strangers.  Anne,  the  con- 
ductress of  Arthur  Philipson,  had  but  time  to  say  to  him, 
"  Yonder  old  man  is  my  uncle,  Arnold  Biederman,  and  these 


3« 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


young  men  are  my  kinsmen/^  when  the  former,  with  the  elder 
traveler,  was  close  before  them.  The  Landamman,  with  the 
same^propriety  of  feeling  which  he  had  before  displayed,  signed 
to  his  niece  to  move  a  little  aside  ;  yet  while  requiring  from 
her  an  account  of  her  morning's  expedition,  he  watched  the  in- 
terview of  the  father  and  son  with  as  much  curiosity  as  his  nat- 
ural sense  of  complaisance  permitted  him  to  testify.  It  was 
of  a  character  different  from  what  he  had  expected. 

We  have  already  described  the  elder  Philipson  as  a  fathei 
devotedly  attached  to  his  son,  ready  to  rush  on  death  when  he 
had  expected  to  lose  him,  and  equally  overjoyed  at  heart, 
doubtless,  to  see  him  again  restored  to  his  affections.  It  might 
have  been  therefore  expected  that  the  father  and  son  would 
have  rushed  into  each  other's  arms,  and  such  probably  was  the 
scene  which  Arnold  Biederman  expected  to  have  witnessed. 

But  the  English  traveler,  in  common  with  many  of  his 
countrymen,  covered  keen  and  quick  feelings  with  much  ap- 
pearance of  coldness  and  reserve,  and  thought  it  a  weakness  to 
give  unlimited  sway  even  to  the  influence  of  the  most  amiable 
and  most  natural  emotions.  Eminently  handsome  in  youth, 
his  countenance,  still  fine  in  his  more  advanced  years,  had  an 
expression  which  intimated  an  unwillingness  either  to  yield  to 
passion  or  encourage  confidence.  His  pace,  when  he  first  be- 
held his  son,  had  been  quickened,  by  the  natural  wish  to  meet 
him  ;  but  he  slackened  it  as  they  drew  near  to  each  other,  and 
when  they  met,  said  in  a  tone  rather  of  censure  and  admonition 
than  affection, — "  Arthur,  may  the  Saints  forgive  the  pain  thou 
hast  this  day  given  me.'* 

"  Amen,'*  said  the  youth.  "  I  must  need  pardon  since  I 
have  given  you  pain.  Believe,  however,  that  I  acted  for  the 
best." 

It  is  well,  Arthur,  that  in  acting  for  the  best,  according  to 
your  forward  will,  you  have  not  encountered  the  worst." 

"  That  I  have  not,"  answered  the  son,  with  the  same  de- 
voted and  patient  submission,  "is  owing  to  this  maiden," 
pointing  to  Anne,  who  stood  at  a  few  paces'  distance,  desirous 
perhaps  of  avoiding  to  witness  the  reproof  of  the  father,  which 
might  seem  to  her  rather  ill-timed  and  unreasonable. 

"  To  the  maiden  my  thanks  shall  be  rendered,"  said  his 
father,  when  I  can  study  how  to  pay  them  in  an  adequate 
manner;  but  is  it  well  or  comely,  think  you,  that  you  should 
receive  from  a  maiden  the  succor  which  it  is  your  duty  as  a  man 
to  extend  to  the  weaker  sex  ? " 

Arthur  held  down  his  head  and  blushed  deeply,  while 


ATTNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


33 


Arnold  Biederman,  sympathizing  with  his  feelings,  stepped  for- 
ward and  mingled  in  the  conversation. 

"  Never  be  abashed,  my  young  guest,  that  you  have  been 
indebted  for  aught  of  counsel  or  assistance  to  a  maiden  of 
Unterwalden.  Know  that  the  freedom  of  their  country  owes 
no  less  to  the  firmness  and  wisdom  of  her  daughters  than  to 
that  of  her  sons. — And  you,  my  elder  guest,  who  have,  I  judge, 
seen  many  years,  and  various  lands,  must  have  often  known 
examples  how  the  strong  are  saved  by  the  help  of  the  weak, 
the  proud  by  the  aid  of  the  humble." 

I  have  at  least  learned,"  said  the  Englishman,  "to  debate 
no  point  unnecessarily  with  the  host  who  has  kindly  harbored 
me  ;  "  and  after  one  glance  at  his  son,  which  seemed  to  kindle 
with  the  fondest  affection,  he  resumed,  as  the  party  turned  back 
toward  the  house,  a  conversation  which  he  had  been  maintain- 
ing with  his  new  acquaintance  before  Arthur  and  the  maiden 
had  joined  them. 

Arthur  had  in  the  meantime  an  opportunity  of  observing 
the  figure  and  features  of  their  Swiss  landlord,  which,  I  have 
already  hinted,  exhibited  a  primeval  simplicity  mixed  with  a 
certain  rude  dignity,  arising  out  of  its  masculine  and  unaffected 
character. 

The  dress  did  not  greatly  differ  in  form  from  the  habit  of 
the  female  which  we  have  described.  It  consisted  of  an  upper 
frock,  shaped  like  the  modern  shirt,  and  only  open  at  the 
bosom,  worn  above  a  tunic  or  under  doublet.  But  the  man's 
vest  was  considerably  shorter  in  the  skirts,  which  did  not  come 
lower  down  than  the  kilt  of  the  Scottish  Highlander ;  a  species 
of  boots  or  buskins  rose  above  the  knee,  and  the  person  was 
thus  entirely  clothed.  A  bonnet  made  of  the  fur  of  the  marten, 
and  garnished  with  a  silver  medal,  was  the  only  part  of  the 
dress  which  displayed  anything  like  ornament ;  the  broad  belt 
which  gathered  the  garment  together  was  of  buff  leather, 
secured  by  a  large  brass  buckle. 

But  the  figure  of  him  who  wore  this  homely  attire,  which 
seemed  almost  wholly  composed  of  the  fleeces  of  the  mountain 
sheep,  and  the  spoils  of  animals  of  the  chase,  would  have  com- 
manded respect  wherever  the  wearer  had  presented  himself, 
especially  in  those  warlike  days,  when  men  were  judged  of  ac- 
cording to  the  promising  or  unpromising  qualities  of  their  thews 
and  sinews.  To  those  who  looked  at  Arnold  Biederman  in  this 
point  of  view,  he  displayed  the  size  and  form,  the  broad 
shoulders,  and  prominent  muscles,  of  a  Hercules.  But  to  such 
as  looked  rather  at  his  countenance,  the  steady  sagacious 
features,  open  front,  large  blue  eyes,  and  deliberate  resolution 


34 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


which  it  expressed,  more  resembled  the  character  of  the  fabled 
King  of  Gods  and  Men.  He  was  attended  by  several  sons  and 
relatives,  young  men,  among  whom  he  walked,  receiving,  as  his 
undeniable  due,  respect  and  obedience,  similar  to  that  which  a 
herd  of  deer  are  observed  to  render  to  the  monarch  stag. 

While  Arnold  Biederman  walked  and  spoke  with  the  elder 
stranger,  the  young  men  seemed  closely  to  scrutinize  Arthur, 
and  occasionally  interrogated  in  whispers  their  relation  Anne, 
receiving  from  her  brief  and  impatient  answers,  which  rather 
excited  than  appeased  the  vein  of  merriment  in  which  the 
mountaineers  indulged,  very  much,  as  it  seemed  to  the  young 
EngHshman,  at  the  expense  of  their  guest.  To  feel  himself 
exposed  to  derision  was  not  softened  by  the  reflection,  that  in 
such  a  society  it  would  probably  be  attached  to  all  who  could 
not  tread  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice  with  a  step  as  firm  and 
undismayed  as  if  they  walked  the  street  of  a  city.  However 
unreasonable  ridicule  may  be,  it  is  always  unpleasing  to  be 
subjected  to  it,  but  more  particularly  is  it  distressing  to  a 
young  man,  where  beauty  is  a  listener.  It  was  some  consola- 
tion to  Arthur  that  he  thought  the  maiden  certainly  did  not 
enjoy  the  jest,  and  seemed  by  word  and  look  to  reprove  the 
rudeness  of  her  companions  ;  but  this  he  feared  was  only  from 
a  sense  of  humanity. 

"  She,  too,  must  despise  me,''  he  thought,  "  though  civility, 
unknown  to  these  ill-taught  boors,  has  enabled  her  to  conceal 
contempt  under  the  guise  of  pity.  She  can  but  judge  of  me 
from  that  which  she  has  seen — if  she  could  know  me  better,'^ 
(such  was  his  proud  thought),  she  might  perhaps  rank  me 
more  highly.'' 

As  the  travelers  entered  the  habitation  of  Arnold  Bieder- 
man they  found  preparations  made  in  a  large  apartment, 
which  served  the  purpose  of  general  accommodation,  for  a 
homely  but  plentiful  meal.  A  glance  round  the  walls  showed 
the  implements  of  agriculture  and  the  chase  ;  but  the  eyes  of 
the  elder  Philipson  rested  upon  a  leathern  corselet,  a  long  heavy 
halberd,  and  a  two-handed  sword,  which  w^ere  displayed  as 
a  sort  of  trophy.  Near  these,  but  covered  with  dust,  unfurbished 
and  neglected,  hung  a  helmet,  with  a  visor,  such  as  was  used 
by  knights  and  men-at-arms.  The  golden  garland,  or  coronal 
twisted  around  it,  though  sorely  tarnished,  indicated  noble 
birth  and  rank  ;  and  the  crest,  which  was  a  vulture  of  the 
sx)ecLes  which  gave  name  to  the  old  castle  and  its  adjacent  cliff, 
suggested  various  conjectures  to  the  English  guest,  who,  ac- 
quainted in  a  great  measure  with  the  history  of  the  Swiss 
revolution,  made  little  doubt  that  in  this  relic  he  saw  some 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN.  35 

trophy  of  the  ancient  warfare  between  the  inhabitants  of  these 
mountains  and  the  feudal  lord  to  whom  they  had  of  yore  ap* 
pertained. 

A  summons  to  the  hospitable  board  disturbed  the  train  of 
the  English  merchant's  reflections,  and  a  large  company,  com- 
prising the  whole  inhabitants  of  every  description  that  lived 
under  Biederman's  roof,  sat  down  to  a  plentiful  repast  of  goat's 
flesh,  fish,  preparations  of  milk  of  various  kinds,  cheese,  and, 
for  the  upper  mess,  the  venison  of  a  young  chamois.  The 
Landamman  himself  did  the  honors  of  the  table  with  great 
kindness  and  simplicity,  and  urged  the  strangers  to  show,  by 
their  appetite,  that  they  thought  themselves  as  welcome  as  he 
desired  to  make  them.  During  the  repast,  he  carried  on  a 
conversation  with  his  elder  guest,  while  the  younger  people  at 
table,  as  well  as  the  menials,  ate  in  modesty  and  silence.  Ere 
the  dinner  was  finished,  a  figure  crossed  on  the  outside  of  the 
large  window  which  lighted  the  eating-hall,  the  sight  of  which 
seemed  to  occasion  a  lively  sensation  among  such  as  observed  it, 

"  Who  passed  ? said  old  Biederman  to  those  seated  oppo- 
site to  the  window. 

It  is  our  cousin,  Rudolph  of  Donnerhugel,"  answered  one 
of  Arnold's  sons  eagerly. 

The  annunciation  seemed  to  give  great  pleasure  to  the 
younger  part  of  the  company,  especially  the  sons  of  the  Lan- 
damman ;  while  the  head  of  the  family  only  said  with  a  grave, 
calm  voice, — "  Your  kinsman  is  welcome — tell  him  so,  and  let 
him  come  hither." 

Two  or  three  arose  for  this  purpose,  as  if  there  had  been  a 
contention  among  them  who  should  do  the  honors  of  the  house 
to  the  new  guest.  He  entered  presently  ;  a  young  man,  un- 
usually tall,  well-proportioned,  and  active,  with  a  quantity  of 
dark-brown  locks  curling  around  his  face,  together  with  mus- 
taches of  the  same,  or  rather  a  still  darker  hue.  His  cap  was 
small,  considering  the  quantity  of  his  thickly  clustering  hair, 
and  rather  might  be  said  to  hang  upon  one  side  of  his  head 
than  to  cover  it.  His  clothes  were  of  the  same  form  and 
general  fashion  as  those  of  Arnold,  but  made  of  much  finer 
cloth,  the  manufacture  of  the  German  loom,  and  ornamented 
in  a  rich  and  fanciful  manner.  One  sleeve  of  his  vest  was  dark 
green,  curiously  laced  and  embroidered  with  devices  in  silver, 
while  the  rest  of  the  garment  was  scarlet.  His  sash  was  twisted 
and  netted  with  gold,  and  besides  answering  the  purpose  of  a 
belt,  by  securing  the  upper  garment  round  his  waist,  sustained 
a  silver-hilted  poniard.  His  finery  was  completed  by  boots, 
the  tips  of  which  were  so  long  as  to  turn  upward  with  a  peak, 


36 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


after  a  prevailing  fashion  in  the  Middle  Ages.  A  golden  chain 
hung  round  his  neck,  and  sustained  a  large  medallion  of  the 
same  metal. 

This  young  gallant  was  instantly  surrounded  by  the  race  of 
Biederman,  among  whom  he  appeared  to  be  considered  as  the 
model  upon  which  the  Swiss  youth  ought  to  build  themselves, 
and  whose  gait,  opinions,  dress,  and  manners,  all  ought  to 
follow  who  would  keep  pace  with  the  fashion  of  the  day,  in 
which  he  reigned  an  acknowledged  and  unrivaled  example. 

By  two  persons  in  the  company,  however,  it  seemed  to 
Arthur  Philipson  that  this  young  man  was  received  with  less 
distinguished  marks  of  regard  than  those  with  which  he  was 
hailed  by  the  general  voice  of  the  youths  present.  Arnold 
Biederman  himself  was  at  least  no  way  warm  in  welcoming  the 
young  Bernese,  for  such  was  Rudolph's  country.  The  young 
man  drew  from  his  bosom  a  sealed  packet,  which  he  delivered 
to  the  Landamman  with  demonstrations  of  great  respect,  and 
seemed  to  expect  that  Arnold,  when  he  had  broken  the  seal 
and  perused  the  contents,  would  say  something  to  him  on  the 
subject.  But  the  patriarch  only  bade  him  be  seated,  and  par- 
take of  their  meal,  and  Rudolph  found  a  place  accordingly  next 
to  Anne  of  Geierstein,  which  was  yielded  to  him  by  one  of  the 
sons  of  Arnold  with  ready  courtesy. 

It  seemed  also  to  the  observant  young  Englishman,  that  the 
new-comer  was  received  with  marked  coldness  by  the  maiden, 
to  whom  he  appeared  eager  and  solicitous  to  pay  his  compli- 
ments, by  whose  side  he  had  contrived  to  seat  himself  at  the 
well  furnished  board,  and  to  whom  he  seemed  more  anxious  to 
recommend  himself,  than  to  partake  of  the  food  which  it  offer- 
ed. He  observed  the  gallant  whisper  her,  and  look  toward 
him.  Anne  gave  a  very  brief  reply,  but  one  of  the  young  Bie- 
dermans,  who  sat  on  his  other  hand,  was  probably  more  com- 
municative, as  the  youths  both  laughed,  and  the  maiden  again 
seemed  disconcerted,  and  blushed  with  displeasure. 

"  Had  I  either  of  these  sons  of  the  mountain,"  thought 
young  Philipson,  "  upon  six  yards  of  level  greensward,  if  there 
be  so  much  flat  ground  in  this  country,  methinks  I  were  more 
likely  to  spoil  their  mirth  than  to  furnish  food  for  it-  It  is  as 
marvelous  to  see  such  conceited  boors  under  the  same  roof 
with  so  courteous  and  amiable  a  damsel,  as  it  would  be  to  see 
one  of  their  shaggy  bears  dance  a  rigadoon  with  a  maiden  like 
the  daughter  of  our  host.  Well,  I  need  not  concern  myself 
more  than  I  can  help  about  her  beauty  or  their  breeding,  since 
morning  will  separate  me  from  them  forever." 

As  these  reflections  passed  through  the  young  guest's  mind 


ANNE  OP  GEiERSTEIN. 


37 


the  father  of  the  family  called  for  a  cup  of  wine,  and  having 
required  the  two  strangers  to  pledge  him  in  a  maple  cup  of  con- 
siderable size,  he  sent  a  similar  goblet  to  Rudolph  Donner- 
hugel.  "  Yet  you/'  he  said,  "  kinsman,  are  used  to  more  highly- 
flavored  wine  than  the  half-ripened  grapes  of  Geierstein  can 
supply. — Would  you  think  it,  sir  merchant,"  he  continued,  ad- 
dressing Philipson,  ^'  there  are  burghers  of  Berne  who  send  for 
wine,  for  their  own  drinking,  both  to  France  and  Germany?" 

^'  My  kinsman  disapproves  of  that,"  replied  Rudolph  ;  "  yet 
every  place  is  not  blessed  with  vineyards  like  Geierstein,  which 
produces  all  that  heart  and  eye  can  desire."  This  was  said  with 
a  glance  at  his  fair  companion,  who  did  not  appear  to  take  the 
compliment,  while  the  envoy  of  Berne  proceeded  : — "  But  our 
wealthier  burghers,  having  some  superfluous  crowns,  think  it  no 
extravagance  to  barter  them  for  a  goblet  of  better  wine  than  our 
own  mountains  can  produce.  But  we  will  be  more  frugal  when 
we  have  at  our  disposal  tuns  of  the  wine  of  Burgundy,  for  the 
mere  trouble  of  transporting  them." 

"How  mean  you  by  that,  cousin  Rudolph  ?  "  said  Arnold 
Biederman. 

"  Methinks,  respected  kinsman,"  answered  the  Bernese, 
"  your  letters  must  have  told  you  that  our  Diet  is  likely  to  de- 
clare war  against  Burgundy  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  and  you  know,  then,  the  contents  of  my  letters  ?  " 
said  Arnold  ;  "  another  mark  how  times  are  changed  at  Berne, 
and  with  the  Diet  of  Switzerland.  When  did  all  her  gray- 
haired  statesmen  die,  that  our  allies  should  have  brought  beard- 
less boys  into  their  councils  ?  " 

"  The  Senate  of  Berne,  and  the  Diet  of  the  Confederacy," 
said  the  young  man,  partly  abashed,  partly  in  vindication  of 
what  he  had  before  spoken,  "  allow  the  young  men  to  know 
their  purposes,  since  it  is  they  by  whom  they  must  be  executed. 
The  head  which  thinks,  may  well  confide  in  the  hand  that 
strikes." 

"  Not  till  the  moment  of  dealing  the  blow,  young  man,"  said 
Arnold  Biederman,  sternly.  What  kind  of  counselor  is  he 
who  talks  loosely  the  secrets  of  state  affairs  before  women  and 
strangers  ?  Go,  Rudolph,  and  all  of  ye,  and  try  by  manly  ex- 
ercises which  is  best  fitted  to  serve  your  country,  rather  than 
give  your  jud^^ment  upon  her  measures. — Hold,  young  man,"  he 
continued,  addressing  Arthur,  who  had  arisen,  this  does  not 
apply  to  you,  who  are  unused  to  mountain  travel,  and  require 
rest  after  it." 

Under  your  favor,  sir,  not  so,"  said  the  elder  stranger. 
We  hold  in  England,  that  the  best  refreshment  after  we  have 


38 


ANNB  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


been  exhausted  by  one  species  of  exercise,  is  to  betiake  out- 
selves  to  another  ;  as  riding,  for  example,  affords  more  relief  to 
one  fatigued  by  walking,  than  a  bed  of  down  would.  So,  if 
your  young  men  will  permit,  my  son  will  join  their  exercises." 

"  He  will  find  them  rough  playmates,"  answered  the  Switzer  ; 
but  be  it  at  your  pleasure.'' 

The  young  men  went  out  accordingly  to  the  open  lawn  in 
front  of  the  house.  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  some  females  of 
the  household,  sat  down  on  a  bank  to  judge  which  performed 
best,  and  shouts,  loud  laughing,  and  all  that  announces  the  riot 
of  juvenile  spirits  occupied  by  manly  sports,  was  soon  after 
heard  by  the  two  seniors,  as  they  sat  together  in  the  hall.  The 
master  of  the  house  resumed  the  wine-flask,  and  having  filled 
the  cup  of  his  guest,  poured  the  remainder  into  his  own. 

At  an  age,  worthy  stranger,"  he  said,  "  when  the  blood 
grows  colder,  and  the  feelings  heavier,  a  moderate  cup  of  wine 
brings  back  light  thoughts,  and  makes  the  limbs  supple.  Yet, 
I  almost  wish  that  Noah  had  never  planted  the  grape,  when  of 
late  years  I  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes  my  countrymen  swill 
wine  like  very  Germans,  till  they  were  like  gorged  swine,  in- 
capable of  sense,  thought,  or  motion." 

"  It  is  a  vice,"  said  the  Englishman,  which  I  have  observed 
gains  ground  in  your  country,  where  within  a  century  I  have 
heard  it  was  totally  unknown." 

"  It  was  so,"  said  the  Swiss,  for  wine  was  seldom  made  at 
home  and  never  imported  from  abroad  ;  for  indeed  none  pos- 
sessed the  means  of  purchasing  that,  or  aught  else,  which  our 
valleys  produce  not.  But  our  wars  and  our  victories  have  gained 
us  wealth  as  well  as  fame  ;  and  in  the  poor  thoughts  of  one 
Switzer  at  least,  we  had  been  better  without  both,  had  we  not 
also  gained  liberty  by  the  same  exertion.  It  is  something,  how- 
ever, that  commerce  may  occasionally  send  into  our  remote 
mountains  a  sensible  visitor  like  yourself,  worthy  guest,  whose 
discourse  shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  sagacity  and  discernment ; 
for  though  I  love  not  the  increasing  taste  for  trinkets  and  gew- 
gaws which  you  merchants  introduce,  yet  I  acknowledge  that  we 
simple  mountaineers  learn  from  men  like  you  more  of  the  world 
around  us  than  we  could  acquire  by  our  own  exertions.  You 
are  bound,  you  say,  to  Bale,  and  thence  to  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy's leaguer  t  " 

I  am  so,  my  worthy  host  " — said  the  merchant,  "  that  is, 
providing  I  can  perform  my  journey  with  safety." 

Your  safety,  good  friend,  may  be  assured,  if  you  list  to 
tarry  for  two  or  three  days ;  for  in  that  space  I  shall  myself  take 
the  journey,  and  with  such  an  escort  as  will  prevent  any  risk  of 


ANNE  OF  GBIERSTEIN. 


39 


danger.  You  will  find  in  me  a  sure  and  faithful  guide,  and  I 
shall  learn  from  you  much  of  other  countries,  which  it  concerns 
me  to  know  better  than  I  do.    Is  it  a  bargain  ? 

"  The  proposal  is  too  much  to  my  advantage  to  be  refused," 
said  the  Englishman  ;  "  but  may  I  ask  the  purpose  of  your 
journey  ?  " 

"  I  chid  yonder  boy  but  now,"  answered  Biederman,  "  for 
speaking  on  public  affairs  without  reflection,  and  before  the 
whole  family ;  but  our  tidings  and  my  errand  need  not  be  con- 
cealed from  a  considerate  person  like  you,  who  must  indeed 
soon  learn  it  from  public  rumor.  You  know  doubtless  the  mutual 
hatred  which  subsists  between  Louis  XI.  of  France  and  Charles 
of  Burgundy,  whom  men  call  the  Bold  ;  and  having  seen  these 
countries,  as  I  understand  from  your  former  discourse,  you  are 
probably  well  aware  of  the  various  contending  interests,  which 
besides  the  personal  hatred  of  the  sovereigns,  make  them 
irreconcilable  enemies.  Now  Louis,  whom  the  world  cannot 
match  for  craft  and  subtlety,  is  using  all  his  influence,  by  dis- 
tributions of  large  sums  amongst  some  of  the  counselors  of  our 
neighbors  of  Berne,  by  pouring  treasures  into  the  exchequer  of 
that  state  itself,  by  holding  out  the  bait  of  emolument  to  the 
old  men,  and  encouraging  the  violence  of  the  young,  to  urge  the 
Bernese  into  a  war  with  the  Duke.  Charles,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  acting,  as  he  frequently  does,  exactly  as  Louis  could  have 
wished.  Our  neighbors  and  allies  of  Berne  do  not,  like  us  of 
the  Forest  Cantons,  confine  themselves  to  pasture  or  agriculture, 
but  carry  on  considerable  commerce  ;  which  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy has  in  various  instances  interrupted,  by  the  exactions  and 
violence  of  his  officers  in  the  frontier  towns,  as  doubtless  well 
known  to  you." 

"  Unquestionably,"  answered  the  merchant  ;  they  are  uni- 
versally regarded  as  vexatious." 

"  You  will  not  then  be  surprised,  that,  solicited  by  the  one 
sovereign,  and  aggrieved  by  the  other,  proud  of  past  victories, 
and  ambitious  of  additional  power,  Berne  and  the  City  Cantons 
of  our  Confederacy,  whose  representatives,  from  their  superior 
wealth  and  better  education,  have  more  to  say  in  our  Diet  than 
we  of  the  Forests,  should  be  bent  upon  war,  from  which  it  has 
hitherto  happened  that  the  Republic  has  always  derived  victory, 
wealth,  and  increase  of  territory." 

Ay,  worthy  host,  and  of  glory,"  said  Philipson,  interrupt- 
ing him  with  some  enthusiasm  ;  I  wonder  not  that  the  brave 
youths  of  your  states  are  willing  to  thrust  themselves  upon  new 
wars,  since  their  past  victories  have  been  so  brilliant  and  so 
^ar-famed." 


40 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  You  are  no  wise  merchant,  kind  guest/^  answered  the 
host,  "  if  you  regard  success  in  former  desperate  undertakings 
as  an  encouragement  to  future  rashness.  Let  us  make  abetter 
use  of  past  victories.  When  we  fought  for  our  Hberties  God 
blessed  our  arms  ;  but  will  he  do  so  if  we  fight  either  for  aggran- 
dizement or  for  the  gold  of  France  ? 

"  Your  doubt  is  just,'^  said  the  merchant,  more  sedately ; 
"  but  suppose  you  draw  the  sword  to  put  an  end  to  the  vexatious 
exactions  of  Burgundy  ? 

"  Hear  me,  good  friend,"  answered  the  Switzer  j  it  maybe 
that  we  of  the  Forest  Cantons  think  too  little  of  those  matters 
of  trade,  which  so  much  engross  the  attention  of  the  burghers 
of  Berne.  Yet  we  will  not  desert  our  neighbors  and  allien  in 
a  just  quarrel ;  and  it  is  well-nigh  settled  that  a  deputation 
shall  be  sent  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  to  request  redress.  In  this 
embassy  the  General  Diet  now  assembled  at  Berne  have 
requested  that  I  should  take  some  share  ;  and  hence  the  journey 
in  which  I  propose  that  you  should  accompany  me." 

"  It  will  be  much  to  my  satisfaction  to  travel  in  your  com- 
pany, worthy  host,"  said  the  Englishman.  "  But,  as  I  am  a 
true  man,  methinks  your  port  and  figure  resemble  an  envoy  of 
defiance  rather  than  a  messenger  of  peace." 

"  And  I  too  might  say,"  replied  the  Switzer,  "  that  your 
language  and  sentiments,  my  honored  guest,  rather  belong  to 
the  sword  than  the  measuring  wand." 

"  I  was  bred  to  the  sword,  worthy  sir,  before  I  took  the 
cloth-yard  in  my  hand,"  replied  Philipson,  smiling,  "  and  it 
may  be  I  am  still  more  partial  to  my  old  trade  than  wisdom 
would  altogether  recommend." 

I  thought  so,"  said  Arnold  ;  "  but  then  you  fought  most 
likely  under  your  country's  banners  against  a  foreign  and 
national  enemy,  and  in  that  case  I  will  admit  that  war  has 
something  in  it  which  elevates  the  heart  above  the  due  sense 
it  should  entertain  of  the  calamity  inflicted  and  endured  by 
God's  creatures  on  each  side.  But  the  warfare  in  which  I  was 
engaged  had  no  such  gilding.  It  was  the  miserable  war  of 
Zurich,  where  Switzers  leveled  their  pikes  against  the  bosoms 
of  their  own  countrymen  ;  and  quarter  was  asked  and  refused 
in  the  same  kindly  mountain  language.  From  such  remem- 
brances your  warlike  recollections  are  probably  free." 

The  merchant  hung  down  his  head  and  pressed  his  forehead 
with  his  hand,  as  one  to  whom  the  most  painful  thoughts  were 
suddenly  recalled. 

Alas !  "  he  said,  "  I  deserve  to  feel  the  pain  which  youi 
words  inflict.    What  nation  can  know  the  woes  of  England 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


41 


that  has  not  felt  them — what  eye  can  estimate  them  which  had 
not  seen  a  land  torn  and  bleeding  with  the  strife  of  two  desper- 
ate factions ;  battles  fought  in  every  province  ;  plains  heaped 
with  slain,  and  scaffolds  drenched  in  blood !  Even  in  your 
quiet  valleys,  methinks,  you  may  have  heard  of  the  Civil  Wars  of 
England  ?  " 

"  I  do  indeed  bethink  me,'*  said  the  Switzer,  "  that  England 
had  lost  her  possessions  in  France  during  many  years  of  bloody 
internal  wars  concerning  the  color  of  a  rose— was  it  not? — But 
these  are  ended." 

For  the  present,"  answered  Philipson,  "  it  would  seem 

so." 

As  he  spoke,  there  was  a  knock  at  ^he  door  ;  the  master  of 
the  house  said,  "  Come  in  ;  "  the  door  opened,  and,  with  the 
reverence  which  was  expected  from  young  persons  toward 
their  elders  in  those  pastoral  regions,  the  fine  form  of  Anne  of 
Geierstein  presented  itself. 


CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

And  now  the  well-known  bow  the  master  bore, 
Turn'd  on  all  sides,  and  view'd  it  o'er  and  o'er  ; 
Whilst  some  deriding,     How  he  turns  the  bow  ! 
Some  other  like  it  sure  the  man  must  know  : 
Or  else  would  copy — or  in  bows  he  deals  ; 
Perhaps  he  makes  them,  or  perhaps  he  steals.' ' 

Pope's  Homer's  Odyssey. 

The  feir  maiden  approached  with  the  half-bashful  half- 
important  look  which  sits  so  well  on  a  young  housekeeper, 
when  she  is  at  once  proud  and  ashamed  of  the  matronly  duties 
she  is  called  upon  to  discharge,  and  whispered  something  in 
her  uncle's  ear. 

"  And  could  not  the  idle-pated  boys  have  brought  their  own 
errand — what  is  it  they  want  that  they  cannot  ask  themselves, 
but  must  send  thee  to  beg  it  for  them  ?  Had  it  been  anything 
reasonable,  I  should  have  heard  it  dinned  into  my  ears  by  forty 
voices,  so  modest  are  our  Swiss  youths  become  now-a-days/' 
She  stooped  forward,  and  again  whispered  in  his  ear,  as  he 
fondly  stroked  her  curling  tresses  with  his  ample  hand,  and 
replied,  "  The  bow  of  Buttisholz,  my  dear  ?  why  the  youths 
surely  are  not  grown  stronger  since  last  year,  when  none  of 
them  could  bend  it  ?  But  yonder  it  hangs  with  its  three  arrows. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Who  is  the  wise  champion  that  is  challenger  at  a  game  where 
he  is  sure  to  be  foiled  ? 

It  is  this  gentleman's  son,  sir/'  said  the  maiden.  ^'  who,  not 
being  able  to  contend  with  my  cousins  in  running,  leaping, 
hurling  the  bar,  or  pitching  the  stone,  has  challenged  them  to 
ride,  or  to  shoot  with  the  English  long-bow/' 

"  To  ride,"  said  the  venerable  Swiss,  were  difficult,  where 
there  are  no  horses,  and  no  level  ground  to  career  upon  if  there 
were.  But  an  English  bow  he  shall  have,  since  we  happen  to 
possess  one.  Take  it  to  the  young  men,  my  niece,  with  the 
three  arrows,  and  say  to  them  from  me,  that  he  who  bends  it 
will  do  more  than  William  Tell,  or  the  renowned  Stauffacher, 
could  have  done." 

As  the  maiden  went  to  take  the  weapon  from  the  place  where 
it  hung  amid  the  group  of  arms  which  Philipson  had  formerly 
remarked,  the  English  merchant  observed,  that  were  the  min- 
strels of  his  land  to  assign  her  occupation,  so  fair  a  maiden 
should  be  bow-bearer  to  none  but  the  little  blind  god  Cupid." 

"  I  will  have  nothing  of  the  blind  god  Cupid,"  said  Arnold, 
hastily,  yet  half  laughing  at  the  same  time  ;  we  have  been 
deafened  with  the  foolery  of  minstrels  and  strolling  minne- 
singers, ever  since  the  wandering  knaves  have  found  there  were 
pence  to  be  gathered  among  us.  A  Swiss  maiden  should  only 
sing  Albert  Ischudi's  ballads,  or  the  merry  lay  of  the  going  out 
and  return  of  the  cows  to  and  from  the  mountain  pastures." 

While  he  spoke,  the  damsel  had  selected  from  the  arms  a 
bow  of  extraordinary  strength,  considerable  above  six  feet  in 
length,  with  three  shafts  of  a  cloth-yard  long.  Philipson  asked 
to  look  at  the  weapons,  and  examined  them  closely.  "  It  is  a 
tough  piece  of  yew,"  he  said.  I  should  know  it,  since  I  have 
dealt  in  such  commodities  in  my  time  ;  but  when  I  was  of 
Arthur's  age  I  could  have  bent  it  as  easily  as  a  boy  bends  a 
willow." 

"  We  are  too  old  to  boast  like  boys,"  said  Arnold  Bieder- 
man,  with  something  of  a  reproving  glance  at  his  companion. 

Carry  the  bow  to  thy  kinsmen,  Anne,  and  let  him  who  can 
bend  it  say  he  beat  Arnold  Biederman."  As  he  spoke,  he 
turned  his  eyes  on  the  spare,  yet  muscular  figure  of  the 
Englishman,  then  again  glanced  down  on  his  own  stately  person. 
You  must  remember,  good  my  host,"  said  Philipson, 

that  weapons  are  wielded  not  by  strength,  but  by  art  and 
sleight  of  hand.  What  most  T  wonder  at,  is  to  see  in  this  place 
a  bow  made  by  Matthew  of  Doncaster,  a  bowyer  who  lived  at 
least  a  hundred  years  ago,  remarkable  for  the  great  toughness 
and  strength  of  the  weapons  which  he  made,  and  which  are  now 


A^^NE  OF  GEIERSTEW. 


4S 


become  somewhat  unmanageable,  even  by  an  English  yeo- 
man." 

"  How  are  you  assured  of  the  maker's  name,  worthy 
guest?  "  replied  the  Swiss. 

"  By  old  Matthew's  mark,"  answered  the  Englishman  "  and 
his  initials  cut  upon,  the  bow.  I  wonder  not  a  little  to  find 
such  a  weapon  here,  and  in  such  good  preservation." 

"  It  has  been  regularly  waxed,  oiled,  and  kept  in  good  order," 
said  the  Landamman,  "  being  preserved  as  a  trophy  of  a  memo- 
rable day.  It  would  but  grieve  you  to  recount  its  early  history, 
since  it  was  taken  in  a  day  fatal  to  your  country." 

"  My  country,"  said  the  Englishman  composedly,  "  has  gained 
so  many  victories,  that  her  children  may  well  afford  to  hear  of 
a  single  defeat.  But  I  knew  not  that  the  English  ever  warred 
in  Switzerland." 

"  Not  precisely  as  a  nation,"  answered  Biederman  ;  "  but 
it  was  in  my  grandsire's  days,  that  a  large  body  of  roving  sol- 
diers, composed  of  men  from  almost  all  countries,  but  especi- 
ally Englishmen,  Normans,  and  Gascons,  poured  down  on  the 
Argau,  and  the  districts  adjacent.  They  were  headed  by  a 
great  warrior  called  Ingelram  de  Couci,  who  pretended  some 
claims  upon  the  Duke  of  Austria;  to  satisfy  which  he  ravaged 
indifferently  the  Austrian  territory  and  that  of  our  confeder- 
acy. His  soldiers  were  hired  warriors — Free  Companions  they 
called  themselves — that  seemed  to  belong  to  no  country,  and 
were  as  brave  in  the  fight  as  they  were  cruel  in  their  depreda- 
tions. Some  pause  in  the  constant  wars  betwixt  France  and 
England  had  deprived  many  of  those  bands  of  their  ordinary 
employment,  and  battle  being  their  element,  they  came  to  seek 
it  among  our  valleys.  The  air  seemed  on  fire  with  the  blaze 
of  their  armor,  and  the  very  sun  was  darkened  at  the  flight  of 
their  arrows.  They  did  us  much  evil,  and  we  sustained  the 
loss  of  more  than  one  battle.  But  we  met  them  at  Buttisholz, 
and  mingled  the  blood  of  many  a  rider  (noble  as  they  were 
called  and  esteemed)  with  that  of  their  horses.  The  huge 
mound  that  covers  the  bones  of  man  and  steed  is  still  called 
the  English  Barrow." 

Philipson  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  replied, 
"  Then  let  them  sleep  in  peace.  If  they  did  wrong,  they  paid 
for  it  with  their  lives  ;  and  that  is  all  the  ransom  that  mortal 
man  can  render  for  his  transgressions. — Heaven  pardon  their 
souls !  " 

"  Amen,"  replied  the  Landamman,  "  and  those  of  all  brave 
men  ! — My  grandsire  was  at  the  battle,  and  was  held  to  have 
demeaned  himself  like  a  good  soldier ;  and  this  bow  has  been 


44 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


ever  since  carefully  preserved  in  our  family.  There  is  a  proph- 
ecy about  it,  but  I  hold  it  not  worthy  of  remark." 

Philipson  was  about  to  inquire  further,  but  was  interrupted 
by  a  loud  cry  of  surprise  and  astonishment  from  without. 

"  I  must  out,"  said  Biederman,  "  and  see  what  these  wild 
lads  are  doing.  It  is  not  now  as  formerly  in  this  land,  when 
the  young  dared  not  judge  for  themselves,  till  the  old  man*s 
voice  had  been  heard." 

He  went  forth  from  the  lodge,  followed  by  his  guest.  The 
company  who  had  witnessed  the  games  were  all  talking,  shout- 
ing, and  disputing  in  the  same  breath ;  while  Arthur  Philipson 
stood  a  little  apart  from  the  rest,  leaning  on  the  unbent  bow 
with  apparent  indifference.  At  the  sight  of  the  Landamman 
all  were  silent. 

"  What  means  this  unwonted  clamor  ? "  he  said,  raising  a 
voice  to  which  all  were  accustomed  to  listen  with  reverence. — 
Rudiger,"  addressing  the  eldest  of  his  sons,  "  has  the  young 
stranger  bent  the  bow  .^*" 

He  has,  father,"  said  Rudiger  ;  "  and  he  has  hit  the  mark. 
Three  such  shots  were  never  shot  by  William  Tell." 

"  It  was  chance — pure  chance,"  said  the  young  Swiss  from 
Berne.  "  No  human  skill  could  have  done  it,  much  less  a 
puny  lad,  baffled  in  all  besides  that  he  attempted  among  us." 

"  But  what  has  been  done  ?"  said  the  Landamman. — "  Nay, 
speak  not  all  at  once  ! — Anne  of  Geierstein,  thou  hast  more 
sense  and  breeding  than  these  boys — tell  me  how  the  game  has 
gone."  The  maiden  seemed  a  little  confused  at  this  appeal, 
but  answered  with  a  composed  and  downcast  look — 

"  The  mark  was,  as  usual,  a  pigeon  to  a  pole.  All  the  young 
men,  except  the  stranger,  had  practiced  at  it  with  the  cross- 
bow and  long-bow  without  hitting  it.  When  I  brought  out  the 
bow  of  Buttisholz,  I  offered  it  first  to  my  kinsmen.  None 
would  accept  of  it,  saying,  respected  uncle,  that  a  task  too 
great  for  you,  must  be  far  too  difficult  for  them." 

They  said  well,"  answered  Arnold  Biederman  ;  and  the 
stranger,  did  he  string  the  bow  " 

He  did,  my  uncle  ;  but  first  he  wrote  something  on  a  piece 
of  paper,  and  placed  it  in  my  hands." 

"  And  did  he  shoot  and  hit  the  mark  ?  "  continued  the  sur- 
prised Switzer. 

"  He  first,"  said  the  maiden,  removed  the  pole  a  hundred 
yards  further  than  the  post  where  it  stood." 

Singular  !  "  said  the  Landamman,  "  that  is  double  the 
usual  distance." 

He  then  drew  the  bow,"  continued  the  maiden,    and  shot 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTIEN 


4S 


off,  one  after  another,  with  incredible  rapidity,  the  three  arrows 
which  he  had  stuck  into  his  belt.  The  first  cleft  the  pole,  the 
second  cut  the  string,  the  third  killed  the  poor  bird  as  it  rose 
into  the  air/' 

By  Saint  Mary  of  Einsiedlen,"  said  the  old  man,  looking 
up  in  amaze,  "  if  your  eyes  really  saw  this,  they  saw  such  arch- 
ery as  was  never  before  witnessed  in  the  Forest  States  !  " 

"  I  say  nay  to  that,  my  revered  kinsman, replied  Rudolph 
Donnerhugel,  whose  vexation  was  apparent  ;  "  it  was  mere 
chance,  if  not  illusion  or  witchery." 

What  say'st  thou  of  it  thyself,  Arthur  ? said  his  father, 
half  smiling  ;     was  thy  success  by  chance  or  skill  ?  " 

"  My  father,"  said  the  young  man,  I  need  not  tell  you  that 
I  have  done  but  an  ordinary  feat  for  an  English  bowman.  Nor 
do  I  s,peak  to  gratify  that  misproud  and  ignorant  young  man. 
But  to  our  worthy  host  and  his  family  I  make  answer.  This 
youth  charges  me  with  having  deluded  men's  eyes,  or  hit  the 
mark  by  chance.  For  illusion,  yonder  is  the  pierced  pole,  the 
severed  string,  and  the  slain  bird,  they  will  endure  sight  and 
handling;  and,  besides,  if  that  fair  maiden  will  open  the  note 
which  I  put  into  her  hand,  she  will  find  evidence  to  assure  you, 
that  even  before  I  drew  the  bow,  I  had  fixed  upon  the  three 
marks  which  I  designed  to  aim  at." 

"  Produce  the  scroll,  good  niece,"  said  her  uncle,  and  end 
the  controversy." 

Nay,  under  your  favor,  my  worthy  host,"  said  Arthur, 
**  it  is  but  some  foolish  rhymes  addressed  to  the  maiden's  own 
eye." 

"  And  under  your  favor,  sir,"  said  the  Landamman,  "  what- 
soever is  fit  for  my  niece's  eyes  may  greet  my  ears." 

He  took  the  scroll  from  the  maiden,  who  blushed  deeply 
when  she  resigned  it.  The  character  in  which  it  was  written 
was  so  fine,  that  the  Landamman  in  surprise  exclaimed,  "  No 
clerk  of  Saint  Gall  could  have  written  more  fairly. — Strange," 
he  again  repeated,  "  that  a  hand  which  could  draw  so  true  a 
bow,  should  have  the  cunning  to  form  characters  so  fair."  He 
then  exclaimed  anew,  "  Ha  !  verses,  by  Our  Lady  !  What, 
have  we  minstrels  disguised  as  traders  ? "  He  then  opened  the 
scroll,  and  read  the  following  lines  : — 

If  I  hit  mast,  and  line,  and  bird, 
An  English  archer  keeps  his  word. 
Ah  !  maiden,  didst  thou  aim  at  me, 
A  single  glance  were  worth  the  three. 

"Here  is  rare  rhyming,  my  worthy  guest,"  said  the  Landam- 


46 


ANNE  OF  GEJERSTEIN. 


man,  shaking  his  head  ;  fine  words  to  make  foolish  maidens 
fain.  But  do  not  excuse  it  ;  it  is  your  country  fashion,  and  we 
know  how  to  treat  it  as  such."  And  without  further  allusion 
to  the  concluding  couplet,  the  reading  of  which  threw  the  poet, 
as  well  as  the  object  of  the  verses,  into  some  discomposure,  he 
added  gravely,  ^'  You  must  now  allow,  Rudolph  Donnerhugel, 
that  the  stranger  has  fairly  attained  the  three  marks  which  he 
proposed  to  himself." 

That  he  has  attained  them  is  plain,"  answered  the  party  to 
whom  the  appeal  was  made  ;  but  that  he  has  done  this  fairly 
may  be  doubted,  if  there  are  such  things  as  witchery  and  magic 
in  this  world." 

"  Shame,  shame,  Rudolph  ! "  said  the  Landamman  ;  "  can 
spleen  and  envy  have  weight  with  so  brave  a  man  as  you,  from 
whom  my  sons  ought  to  learn  temperance,  forbearance,  and 
candor,  as  w^ell  as  manly  courage  and  dexterity  ? " 

The  Bernese  colored  high  under  this  rebuke,  to  which  he 
ventured  not  to  attempt  a  reply. 

To  your  sports  till  sunset,  my  children,"  continued  Ar- 
nold ;  while  I  and  my  worthy  friend  occupy  our  time  with  a 
walk,  for  which  the  evening  is  now  favorable." 

"  Mcthinks,"  said  the  English  merchant,  "  I  should  like  to 
visit  the  ruins  of  yonder  castle,  situated  by  the  waterfall.  There 
is  something  of  melancholy  dignity  in  such  a  scene  which  recon- 
ciles us  to  the  misfortunes  of  our  own  time,  by  showing  that  our 
ancestors,  who  were  perhaps  more  intelligent  or  more  powerful, 
have  nevertheless,  in  their  days,  encountered  cares  and  dis- 
tresses similar  to  those  which  we  now  groan  under." 

Have  with  you,  my  worthy  sir,"  replied  his  host  ;  there 
will  be  time  also  upon  the  road  to  talk  of  things  that  you  should 
know." 

The  slow  step  of  the  two  elderly  men  carried  them  by  degrees 
from  the  limits  of  the  lawn,  where  shout,  and  laugh,  and  halloo, 
were  again  revived.  Young  Philipson,  whose  success  as  an 
archer  had  obliterated  all  recollection  of  former  failure,  made 
other  attempts  to  mingle  in  the  manly  pastimes  of  the  country, 
and  gained  a  considerable  portion  of  applause.  The  young 
men  who  had  but  lately  been  so  ready  to  join  in  ridiculing  him, 
now  began  to  consider  him  as  a  person  to  be  looked  up  and  ai> 
pealed  to  ;  while  Rudolph  Donnerliugcl  saw  with  resentment  that 
he  was  no  longer  without  a  rival  in  the  opinion  of  his  male  cou- 
sins, perhaps  of  his  kinswoman  also.  The  proud  young  vSwiss  re- 
flected with  bitterness  that  he  had  fallen  under  the  Landnmman's 
displeasure,  declined  in  reputation  with  his  companions,  of  whom 
he  had  been  hitherto  the  leader,  and  even  hazarded  a  mor^ 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


47 


mortifying  disappointment,  all,  as  his  swelling  heart  expressed 
it,  through  the  means  of  a  stranger  stripling,  of  neither  blood 
nor  fame,  who  could  not  step  from  one  rock  to  another  without 
the  encouragement  of  a  girl. 

In  this  irritated  mood,  he  drew  near  the  young  Englishman, 
and  while  he  seemed  to  address  him  on  the  chances  of  the 
sports  which  were  still  proceeding,  he  conveyed,  in  a  w^hisper, 
matter  of  a  far  different  tendency.  Striking  Arthur's  shoulder 
with  the  frank  bluntness  of  a  mountaineer,  he  said  aloud : 
*^  Yonder  bolt  of  Ernest  whistled  through  the  air  like  a  falcon 
when  she  stoops  down  the  wind  ! ''  And  then  proceeded  in  a 
deep  low  voice,  You  merchants  sell  gloves — do  you  ever  deal 
in  single  gauntlets,  or  only  in  pairs?'' 

I  sell  no  single  glove,"  said  Arthur,  instantly  apprehend- 
ing him,  and  sufficiently  disposed  to  resent  the  scornful  looks 
of  the  Bernese  champion  during  the  time  of  their  meal,  and 
his  having  but  lately  imputed  his  successful  shooting  to  chance 
or  sorcery, — "  I  sell  no  single  glove,  sir,  but  never  refuse  to  ex- 
change one." 

"You  are  apt,  I  see,"  said  Rudolph;  "look  at  the  players 
while  I  speak,  or  our  purpose  will  be  suspected — You  are 
quicker,  I  say,  of  apprehension  than  I  expected.  If  we  ex- 
change our  gloves,  how  shall  each  redeem  his  own  ?  " 

"  With  our  good  swords,"  said  Arthur  Philipson. 

"  In  armor,  or  as  we  stand." 

"Even  as  we  stand,"  said  Arthur.  "I  have  no  better  gar- 
ment of  proof  than  this  doublet — no  other  weapon  than  my 
sword  ;  and  these.  Sir  Switzer,  I  hold  enough  for  the  purpose. 
— Name  time  and  place." 

"The  old  castle-court  at  Geierstein,"  replied  Rudolph; 
"the  time  sunrise; — but  we  are  watched. — I  have  lost  my 
wager,  stranger,"  he  added,  speaking  aloud,  and  in  an  indif- 
ferent tone  of  voice,  "  since  Ulrick  has  made  a  cast  beyond 
Ernest. — There  is  my  glove,  in  token  I  shall  not  forget  the 
flask  of  wine." 

"  And  there  is  mine,"  said  Arthur,  "in  token  I  will  drink  it 
with  you  merrily." 

Thus,  amid  the  peaceful  though  rough  sports  of  their  com- 
panions, did  these  two  hot-headed  youths  contrive  to  indulge 
their  hostile  inclinations  toward  each  other,  by  settling  a  meet 
ing  of  deadly  purpose. 


4S 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

 I  was  one 

Who  loved  the  greenwood  bank  and  lowing  herd. 
The  russet  prize,  the  lowly  peasant's  life, 
Seasoned  with  sweet  content,  more  than  the  halls 
Where  revelers  feast  to  fever-height.    Believe  me, 
There  ne'er  was  poison  mix'd  in  maple  bowl. 

Anonymous. 

Leaving  the  young  persons  engaged  with  their  sports,  the 
Landamman  of  Unterwalden  and  the  elder  Philipson  walked 
on  in  company,  conversing  chiefly  on  the  political  relations  of 
France,  England,  and  Burgundy,  until  the  conversation  was 
changed  as  they  entered  the  gate  of  the  old  castle-yard  of 
Geierstein,  where  arose  the  lonely  and  dismantled  keep,  sur- 
rounded by  the  ruins  of  other  buildings. 

"  This  has  been  a  proud  and  a  strong  habitation  in  its  time," 
said  Philipson. 

**They  were  a  proud  and  powerful  race  who  held  it,"  re- 
plied the  Landamman.  The  Counts  of  Geierstein  have  a 
history  which  runs  back  to  the  times  of  the  old  Helvetians,  and 
their  deeds  are  reported  to  have  matched  their  antiquity.  But 
all  earthly  grandeur  has  an  end,  and  free  men  tread  the  ruins 
of  their  feudal  castle,  at  the  most  distant  sight  of  whose  tur- 
rets serfs  were  formerly  obliged  to  vail  their  bonnets,  if  they 
would  escape  the  chastisement  of  contumacious  rebels." 

^'  I  observe,"  said  the  merchant,  engraved  on  a  stone  under 
yonder  turret,  the  crest,  I  conceive,  of  the  last  family,  a  vulture 
perched  on  a  rock,  descriptive,  doubtless,  of  the  word  Geier- 
stein." 

"  It  is  the  ancient  cognizance  of  the  family,"  replied  Arnold 
Biederman,  and,  as  you  say,  expresses  the  name  of  the  castle, 
being  the  same  with  that  of  the  knights  who  so  long  held  it." 

I  also  remarked  in  your  hall,"  continued  the  merchant, 
**  a  helmit  bearing  the  same  crest  or  cognizance.  It  is,  I  sup- 
pose, a  trophy  of  the  triumph  of  the  Swiss  peasants  over  the 
nobles  of  Geierstein,  as  the  English  bow  is  preserved  in  remem- 
brance of  the  battle  of  Buttisholz  ?  " 

And  you,  fair  sir,"  replied  the  Landamman,  "would,  I 
perceive,  from  the  prejudices  of  your  education,  regard  the  one 
victory  with  as  unpleasant  feelings  as  the  other  ? — Strange,  that 
\he  veneration  for  rank  should  be  rooted  even  in  the  minds  of 


ANNE  OP  CEIERSTEIN. 


49 


those  who  have  no  claim  to  share  it !  But  clear  up  your  down- 
cast  brows,  my  worthy  guest,  and  be  assured,  that  though  many 
a  proud  baron's  castle,  when  Switzerland  threw  off  the  bonds  ot 
feudal  slavery,  was  plundered  and  destroyed  by  the  just 
vengeance  of  an  incensed  people,  such  was  not  the  lot  ot 
Geierstein.  The  blood  of  the  old  possessors  of  these  towers  still 
flows  in  the  veins  of  him  by  whom  these  lands  are  occupied." 

"What  am  I  to  understand  by  that,  Sir  Landamman  ? said 
Philipson.    "  Are  not  you  yourself  the  occupant  of  this  place  ?  " 

"  And  you  think,  probably,"  answered  Arnold,  because  I 
live  like  the  other  shepherds,  wear  homespun  gray,  and  hold 
the  plough  with  my  own  hands,  I  cannot  be  descended  from  a 
line  of  ancient  nobility  ?  This  land  holds  many  such  gentle 
peasants.  Sir  Merchant ;  nor  is  there  a  more  ancient  nobility 
than  that  of  which  the  remains  are  to  be  found  in  my  native 
country.  But  they  have  voluntarily  resigned  the  oppressive 
part  of  their  feudal  power,  and  are  no  longer  regarded  as  wolves 
amongst  the  flock,  but  as  sagacious  mastiffs,  who  attend  the 
sheep  in  time  of  peace,  and  are  prompt  in  their  defence  when 
war  threatens  our  community." 

"  But,"  repeated  the  merchant,  who  could  not  yet  reconcile 
himself  to  the  idea  that  his  plain  and  peasant-seeming  host  was 
a  man  of  distinguished  birth,  you  bear  not  the  name,  worthy 
sir,  of  your  fathers — They  were,  you  say,  the  Counts  of  Geier- 
stein, and  you  are"  

"  Arnold  Biederman,  at  your  command,"  answered  the  magis- 
trate. "  But  know, — if  the  knowledge  can  make  you  sup  with 
more  sense  of  dignity  or  comfort, — I  need  but  put  on  yonder 
old  helmet,  or,  if  that  were  too  much  trouble,  I  have  only  to 
stick  a  falcon's  feather  into  my  cap,  and  call  myself  Arnold, 
Count  of  Geierstein.  No  man  could  gainsay  me — though 
whether  it  would  become  my  Lord  Count  to  drive  his  bullocks 
to  the  pasture,  and  whether  his  Excellency  the  High  and  Well- 
born, could,  without  derogation,  sow  a  field  or  reap  it,  are 
questions  which  should  be  settled  beforehand.  I  see  you  are 
confounded,  my  respected  guest,  at  my  degeneracy  ;  but  the 
State  of  my  family  is  very  soon  explained. 

My  lordly  fathers  ruled  this  same  domain  of  Geierstein, 
which  in  their  time  was  very  extensive,  much  after  the  mode 
of  feudal  barons — that  is,  they  were  sometimes  the  protectors 
and  patrons,  but  oftener  the  oppressors,  of  their  subjects.  But 
when  my  grandfather,  Heinrich  of  Geierstein,  flourished,  he  not 
only  joined  the  Confederates  to  repel  Ingleram  de  Couci,  and 
his  roving  bands,  as  I  already  told  you,  but,  when  the  wars 
"with  Austria  were  renewed,  and  many  of  his  degree  joined  witb 


AMI^E  OF  CElBRSTEm. 


the  host  of  the  Emperor  Leopold,  my  ancestor  adopted  the 
opposite  side,  fought  in  front  of  the  Confederates,  and  contrib- 
uted by  his  skill  and  valor  to  the  decisive  victory  at  Sempach, 
in  which  Leopold  lost  his  life,  and  the  flower  of  Austrian  chivalry 
fell  around  him.  My  father,  Count  Williewald,  followed  the 
same  course,  both  from  inclination  and  policy.  He  united  him- 
self closely  with  the  state  of  Unterwalden,  became  a  citizen  of 
the  Confederacy,  and  distinguished  himself  so  much,  that  he 
was  chosen  Landamman  of  the  Republic.  He  had  two  sons, — 
myself,  and  a  younger  brother,  Albert ;  and  possessed,  as  he 
felt  himself,  of  a  species  of  double  character,  he  was  desirous, 
perhaps  unwisely  (if  I  may  censure  the  purpose  of  a  deceased 
parent),  that  one  of  his  sons  should  succeed  him  in  his  Lord- 
ship of  Geierstein,  and  the  other  support  the  less  ostentatious, 
though  not  in  my  thought  the  less  honorable  condition,  of  a  free 
citizen  of  Unterwalden,  possessing  such  influence  among  his 
equals  in  the  Canton  as  might  be  acquired  by  his  father's  merits 
and  his  own.  When  Albert  was  twelve  years  old,  our  father 
took  us  on  a  short  excursion  to  Germany,  where  the  form,  pomp, 
and  magnificence  which  we  witnessed,  made  a  very  different 
impression  on  the  mind  of  my  brother  and  on  my  own.  What 
appeared  to  Albert  the  consummation  of  earthly  splendor, 
seemed  to  me  a  weary  display  of  tiresome  and  useless  cere- 
monials. Our  father  explained  his  purpose,  and  offered  to  me, 
as  his  eldest  son,  the  large  estate  belonging  to  Geierstein,  reserv- 
ing such  a  portion  of  the  most  fertile  ground  as  might  make 
my  brother  one  of  the  wealthiest  citizens,  in  a  district  where 
competence  is  esteemed  wealth.  The  tears  gushed  from  Albert's 
eyes — ^And  must  my  brother,'  he  said,  *  be  a  noble  Count,  hon- 
ored and  followed  by  vassals  and  attendants,  and  I  a  homespun 
peasant  among  the  gray-bearded  shepherds  of  Unterwalden  } 
— No,  father — I  respect  your  will — but  I  will  not  sacrifice  my 
own  rights.  Geierstein  is  a  fief  held  of  the  empire,  and  the 
laws  entitle  me  to  my  equal  half  of  the  lands.  If  my  brother 
be  Count  of  Geierstein,  I  am  not  the  less  Count  Albert  of  Geier- 
stein ;  and  I  will  appeal  to  the  Emperor,  rather  than  that  the 
arbitrary  will  of  one  ancestor,  though  he  be  my  father,  shall 
cancel  in  me  the  rank  and  rights  which  I  have  derived  from  a 
hundred.'  My  father  was  greatly  incensed.  *  Go,'  he  said, 
*  proud  boy,  give  the  enemy  of  thy  country  a  pretext  to  interfere 
in  her  affairs — appeal  to  the  will  of  a  foreign  prince  from  the 
pleasure  of  thy  fathen  Go,  but  never  again  look  me  in  the  face, 
and  dread  my  eternal  malediction  !  '  Albert  was  about  to  reply 
with  vehemence,  when  I  entreated  him  to  be  silent,  and  hear 
me  speak.    I  had,  I  said,  all  my  life  loved  the  mountain  better 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN,  jt 

than  the  plain  ;  had  been  more  pleased  to  walk  than  to  ride  ; 
more  proud  to  contend  with  shepherds  in  their  sports,  than  with 
nobles  in  the  lists  ;  and  happier  in  the  village  dance  than  among 
the  feasts  of  the  German  nobles.  *  Let  me,  therefore,'  I  said, 
•be  a  citizen  of  the  republic  of  Unterwalden  ;  you  will  relieve 
me  of  a  thousand  cares  ;  and  let  my  brother  Albert  wear  the 
coronet  and  bear  the  honors  of  Geierstein.'  After  some  further 
discussion,  my  father  was  at  length  contented  to  adopt  my  pro- 
posal, in  order  to  attain  the  object  which  he  had  so  much  at 
heart.  Albert  was  declared  heir  of  his  castle  and  his  rank,  by 
the  title  of  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein  ;  and  I  was  placed  in 
possession  of  these  fields  and  fertile  meadows  amidst  which 
my  house  is  situated,  and  my  neighbors  called  me  Arnold 
Biederman." 

"  And  if  Biederman,"  said  the  merchant,  means,  as  I  under- 
stand the  word,  a  man  of  worth,  candor,  and  generosity,  I  know 
none  on  whom  the  epithet  could  be  so  justly  conferred.  Yet 
let  me  observe,  that  I  praise  the  conduct,  which,  in  your  circum- 
stances, I  could  not  have  bowed  my  spirit  to  practice.  Proceed, 
I  pray  you,  with  the  history  of  your  house,  if  the  recital  be  not 
painful  to  you." 

"  I  have  little  more  to  say,''  replied  the  Landamman.  "  My 
father  died  soon  after  the  settlement  of  his  estate  in  the  manner 
I  have  told  you.  My  brother  had  other  possessions  in  Swabia 
and  Westphalia,  and  seldom  visited  his  paternal  castle,  which 
was  chiefly  occupied  by  a  seneschal,  a  man  so  obnoxious  to  the 
vassals  of  the  family,  that  but  for  the  protection  afforded  by  my 
near  residence,  and  relationship  with  his  lord,  he  would  have 
been  plucked  out  of  the  Vulture's  Nest,  and  treated  with  as  little 
ceremony  as  if  he  had  been  the  vulture  himself.  Neither,  to  say 
the  truth,  did  my  brother's  occasional  visits  to  Geierstein  afford 
his  vassals  much  relief,  or  acquire  any  popularity  for  himself. 
He  heard  with  the  ears  and  saw  with  the  eyes  of  his  cruel  and 
interested  steward,  Ital  Schreckenwald,  and  would  not  listen 
even  to  my  interference  and  admonition.  Indeed,  though  he 
always  demeaned  himself  with  personal  kindness  toward  me,  I 
believe  he  considered  me  as  a  dull  and  poor-spirited  clown,  who 
had  disgraced  my  noble  blood  by  my  mean  propensities.  He 
showed  contempt  on  every  occasion  for  the  prejudices  of  his 
countrymen,  and  particularly  by  wearing  a  peacock's  feather  in 
public,  and  causing  his  followers  to  display  the  same  badge, 
though  the  cognizance  of  the  house  of  Austria,  and  so  unpopular 
in  this  country,  that  men  have  been  put  to  death  for  no  better 
reason  than  for  carrying  it  in  their  caps.  In  the  meantime  I  was 
married  to  my  Bertha,  now  a  saint  in  Heaven,  by  whom  I  had 


5^ 


ANN^  OF  GEIERSTEm, 


six  stately  sons,  five  of  whom  you  saw  surrounding  my  table  this 
day.  Albert  also  married.  His  wife  was  a  lady  of  rank  in 
Westphalia,  but  his  bridal-bed  was  less  fruitful ;  he  had  only  one 
daughter,  Anne  of  Geierstein.  Then  came  on  the  wars  between 
the  city  of  Zurich  and  our  Forest  Cantons,  in  which  so  much 
blood  was  shed,  and  when  our  brethren  of  Zurich  were  so  ill 
advised  as  to  embrace  the  alliance  of  Austria.  Their  Emperor 
strained  every  nerve  to  avail  himself  of  the  favorable  oppor- 
tunity afforded  by  the  disunion  of  the  Swiss ;  and  engaged  all 
with  whom  he  had  influence  to  second  his  efforts.  With  my 
brother  he  was  but  too  successful ;  for  Albert  not  only  took  arms 
in  the  Emperor's  cause,  but  admitted  into  the  strong  fortress  of 
Geierstein  a  band  of  Austrian  soldiers,  with  whom  the  wicked 
Ital  Schreckenwald  laid  waste  the  whole  countr}^,  excepting  my 
little  patrimony." 

"  It  came  to  a  severe  pass  with  you,  my  worthy  host,"  said 
the  merchant,  "  since  you  were  to  decide  against  the  cause  of 
your  country  or  that  of  your  brother." 

I  did  not  hesitate,"  continued  Arnold  Biederman.  "  My 
brother  was  in  the  Emperor's  army,  and  I  was  not  therefore 
reduced  to  act  personally  against  him  ;  but  I  denounced  war 
against  the  robbers  and  thieves  with  whom  Schreckenwald  had 
filled  my  father's  house.  It  was  waged  with  various  fortune. 
The  seneschal,  during  my  absence,  burnt  down  my  house,  and 
slew  my  youngest  son,  who  died,  alas  !  in  defence  of  his  father's 
hearth.  It  is  little  to  add  that  my  lands  were  wasted  and  my 
flocks  destroyed.  On  the  other  hand,  I  succeeded,  with  help 
of  a  body  of  the  peasants  of  Unterwalden,  in  storming  the 
Castle  of  Geierstein.  It  was  offered  back  to  me  by  the  Confed- 
erates ;  but  I  had  no  desire  to  sully  the  fair  cause  in  which  I 
had  assumed  arms,  by  enriching  myself  at  the  expense  of  my 
brother  ;  and  besides,  to  have  dwelt  in  that  guarded  hold  would 
have  been  a  penance  to  one,  the  sole  protectors  of  whose  house 
of  late  years  had  been  a  latch  and  a  shepherd's  cur.  The  castle 
was  therefore  dismantled,  as  you  see,  by  order  of  the  elders  of 
the  Canton  ;  and  I  even  think,  that  considering  the  uses  it  was 
too  often  put  to,  I  look  with  more  pleasure  on  the  rugged  re- 
mains of  Geierstein,  than  I  ever  did  when  it  was  entire,  and 
apparently  impregnable." 

"I  can  understand  your  feelings,"  said  the  Ewglishman, 
"  though  I  repeat,  my  virtue  would  not  perhaps  have  extended 
so  far  beyond  the  circle  of  my  family  affections.  Your  brother, 
what  said  he  to  your  patriotic  exertions  \  " 

"  He  was,  as  I  learnt,"  answered  the  Landamman,  "  dread- 
fully incensed,  having  no  doubt  been  informed  that  1  had  taken 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


S3 


his  castle  with  a  view  to  my  own  aggrandizement.  He  even 
swore  he  would  renounce  my  kindred,  seek  me  through  the 
battle,  and  slay  me  with  his  own  hand.  We  were,  in  fact,  both 
at  the  battle  of  Freyenbach,  but  my  brother  was  prevented 
from  attempting  the  execution  of  his  vindictive  purpose  by  a 
wound  from  an  arrow,  which  occasioned  his  being  carried  out 
of  the  melee.  I  was  afterward  in  the  bloody  and  melancholy 
fight  at  Mount  Herzel,  and  that  other  onslaught  at  the  Chapel 
of  St.  Jacob,  which  brought  our  brethren  of  Zurich  to  terms, 
and  reduced  Austria  once  more  to  the  necessity  of  making 
peace  with  us.  After  this  war  of  thirteen  years,  the  Diet  passed 
sentence  of  banishment  for  life  on  my  brother  Albert,  and  would 
have  deprived  him  of  his  possessions,  but  forbore  in  considera- 
tion of  what  they  thought  my  good  service.  When  the  sentence 
was  intimated  to  the  Count  of  Geierstein,  he  returned  an  answer 
of  defiance ;  yet  a  singular  circumstance  showed  us  not  long 
afterward  that  he  retained  an  attachment  to  his  country,  and 
amidst  his  resentment  against  me,  his  brother,  did  justice  to  my 
unaltered  affection  for  him." 

I  would  pledge  my  credit,"  said  the  merchant,  "  that  what 
follows  relates  to  yonder  fair  maiden,  your  niece  ? " 

"  You  guess  rightly,"  said  the  Landamman.  For  some 
time  we  heard,  though  indistinctly  (for  we  have,  as  you  know, 
but  little  communication  with  foreign  countries),  that  my  brother 
was  high  in  favor  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor,  but  latterly 
that  he  had  fallen  under  suspicion,  and,  in  the  course  of  some 
of  those  revolutions  common  at  the  courts  of  princes,  had  been 
driven  into  exile.  It  was  shortly  after  this  news,  and,  as  I 
think,  more  than  seven  years  ago,  that  I  was  returning  from 
hunting  on  the  further  side  of  the  river,  had  passed  the  narrow 
bridge  ss  usual,  and  was  walking  through  the  courtyard  which 
we  have  lately  left  "  (for  their  walk  was  now  turned  homeward), 
**  when  a  voice  said  in  the  German  language,  *  Uncle,  have  com- 
passion upon  me  !  '  As  I  looked  around,  I  beheld  a  girl  of  ten 
years  old  approach  timidly  from  the  shelter  of  the  ruins,  and 
kneel  down  at  my  feet.  '  Uncle,  spare  my  life,'  she  said,  hold- 
ing up  her  little  hands  in  the  act  of  supplication,  while  mortal 
terror  was  painted  upon  her  countenance. — '  Am  I  your  uncle, 
little  maiden  t '  said  I ;  '  and  if  I  am,  why  should  you  fear  me  1 ' 
' — *  Because  you  are  the  head  of  the  wicked  and  base  clowns  who 
delight  to  spill  noble  blood,'  replied  the  girl,  with  a  courage 
which  surprised  me. — 'What  is  your  name,  my  little  maiden  f 
said  I  ;  *  and  who,  having  planted  in  your  mind  opinions  so 
unfavorable  to  your  kinsman,  has  brought  you  hither,  to  see 
if  he  resembles  the  picture  you  have  received  of  him  ? ' — '  It  was 


S4 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Ital  Schreckenwald  that  brought  me  hither,'  said  the  girl,  only 
half  comprehending  the  nature  of  my  question. — *  Ital  Schrecken- 
wald ? '  I  repeated,  shocked  at  the  name  of  a  wretch  I  have  so 
much  reason  to  hate.  A  voice  from  the  ruins,  like  that  of  a 
sullen  echo  fron  the  grave,  answered,  '  Ital  Schreckenwald  ! ' 
and  the  caitiff  issued  from  his  place  of  concealment,  and  stood 
before  me  with  that  singular  indifference  to  danger  which  he 
unites  so  his  atrocity  of  character.  I  had  my  spiked  mountain- 
staff  in  my  hand — What  should  I  have  done — or  what  would 
you  have  done,  under  like  circumstances  ?  " 

I  would  have  laid  him  on  the  earth,  with  his  skull  shivered 
like  an  icicle  !    said  the  Englishman,  fiercely. 

"  I  had  well-nigh  done  so,"  replied  the  Swiss,  but  he  was 
unarmed,  a  messenger  from  my  brother,  and  therefore  no  object 
of  revenge.  His  own  undismayed  and  audacious  conduct  con- 
tributed to  save  him.  *  Let  the  vassal  of  the  noble  and  high- 
born Count  of  Geierstein  hear  the  words  of  his  master,  and  let 
him  look  that  they  are  obeyed,'  said  the  insolent  ruffian.  *  Doff 
thy  cap,  and  listen  ;  for  though  the  voice  is  mine,  the  words  are 
those  of  the  noble  Count.' — ^  God  and  man  know,'  replied  I,  *  if 
I  owe  my  brother  respect  or  homage — it  is  much  if,  in  respect 
for  him,  I  defer  paying  to  his  messenger  the  mead  I  dearly  owe 
him.  Proceed  with  thy  tale,  and  rid  me  of  thy  hateful  presence.' 
' — *  Albert,  Count  of  Geierstein,  thy  lord  and  my  lord,'  proceeded 
Schreckenwald,  *  having  on  his  hand  wars,  and  other  affairs  of 
weight  sends  his  daughter  the  Countess  Anne,  to  thy  charge, 
and  graces  thee  so  far  as  to  intrust  to  thee  her  support  and 
nurture,  until  it  shall  suit  his  purposes  to  require  her  back  from 
thee  ;  and  he  desires  that  thou  apply  to  her  maintenance  the 
rents  and  profits  of  the  lands  of  Geierstein,  which  thou  hast 
usurped  from  him.' — *  Ital  Schreckenwald,'  I  replied,  *  I  will 
not  stop  to  ask  if  this  mode  of  addressing  me  be  according  to 
my  brother's  directions,  or  thine  own  insolent  pleasure.  If  cir- 
cumstances have,  as  thou  sayest,  deprived  my  niece  of  her 
natural  protector,  I  will  be  to  her  as  a  father,  nor  shall  she 
want  aught  which  I  have  to  give  her.  The  lands  of  Geierstein 
are  forfeited  to  the  state,  the  castle  is  ruinous,  as  thou  seest, 
and  it  is  much  of  thy  crimes  that  the  house  of  my  fathers  is 
desolate.  But  where  I  dwell  Anne  of  Geierstein  shall  dwell,  as 
my  children  fare  shall  she  fare,  and  she  shall  be  to  me  as  a 
daughter.  And  now  thou  hast  thine  errand — (jO  hence,  if  thou 
lovest  thy  life  ;  for  it  is  unsafe  parleying  with  the  father,  when 
thy  hands  are  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  son.'  The  wretch 
retired  as  I  spoke,  but  took  his  leave  with  his  usual  determined 
insolence  of  manner. — '  Farewell,'  he  said, '  Count  of  the  Plough 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


SS 


and  Harrow — farewell,  noble  champion  of  paltry  burghers  !' 
He  disappeared,  and  released  me  from  the  strong  temptation 
under  which  I  labored,  and  which  urged  me  to  stain  with  his 
blood  the  place  which  had  witnessed  his  cruelty  and  his  crimes, 
I  conveyed  my  niece  to  my  house,  and  soon  convinced  her  that 
I  was  her  sincere  friend.  I  inured  her,  as  if  she  had  been  my 
daughter,  to  all  our  mountain  exercises ;  and  while  she  excels 
in  these  the  damsels  of  the  district,  there  burst  from  her  such* 
sparkles  of  sense  and  courage,  mingled  with  delicacy,  as  belong 
not — I  must  needs  own  the  truth — to  the  simple  maidens  of 
these  wild  hills,  but  relish  of  a  nobler  stem  and  higher  breeding. 
Yet  they  are  so  happily  mixed  with  simplicity  and  courtesy, 
that  Anne  of  Geierstein  is  justly  considered  as  the  pride  of  the 
district ;  nor  do  I  doubt  but  that,  if  she  should  make  a  worthy 
choice  of  a  husband,  the  state  would  assign  her  a  large  dower 
out  of  her  father's  possessions,  since  it  is  not  our  maxim  to 
punish  the  child  for  the  faults  of  the  parent." 

"  It  will  naturally  be  your  anxious  desire,  my  worthy  host,'* 
replied  the  Englishman,  "to  secure  to  your  niece,  in  whose 
praises  I  have  deep  cause  to  join  with  a  grateful  voice,  such  a 
suitable  match  as  her  birth  and  expectations,  but  above  all  her 
merit,  demand." 

"  It  is,  my  good  guest,"  said  the  Landamman,  "  that  which 
hath  often  occupied  my  thoughts.  The  over-near  relationship 
prohibits  what  would  have  been  my  most  earnest  desire,  the 
hope  of  seeing  her  wedded  to  one  of  my  own  sons.  This  young 
man  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  is  brave,  and  highly  esteemed  by 
his  fellow-citizens  ;  but  more  ambitious,  and  more  desirous  of 
distinction,  than  I  would  desire  for  my  niece's  companion 
through  life.  His  temper  is  violent,  though  his  heart,  I  trust, 
is  good.  But  I  am  like  to  be  unpleasantly  released  from  all 
care  on  this  score,  since  my  brother,  having,  as  it  seemed,  for- 
gotten Anne  for  seven  years  and  upward,  has,  by  a  letter,  which 
I  have  lately  received,  demanded  that  she  shall  be  restored  to 
him. — You  can  read,  my  worthy  sir,  for  your  profession  requires 
it.  See,  here  is  the  scroll,  coldly  worded,  but  far  less  unkindly 
than  his  unbrotherly  message  by  Ital  Schreckenwald — Read  it, 
I  pray  you,  aloud." 

The  merchant  read  accordingly. 

"  Brother — I  thank  you  for  the  care  you  have  taken  of  my 
daughter,  for  she  has  been  in  safety  when  she  would  otherwise 
have  been  in  peril,  and  kindly  used  when  she  would  have  been 
in  hardship.  I  now  entreat  you  to  restore  her  to  me,  and  trust 
that  she  will  come  with  the  virtues  which  become  a  woman  in 


56 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


every  station,  and  a  disposition  to  lay  aside  the  habits  of  a 
Swiss  villager,  for  the  graces  of  a  high-born  maiden. — Adieu. 
1  thank  you  once  more  for  your  care,  and  would  repay  it  were 
it  in  my  power ;  but  you  need  nothing  I  can  give,  having 
renounced  the  rank  to  which  you  were  born,  and  made  your 
nest  on  the  ground  where  the  storm  passes  over  you.  I  rest 
your  brother, 

Geierstein." 

"It  is  addressed  '  to  Count  Arnold  of  Geierstein,  called  Arnold 
Biederman.'  A  postscript  requires  you  to  send  the  maiden  to 
the  court  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. — This,  good  sir,  appears  to 
me  the  language  of  a  haughty  man,  divided  betwixt  the  recol- 
lection of  old  offence  and  recent  obligation.  The  speech  of 
his  messenger  was  that  of  a  malicious  vassal,  desirous  of  vent- 
ing his  own  spite  under  pretence  of  doing  his  lord's  errand.'* 

1  so  receive  both,''  replied  Arnold  Biederman. 

And  do  you  intend,"  continued  the  merchant,  "  to  resign 
this  beautiful  and  interesting  creature  to  the  conduct  of  her 
father,  wilful  as  he  seems  to  be,  without  knowing  what  his  con- 
dition is,  or  what  his  power  of  protecting  her  .J*  " 

The  Landamman  hastened  to  reply.  The  tie  which  unites 
the  parent  to  the  child,  is  the  earliest  and  the  most  hallowed 
that  binds  the  human  race.  The  difficulty  of  her  traveling  in 
safety  has  hitherto  prevented  my  attempting  to  carry  my  brother's 
instructions  inio  execution.  But  as  I  am  now  likely  to  journey 
in  person  toward  the  court  of  Charles,  I  have  determined  that 
Anne  shall  accompany  me  ;  and  as  I  will  myself  converse  with 
my  brother,  whom  I  have  not  seen  for  many  years,  I  shall  learn 
his  purpose  respecting  his  daughter,  and  it  may  be  I  may  pre- 
vail on  Albert  to  suffer  her  to  remain  under  my  charge. — And 
now,  sir,  having  told  you  of  my  family  affairs  at  some  greater 
length  than  was  necessary,  I  must  crave  your  attention  as  a 
wise  man,  to  what  further  I  have  to  say.  You  know  the  disposi- 
tion which  young  men  and  women  naturally  have  to  talk,  jest, 
and  sport  with  each  other,  out  of  which  practice  arise  often  more 
serious  attachments,  which  they  call  loving /^/r^^w^/^ri-.  I  trust, 
if  we  are  to  travel  together,  you  will  so  school  your  young  man 
as  to  make  him  aware  that  Anne  of  Geierstein  cannot  with 
propriety  on  her  part,  be  made  the  object  of  his  thoughts  or  at- 
tentions." 

The  merchant  colored  with  resentment,  or  something  like  it. 
I  asked  not  to  join  your  company,  Sir  Landamman — it  was 
you  who  requested  mine,"  he  said  ;     if  my  son  and  I  have  since 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTRIN. 


57 


become  in  any  respect  the  objects  of  your  suspicion,  we  will 
gladly  pursue  our  way  separately." 

"  Nay,  be  not  angry,  worthy  guest,'*  said  the  Landamman  ; 
"  we  Switzers  do  not  rashly  harbor  suspicions  ;  and,  that  we 
may  not  harbor  them,  we  speak  respecting  the  circumstances 
out  of  which  they  might  arise,  more  plainly  than  is  the  wont  of 
more  civilized  countries.  When  I  proposed  to  you  to  be  my 
companion  on  the  journey,  to  speak  the  truth,  though  it  may 
displease  a  father's  ear,  I  regarded  your  son  as  a  soft,  faint- 
hearted youth,  who  was,  as  yet  at  least,  too  timid  and  milky- 
blooded  to  attract  either  respect  or  regard  from  the  maidens. 
But  a  few  hours  have  presented  him  to  us  in  the  character  of 
such  a  one  as  is  sure  to  interest  them.  He  has  accomplished 
the  emprise  of  the  bow,  long  thought  unattainable,  and  with 
which  a  popular  report  connects  an  idle  prophecy.  He  has  wit 
to  make  verses,  and  knows  doubtless  how  to  recommend  him- 
self by  other  accomplishments  which  bind  3^oung  persons  to 
each  other,  though  they  are  lightly  esteemed  by  men  whose 
beards  are  mixed  with  gray,  like  yours,  friend  merchant,  and 
mine  own.  Now  you  must  be  aware,  that  since  my  brother 
broke  terms  with  me,  simply  for  preferring  the  freedom  of  a 
Swiss  citizen  to  the  tawdry  and  servile  condition  of  a  German 
courtier,  he  will  not  approve  of  any  one  looking  toward  his 
daughter  who  hath  not  the  advantage  of  noble  blood,  or  who 
hath,  what  he  would  call,  debased  himself  by  attention  to 
merchandise,  to  the  cultivation  of  land — in  a  word,  to  any  art 
that  is  useful.  Should  your  son  love  Anne  of  Geierstein,  he 
prepares  for  himself  danger  and  disappointment.  And,  now 
you  know  the  whole, — I  ask  you.  Do  we  travel  together  or 
apart }  " 

Even  as  you  list,  my  worthy  host,"  said  Philipson,  in  an 
indifferent  tone  ;  for  me,  I  can  but  say  that  such  an  attach- 
ment as  you  speak  of  would  be  as  contrary  to  my  wishes  as  to 
those  of  your  brother,  or  what  L suppose  are  your  own.  Arthur 
Philipson  has  duties  to  perform  totally  inconsistent  with  his 
playing  the  gentle  bachelor  to  any  maiden  in  Switzerland,  take 
Germany  to  boot,  whether  of  high  or  low  degree.  He  is  an 
obedient  son,  besides — hath  never  seriously  disobeyed  my  com- 
mands, and  I  will  have  an  eye  upon  his  motions." 

Enough,  my  friend,"  said  the  Landamman  ;  we  travel  to- 
gether, then,  and  I  willingly  keep  my  original  purpose,  being 
both  pleased  and  instructed  by  your  discourse." 

Then,  changing  the  conversation,  he  began  to  ask  whether 
his  aquaintance  thought  that  the  league  entered  into  by  the 
King  of  England  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  would  continue 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Stable.  **We  hear  much,"  continued  the  Swiss,  of  the  im- 
mense army  with  which  King  Edward  proposes  the  recovery  of 
the  English  dominions  in  France.'' 

"  I  am  well  aware,"  said  Philipson,  that  nothing  can  be  so 
popular  in  my  country  as  the  invasion  of  France,  and  the  at- 
tempt to  reconquer  Normandy,  Maine,  and  Gascony,  the 
ancient  appanages  of  our  English  crown.  But  I  greatly  doubt 
whether  the  voluptuous  usurper,  who  now  calls  himself  king, 
will  be  graced  by  Heaven  with  success  in  such  an  adventure. 
This  Fourth  Edward  is  brave  indeed,  and  has  gained  ever;y 
battle  in  which  he  drew  his  sword,  and  they  have  been  man}* 
in  number.  But  since  he  reached,  through  a  bloody  path,  to 
the  summit  of  his  ambition,  he  has  shown  himself  rather  a 
sensual  debauchee  than  a  valiant  knight ;  and  it  is  my  firm 
belief,  that  not  even  the  chance  of  recovering  all  the  fair  domin- 
ions which  were  lost  during  the  civil  wars  excited  by  his 
ambitious  house,  v/ill  tempt  him  to  exchange  the  soft  beds  of 
London,  with  sheets  of  silk  and  pillow^s  of  down,  and  the  music 
of  a  dying  lute  to  lull  him  to  rest,  for  the  turf  of  France  and  the 
reveille  of  an  alarm  trumpet." 

"  It  is  the  better  for  us  should  it  prove  so,"  said  the  Lan- 
damman ;  "  for  if  England  and  Burgundy  were  to  dismember 
France,  as  in  our  fathers'  days  was  nearly  accomplished,  Duke 
Charles  would  then  have  leisure  to  exhaust  his  long-hoarded 
vengeance  against  our  Confederacy." 

As  they  conversed  thus,  they  attained  once  more  the  lawn 
in  front  of  Arnold  Biederman's  mansion,  where  the  contention 
of  the  young  men  had  given  place  to  the  dance  performed  by 
the  young  persons  of  both  sexes.  The  dance  was  led  by  Anne 
of  Geierstein  and  the  youthful  stranger ;  which,  although  it 
was  the  most  natural  arrangement,  where  the  one  was  a  guest, 
and  the  other  represented  the  mistress  of  the  family,  oc- 
casioned the  Landamman's  exchanging  a  glance  with  the  elder 
Philipson,  as  if  it  had  held  some  relation  to  the  suspicions  he 
had  recently  expressed. 

But  so  soon  as  her  uncle  and  his  elder  guest  appeared, 
Anne  of  Geierstein  took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  a  pause  to 
break  off  the  dance,  and  to  enter  into  conversation  with  her 
kinsman,  as  if  on  the  domestic  affairs  under  her  attendance. 
Philipson  observed,  that  his  host  listened  seriously  to  his 
niece's  communication  ;  and,  nodding  in  his  frank  manner, 
seemed  to  intimate  that  her  request  should  receive  a  favorable 
consideration. 

The  family  were  presently  afterward  summoned  to  attend 
the  evening  meal,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  the  excellent  fish 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


59 


afforded  by  the  neighboring  streams  and  lakes.  A  large  cup, 
containing  what  was  called  the  schlaf-tru7ik^  or  sleeping-drink, 
then  went  round,  which  was  first  quaffed  by  the  master  of  the 
household,  then  modestly  tasted  by  the  maiden,  next  pledged 
by  the  two  strangers,  and  finally  emptied  by  the  rest  of  the 
company.  Such  were  then  the  sober  manners  of  the  Swiss, 
afterward  much  corrupted  by  their  intercourse  with  more  lux- 
urious regions.  The  guests  were  conducted  to  the  sleeping 
apartments,  where  Philipson  and  young  Arthur  occupied  the 
same  couch,  and  shortly  after  the  whole  inhabitants  of  the 
household  were  locked  in  sound  repose. 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

When  we  two  meet,  we  meet  like  rushing  torrents  ; 
Like  warring  winds,  like  flames  from  various  points, 
That  mate  each  other's  fury — there  is  nought 
Of  elemental  strife,  were  fiends  to  guide  it, 
Can  match  the  wrath  of  man. 

Frenaud. 

The  elder  of  our  two  travelers,  though  a  strong  man  and 
familiar  with  fatigue,  slept  sounder  and  longer  than  usual  on 
the  morning  which  was  now  beginning  to  dawn,  but  his  son 
Arthur  had  that  upon  his  mind  which  early  interrupted  his 
repose. 

The  encounter  with  the  bold  Switzer,  a  chosen  man  of  a 
renowned  race  of  warriors,  was  an  engagement,  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  was  not  to  be  delayed 
or  broken.  He  left  his  father's  side,  avoiding  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  risk  of  disturbing  him,  though  even  in  that  case  the 
circumstance  would  not  have  excited  any  attention,  as  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  rising  early,  in  order  to  make  preparations  for 
the  day's  journey,  to  see  that  the  guide  was  on  his  duty,  and 
that  the  mule  had  his  provender,  and  to  discharge  similar 
offices  which  might  otherwise  have  given  trouble  to  his  father. 
The  old  man,  however,  fatigued  with  the  exertions  of  the  pre- 
ceding day,  slept,  as  we  have  said,  more  soundly  than  his  wont, 
and  Arthur,  arming  himself  with  his  good  sword,  sallied  out 
to  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  Landamman's  dwelling,  amid  the 
magic  dawn  of  a  beautiful  harvest  morning  in  the  Swiss  moun- 
tains. 

The  sun  was  just  about  to  kiss  the  top  of  the  most  gigantic 


6o 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


of  that  race  of  Titans,  though  the  long  shadows  still  lay  on  the 
rough  grass,  which  crisped  under  the  young  man's  feet,  with  a 
strong  intimation  of  frost.  But  Arthur  looked  not  round  on 
the  .landscape,  however  lovely,  which  lay  waiting  one  flash 
from  the  orb  of  day  to  start  into  brilliant  existence.  He  drew 
the  belt  of  his  trusty  sword  which  he  was  in  the  acr  of  fasten- 
ing when  he  left  the  house,  and  ere  he  had  secured  the  buckle, 
he  was  many  paces  on  his  way  toward  the  place  where  he  was 
to  use  it. 

It  was  still  the  custom  of  that  military  period,  to  regard  a 
summons  to  combat  as  a  sacred  engagement,  preferable  to  all 
others  which  could  be  formed  ;  and  stifling  whatever  inward 
feelings  of  reluctance  Nature  might  oppose  to  the  dictates  of 
fashion,  the  step  of  a  gallant  to  the  place  of  encounter  was 
required  to  be  as  free  and  ready  as  if  he  had  been  going  to  a 
bridal.  I  do  not  know  whether  this  alacrity  was  altogether 
real  on  the  part  of  Arthur  Philipson  ;  but,  if  it  were  otherwise, 
neither  his  look  nor  pace  betrayed  the  secret. 

Having  hastily  traversed  the  fields  and  groves  which  sepa- 
rated the  Landamman's  residence  from  the  old  castle  of 
Geierstein,  he  entered  the  courtyard  from  the  side  where  the 
castle  overlooked  the  land ;  and  nearly  in  the  same  instant  his 
almost  gigantic  antagonist,  who  looked  yet  more  tall  and  burly 
by  the  pale  morning  light  than  he  had  seemed  the  preceding 
evening,  appeared  ascending  from  the  precarious  bridge  beside 
the  torrent,  having  reached  Geierstein  by  a  different  route  from 
that  pursued  by  the  Englishman. 

The  young  champion  of  Berne  had  hanging  along  his  back 
one  of  those  huge  two-handed  swords,  the  blade  of  which  meas- 
ured five  feet,  and  which  were  wielded  with  both  hands.  These 
were  almost  universally  used  by  the  Swiss  ;  for,  besides  the  im- 
pression which  such  weapons  were  calculated  to  make  upon  the 
array  of  the  German  men-at-arms,  whose  armor  was  impene- 
trable to  lighter  swords,  they  were  also  well  calculated  to  defend 
mountain  passes,  where  the  great  bodily  strength  and  agility  of 
those  who  bore  them  enabled  the  combatants,  in  spite  of  their 
weight  and  length,  to  use  them  with  much  address  and  efi^ect. 
One  of  these  gigantic  swords  hung  round  Rudolph  Donnerhugel's 
neck,  the  point  rattling  against  his  heel,  and  the  handle  extend- 
ing itself  over  his  left  shoulder,  considerably  above  his  head. 
He  carried  another  in  his  hand. 

"  Thou  art  punctual,"  he  called  out  to  Arthur  Philipson  in 
a  voice  which  was  distinctly  heard  above  the  roar  of  the  water- 
fall, which  it  seemed  to  rival  in  sullen  force.  "  But  I  judged 
thou  wouldst  come  without  a  two-handed  sword.    There  is  my 


ANNE  OF  GEIRRSTETN, 


61 


kinsman  Ernest's,"  he  said,  throwing  on  the  ground  the  weapon 
which  he  carried,  with  the  hilt  toward  the  young  Englishman, 
"  Look,  stranger,  that  thou  disgrace  it  not,  for  my  kinsman  will 
never  forgive  me  if  thou  dost.  Or  thou  mayst  have  mine  if 
thou  likest  it  better." 

The  Englishman  looked  at  the  weapon  with  some  surprise, 
to  the  use  of  which  he  was  totally  unaccustomed. 

"  The  challenger,"  he  said,  "  in  all  countries  where  honoris 
known,  accepts  the  arms  of  the  challenged." 

He  who  fights  on  a  Swiss  mountain,  fights  with  a  Swiss 
brand,"  answered  Rudolph.  Think  you  our  hands  are  made 
to  handle  penknives  ?  " 

"  Nor  are  ours  made  to  wield  scythes,"  said  Arthur  ;  and 
muttered  betwixt  his  teeth,  as  he  looked  at  the  sword,  which 
the  Swiss  continued  to  offer  him — "  Usu7n  non  habeo^  I  have  not 
proved  the  weapon." 

*^  Do  you  repent  the  bargain  you  have  made  ?  "  said  the 
Swiss  ;  "  if  so,  cry  craven,  and  return  in  safety.  Speak  plainly, 
instead  of  prattling  Latin  like  a  clerk  or  a  shaven  monk." 

"  No,  proud  man,"  replied  the  Englishman,  I  ask  thee  no 
forbearance.  I  thought  but  of  a  combat  between  a  shepherd 
and  a  giant,  in  which  God  gave  the  victory  to  him  who  had 
worse  odds  of  weapons  than  falls  to  my  lot  to-day.  I  will  fight 
as  I  stand  ;  my  own  good  sword  shall  serve  my  need  now,  as  it 
has  done  before." 

Content ! — But  blame  not  me  who  offered  the  equality  of 
weapons,"  said  the  mountaineer.  And  now  hear  me.  This 
is  a  fight  for  life  or  death — yon  waterfall  sounds  the  alarum  for 
our  conflict. — Yes,  old  bellower,"  he  continued,  looking  back, 
"  it  is  long  since  thou  hast  heard  the  noise  of  battle  ; — and  look 
at  it  ere  we  begin,  stranger,  for  if  you  fall,  I  will  commit  your 
body  to  its  waters." 

And  if  thou  fall'st,  proud  Swiss,*'  answered  Arthur,  "  as 
well  I  trust  thy  presumption  leads  to  destruction,  I  will  have 
thee  buried  in  the  church  at  Einsiedlen,  where  the  priests  shall 
sing  masses  for  thy  soul — thy  two-handed  sword  shall  be  dis- 
played above  thy  grave,  and  a  scroll  shall  tell  the  passenger, 
Here  lies  a  bear's  cub  of  Berne,  slain  by  Arthur  the  English- 
man." 

*'  The  stone  is  not  in  Switzerland,  rocky  as  it  is,"  said  Ru- 
dolph, scornfully,  "  that  shall  bear  that  inscription.  Prepare 
thyself  for  battle." 

The  Englishman  cast  a  calm  and  deliberate  glance  around 
the  scene  of  action — a  courtyard,  partly  open,  partly  encum- 
bered with  ruins,  in  less  and  larger  masses. 


62 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  Methinks,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  a  master  of  his  weapon, 
with  the  instruction  of  Bottaferma  of  Florence  in  his  remem- 
brance, a  light  heart,  a  good  blade,  a  firm  hand,  and  a  jusl 
cause,  might  make  up  a  worse  odds  than  two  feet  of  steel." 

Thinking  thus,  and  imprinting  on  his  mind,  as  much  as  the 
time  would  permit,  every  circumstance  of  the  locality  around 
him  which  promised  advantage  in  the  combat,  and  taking  his 
station  in  the  middle  of  the  courtyard  where  the  ground  was 
entirely  clear,  he  flung  his  cloak  from  him,  and  drew  his 
sword. 

Rudolph  had  first  believed  that  his  foreign  antagonist  was 
an  effeminate  youth,  who  would  be  swept  from  before  him  at  the 
first  flourish  of  a  tremendous  weapon.  But  the  firm  and  watch- 
ful attitude  assumed  by  the  young  man,  reminded  the  Swiss  of 
the  deficiences  of  his  own  unwieldy  implement,  and  made  him 
determined  to  avoid  any  precipitation  which  might  give  advan- 
tage to  an  enemy  who  seemed  both  daring  and  vigilant.  He 
unsheathed  his  huge  sword,  by  drawing  it  over  the  left  shoulder, 
an  operation  which  required  some  little  time,  and  might  have 
offered  formidable  advantage  to  his  antagonist  had  Arthur's 
sense  of  honor  permitted  him  to  begin  the  attack  ere  it  was 
completed.  The  EngHshman  remained  firm,  however,  until  the 
Swiss,  displaying  his  bright  brand  to  the  morning  sun,  made 
three  or  four  flourishes  as  if  to  prove  its  weight,  and  the  facility 
with  which  he  wielded  it — then  stood  firm  within  sword-stroke 
of  his  adversary,  grasping  his  weapon  with  both  hands,  and 
advancing  it  a  little  before  his  body,  with  the  blade  pointed 
straight  upward.  The  Englishman,  on  the  contrary,  carried 
his  sword  in  one  hand,  holding  it  across  his  face  in  a  horizontal 
position,  so  as  to  be  at  once  ready  to  strike,  thrust  or  parry. 

"  Strike,  Englishman  !  "  said  the  Switzer,  after  they  had  con- 
fronted each  other  in  this  manner  for  about  a  minute. 

The  longest  sword  should  strike  first,''  said  Arthur ;  and 
the  words  had  not  left  his  mouth  when  the  Swiss  sword  rose, 
and  descended  with  a  rapidity  which,  the  weight  and  size  of  the 
weapon  considered,  appeared  portentous.  No  parry,  however 
dexterously  interposed,  could  have  baffled  the  ruinous  descent 
of  that  dreadful  weapon,  by  which  the  champion  of  Berne  had 
hoped  at  once  to  begin  the  battle  and  end  it.  But  young 
Philipson  had  not  over-estimated  the  justice  of  his  own  eye,  or 
the  activity  of  his  limbs.  Ere  the  blade  descended,  a  sudden 
spring  to  one  side  carried  him  from  beneath  its  heavy  sway, 
and  before  the  Swiss  could  again  raise  his  sword  aloft,  he 
received  a  wound,  though  a  slight  one,  upon  the  left  arm. 
Irritated  at  the  failure  and  at  the  wound,  the  Switzer  heaved 


itmme.  OIF  ttmiois 


ANNE  01''  GEIERSl^EIN. 


63 


up  his  sword  once  more,  and  availing  himself  of  a  strength  cor- 
responding to  his  size,  he  discharged  toward  his  adversary  a 
succession  of  blows,  downright,  athwart,  horizontal,  and  from 
left  to  right,  with  such  surprising  strength  and  velocity,  that  it 
required  all  the  address  of  the  young  Englishman,  by  parrying, 
shifting,  eluding,  or  retreating,  to  evade  a  storm,  of  which  every 
individual  blow  seemed  sufficient  to  cleave  a  solid  rock.  The 
Englishman  was  compelled  to  give  ground,  now  backward, 
now  swerving  to  the  one  side  or  the  other,  now  availing  himself 
of  the  fragments  of  the  ruins,  but  watching  all  the  while,  with 
the  utmost  composure,  the  moment  when  the  strength  of  his 
enraged  enemy  might  become  somewhat  exhausted,  or  when  by 
some  improvident  or  furious  blow  he  might  again  lay  himself 
open  to  a  close  attack.  The  latter  of  these  advantages  had 
nearly  occurred,  for  in  the  middle  of  his  headlong  charge,  the 
Switzer  stumbled  over  a  large  stone  concealed  among  the  long 
grass,  and  ere  he  could  recover  himself,  received  a  severe  blow 
across  the  head  from  his  antagonist.  It  lighted  upon  his  bon- 
net, the  lining  of  which  enclosed  a  small  steel  cap,  so  that  he 
escaped  unwounded,  and  springing  up,  renewed  the  battle  with 
unabated  fury,  though  it  seemed  to  the  young  Englishman  ^with 
breath  somewhat  short,  and  blows  dealt  with  more  caution. 

They  were  still  contending  with  equal  fortune,  when  a  stern 
voice,  rising  over  the  clash  of  swords,  as  well  as  the  roar  of 
waters,  called  out  in  a  commanding  tone,  On  vour  lives,  for- 
bear ! 

The  tvvo  combatants  sunk  the  points  of  their  swords,  not 
very  sorry  perhaps  for  the  interruption  of  a  strife  which  must 
otherwise  have  had  a  deadly  termination.  They  looked  round, 
and  the  Landamman  stood  before  them,  with  anger  frowning 
on  his  broad  and  expressive  forehead. 

"  How  now,  boys  } "  he  said ;  "  are  you  guests  of  Arnold 
Biederman,  and  do  you  dishonor  his  house  by  acts  of  violence 
more  becoming  the  wolves  of  the  mountains,  than  beings  to 
whom  the  great  Creator  has  given  a  form  after  his  own  like- 
ness, and  an  immortal  soul  to  be  saved  by  penance  and  repent- 
ance ?  " 

"  Arthur,"  said  the  elder  Philipson,  who  had  come  up  at  the 
same  time  with  their  host,  what  frenzy  is  this  ?  Are  your 
duties  of  so  light  and  heedless  a  nature,  as  to  give  time  and 
place  for  quarrels  and  combats  with  every  idle  boor  who  chances 
to  be  boastful  at  once  and  bull-headed  ? 

The  young  men,  whose  strife  had  ceased  at  the  entrance  of 
these  unexpected  spectators,  stood  looking  at  each  other,  and 
resting  on  their  swords. 


64 


AMNB  OP  OEIERSTEm. 


"  Rudolph  Donnerhugel/^  said  the  Landamman,  "give  thy 
sword  to  me — to  me,  the  owner  of  this  ground,  the  master  of 
this  family,  and  magistrate  of  the  canton." 

"  And  which  is  more,''  answered  Rudolph,  submissively,  "  to 
you  who  are  Arnold  Biederman,  at  whose  command  every 
native  of  these  mountains  draws  his  sword  or  sheathes  it." 

He  gave  his  two-handed  sword-to  the  Landamman. 
Now,  by  my  honest  word,"  said  Biederman,  "  it  is  the 
same  with  which  thy  father  Stephen  fought  so  gloriously  at 
Sempach,  abreast  with  the  famous  De  Winkelried  !  Shame,  it 
is,  that  it  should  be  drawn  on  a  helpless  stranger. — And  you, 
young  sir,"  continued  the  Swiss,  addressing  Arthur,  while  his 
father  said  at  the  same  time,  "  Young  man,  yield  up  your  sword 
to  the  Landamman." 

It  shall  not  need,  sir,"  replied  the  young  Englishman, 
"  since,  for  my  part,  I  hold  our  strife  at  an  end.  This  gallant 
gentleman  called  me  hither,  on  atrial  as  I  conceive,  of  courage  j 
I  can  give  my  unqualified  testimony  to  his  gallantry  and  sword- 
manship ;  "  and  as  I  trust  he  will  say  nothing  to  the  shame  of 
my  manhood,  I  think  our  strife  has  lasted  long  enough  for  the 
purpose  which  gave  rise  to  it." 

Too  long  for  me,"  said  Rudolph,  frankly ;  "  the  green 
sleeve  of  my  doublet,  which  I  wore  of  that  color  out  of  my  love 
to  the  Forest  Cantons,  is  now  stained  into  as  dirty  a  crimson  as 
could  have  been  done  by  any  dyer  in  Ypres  or  Ghent.  But  I 
"heartily  forgive  the  brave  stranger  who  has  spoiled  my  jerkin, 
and  given  its  master  a  lesson  he  will  not  soon  forget.  Had  all 
Englishmen  been  like  your  guest,  worthy  kinsman,  methinks  the 
mound  at  Buttisholz  had  hardly  risen  so  high." 

Cousin  Rudolph,"  said  the  Landamman,  smoothing  his 
brow  as  his  kinsman  spoke,  "  I  have  ever  thought  thee  as  gen- 
erous as  thou  art  harebrained  and  quarrelsome  ;  and  you,  my 
young  guest,  may  rely,  that  when  a  Swiss  says  the  quarrel  is 
over,  there  is  no  chance  of  its  being  renewed.  We  are  not  like 
the  men  of  the  valleys  to  the  eastward,  who  nurse  revenge  as  if 
it  were  a  favorite  child.  And  now,  join  hands,  my  children, 
and  let  us  forget  this  foolish  feud." 

"  Here  is  my  hand,  brave  stranger,"  said  Donnerhugel ; 
"  thou  hast  taught  me  a  trick  of  fence,  and  when  we  have 
broken  our  fast,  we  will,  by  your  leave,  to  the  forest,  where  I 
will  teach  you  a  trick  of  woodcraft  in  return.  When  your  foot 
hath  half  the  experience  of  your  hand,  and  your  eye  hath 
gained  a  portion  of  the  steadiness  of  your  heart,  you  will  not 
find  many  hunters  to  match  you." 

Arthur,  will  all  the  ready  confidence  of  youth,  readily  em- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


braced  a  proposition  so  frankly  made,  and  before  they  reached 
the  house,  various  subjects  of  sport  were  eagerly  discussed  be- 
tween them,  with  as  much  cordiality  as  if  no  disturbance  of 
their  concord  had  taken  place. 

Now  this,"  said  the  Landamman,  is  as  it  should  be.  I 
am  ever  ready  to  forgive  the  headlong  impetuosity  of  our  youth, 
if  they  will  be  but  manly  and  open  in  their  reconciliation,  and 
bear  their  heart  on  their  tongue,  as  a  true  Swiss  should." 

"  These  two  youths  had  made  but  wild  work  of  it,  however," 
said  Philipson,  had  not  your  care,  my  worthy  host,  learned  of 
their  rendezvous,  and  called  me  to  assist  in  breaking  their  pur- 
pose. May  I  ask  how  it  came  to  your  knowledge  so  oppor- 
tunely ? " 

"  It  was  e'en  through  means  of  my  domestic  fairy,"  answer- 
ed Arnold  Biederman,  who  seems  born  for  the  good  luck  of 
my  family, — I  mean  my  niece  Anne,  who  had  observed  a  glove 
exchanged  betwixt  the  two  young  braggadocios,  and  heard 
them  mention  Geierstein  and  break  of  day.  O  sir,  it  is  much 
to  see  a  woman's  sharpness  of  wit  !  it  would  have  been  long 
enough  ere  any  of  my  thick-headed  sons  had  shown  themselves 
so  apprehensive." 

"  I  thhik  I  see  our  propitious  protectress  peeping  at  us  from 
yonder  high  ground,"  said  Philipson  ;  "  but  it  seems  as  if  she 
would  willingly  observe  us  without  being  seen  in  return." 

"  Ay,"  said  the  Landamman,  she  has  been  looking  out  to 
see  that  there  has  been  no  hurt  done  ;  and  now,  I  warrant  me, 
the  foolish  girl  is  ashamed  of  having  shown  such  a  laudable 
degree  of  interest  in  a  matter  of  the  kind." 

Methinks,"  said  the  Englishman,  "  I  would  willingly  return 
my  thanks,  in  your  presence,  to  the  fair  maiden  to  whom  I 
have  been  so  highly  indebted." 

"There  can  be  no  better  time  than  the  present,"  said  the 
Landamman  ;  and  he  sent  through  the  groves  the  maiden's 
name,  in  one  of  those  shrilly  accented  tones  which  we  have  al- 
ready noticed. 

Anne  of  Geierstein,  as  Philipson  had  before  observed,  was 
stationed  upon  a  knoll  at  some  distance,  and  concealed,  as  she 
thought,  from  notice,  by  a  screen  of  brushwood.  She  started 
at  her  uncle's  summons,  therefore,  but  presently  obeyed  it ;  and 
avoiding  the  young  men,  who  passed  on  foremost,  she  joined 
the  Landamman  and  Philipson  by  a  circuitous  path  through  the 
woods. 

^  "  My  worthy  friend  and  guest  would  speak  with  you,  Anne," 
said  the  I^andamman,  so  soon  as  the  morning  greeting  had  been 
exchanged.    The  Swiss  maiden  colored  over  brow  as  well  as 


66 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


cheek,  when  Philipson,  with  a  grace  which  seemed  beyond  his 
calling,  addressed  her  in  these  words  : — 

"  It  happens  sometimes  to  us  merchants,  my  fair  young 
friend,  that  we  are  unlucky  enough  not  to  possess  means  for 
the  instant  defraying  of  our  debts  ;  but  he  is  justly  held  amongst 
us  as  the  meanest  of  mankind  who  does  not  acknowledge  them. 
Accept,  therefore,  the  thanks  of  a  father,  whose  son  your 
courage,  only  yesterday,  saved  from  destruction,  and  whom 
your  prudence  has,  this  very  morning,  rescued  from  a  great 
danger.  And  grieve  me  not,  by  refusing  to  wear  these  ear- 
rings," he  added,  producing  a  small  jewel-case,  which  he  open- 
ed as  he  spoke  ;  "  they  are,  it  is  true,  only  of  pearls,  but  they 
have  not  been  thought  unworthy  the  ears  of  a  countess  "  

"  And  must,  therefore,"  said  the  old  Landamman,  "  show 
misplaced  on  the  person  of  a  Swiss  maiden  of  Unterwalden ; 
for  such  and  no  more  is  my  niece  Anne  while  she  resides  in  my 
solitude.  Methinks,  good  Master  Philipson,  you  display  less 
than  your  usual  judgment  in  matching  the  quality  of  your  gifts 
with  the  rank  of  her  on  whom  they  are  bestowed — as  a  mer- 
chant, too,  you  should  remember  that  large  guerdons  will 
lighten  your  gains." 

^*  Let  me  crave  your  pardon,  my  good  host,"  answered  the 
Englishman,  "  while  I  reply,  that  at  least  I  have  consulted  my 
own  sense  of  the  obligation  under  which  I  labor,  and  have 
chosen,  out  of  what  I  have  at  my  free  disposal,  that  which  I 
thought  might  best  express  it.  I  trust  the  host  v/hom  I  have 
found  hitherto  so  kind,  will  not  prevent  this  young  maiden  from 
accepting  what  is  at  least  not  unbecoming  the  rank  she  is  born 
to;  and  you  will  judge  me  unjustly  if  you  think  me  capable  of 
doing  either  myself  or  you  the  wrong  of  offering  any  token  of 
a  value  beyond  what  I  can  well  spare."  The  Landamman  took 
the  jewel-case  into  his  own  hand. 

"  I  have  ever  set  my  countenance,"  he  said,  against  gaudy 
gems,  which  are  leading  us  daily  further  astray  from  the  sim- 
plicity of  our  fathers  and  mothers. — And  yet,''  he  added  with  a 
good-humored  smile,  and  holding  one  of  the  ear-rings  close  to 
his  relation's  face,  "  the  ornaments  do  set  off  the  wench  rarely, 
and  they  say  girls  have  more  pleasure  in  wearing  such  toys 
than  gray-haired  men  can  comprehend.  Wherefore,  dear  Anne, 
as  thou  hast  deserved  a  dearer  trust  in  a  greater  matter,  T  refer 
thee  entirely  to  thine  own  wisdom,  to  accept  of  our  good  friend's 
costly  present,  and  wear  it  or  not  as  thou  thinkest  fit." 

Since  such  is  your  pleasure,  my  best  friend  and  kinsman," 
said  the  young  maiden,  blushing  as  she  spoke,  I  will  not  give 
pain  to  our  valued  guest,  by  refusing  what  he  desires  so  earnestly 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


that  I  should  accept ;  but,  by  his  leave,  good  uncle,  and  yours, 
I  will  bestow  these  splendid  ear-rings  on  the  shrine  of  Our  Lady 
of  Einsiedlen,  to  express  our  general  gratitude  to  her  protecting 
favor,  which  has  been  around  us  in  the  terrors  of  yesterday's 
storm,  and  the  alarms  of  this  morning's  discord." 

By  Our  Lady,  the  wench  speaks  sensibly !  "  said  the  Lan- 
damman  :  "and  her  wisdom  has  applied  the  bounty  well,  my 
good  guest,  to  bespeak  prayers  for  thy  family  and  mine,  and 
for  the  general  peace  of  Untervvalden. — Go  to,  Anne,  thou  shalt 
have  a  necklace  of  jet  at  next  shearing  feast,  if  our  fleeces  bear 
any  price  in  the  market." 


CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 

l,et  him  who  will  not  proffer'd  peace  receive, 
Be  sated  with  the  plagues  which  war  can  give  ; 
And  well  thy  hatred  of  the  peace  is  known, 
If  now  thy  soul  reject  the  friendship  shown. 

Hoole's  Tasso. 

The  confidence  betwixt  the  Landamman  and  the  English 
merchant  appeared  to  increase  during  the  course  of  a  few  busy 
days,  which  occurred  before  that  appointed  for  the  commence- 
ment of  their  journey  to  the  Court  of  Charles  of  Burgundy. 
The  state  of  Europe,  and  of  the  Helvetian  Confederacy,  has 
been  already  alluded  to  ;  but,  for  the  distinct  explanation  of 
our  story,  may  be  here  briefly  recapitulated. 

In  the  interval  of  a  week,  whilst  the  English  travelers 
remained  at  Geierstein,  meetings  or  diets  were  held,  as  well  of 
the  City  Cantons  of  the  Confederacy,  as  of  those  of  the  Forest 
The  former,  aggrieved  by  the  taxes  imposed  on  their  com- 
merce by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  rendered  yet  more  intolerable 
by  the  violence  of  the  agents  whom  he  employed  in  such  oppres- 
sion, were  eager  for  war,  in  which  they  had  hitherto  uniformly 
found  victory  and  wealth.  Many  of  them  were  also  privately 
instigated  to  arms  by  the  largesses  of  Louis  XL,  who  spared 
neither  intrigues  nor  gold  to  effect  a  breach  betwixt  these  daunt- 
less Confederates  and  his  formidable  enemy,  Charles  the  Bold. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  reasons  which  appeared 
,  to  render  it  impolitic  for  the  Switzers  to  engage  in  war  with  one 
of  the  most  wealthy,  most  obstinate,  and  most  powerful  princes 
in  Pkirope, — for  such  unquestionably  was  Charles  of  Burgundy, 
• — without  the  existence  of  some  strong  reason  affecting  their 


68  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 

f 

own  honor  and  independence.  Every  day  brought  fresh  intel- 
ligence  from  the  interior,  that  Edward  the  Fourth  of  England 
had  entered  into  a  strict  and  intimate  alliance,  offensive  and 
defensive,  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  that  it  was  the 
purpose  of  the  English  King,  renowned  for  his  numerous 
victories  over  the  rival  House  of  Lancaster,  by  which,  after 
various  reverses,  he  had  obtained  undisputed  possession  of  the 
throne,  to  re-assert  his  claims  to  those  provinces  of  France,  so 
long  held  by  his  ancestors.  It  seemed  as  if  this  alone  were 
wanting  to  his  fame ;  and  that,  having  subdued  his  internal 
enemies,  he  now  turned  his  eyes  to  the  regaining  of  those  rich 
and  valuable  foreign  possessions  which  had  been  lost  during  the 
administration  of  the  feeble  Henry  VI.,  and  the  civil  discords  so 
dreadfully  prosecuted  in  the  wars  of  the  White  and  Red  Roses. 
It  was  universally  known,  that  throughout  England  generally  the 
loss  of  the  French  provinces  was  felt  as  a  national  degradation  ; 
and  that  not  only  the  nobility,  who  had  in  consequence  been 
deprived  of  the  large  fiefs  which  they  had  held  in  Normandy, 
Gascony,  Maine,  and  Anjou,  but  the  warlike  gentry,  accustomed 
to  gain  both  fame  and  wealth  at  the  expense  of  France,  and  the 
fiery  yeomanry,  whose  bows  had  decided  so  many  fatal  battles, 
were  as  eager  to  renew  the  conflict,  as  their  ancestors  of  Cressy, 
Poitiers,  and  Agincourt,  had  been  to  follow  their  sovereign  to 
the  fields  of  victory,  on  which  their  deeds  had  conferred  death- 
less renown. 

The  latest  and  most  authentic  intelligence  bore,  that  the 
King  of  England  was  on  the  point  of  passing  to  France  in 
person  (an  invasion  rendered  easy  by  his  possession  of  Calais), 
with  an  army  superior  in  numbers  and  discipline  to  any  with 
which  an  English  monarch  had  ever  before  entered  that  king- 
dom ;  that  all  the  hostile  preparations  were  completed,  and 
that  the  arrival  of  Edward  might  instantly  be  expected  ;  whilst 
the  powerful  co-operation  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  the 
assistance  of  numerous  disaffected  French  noblemen  in  the 
provinces  which  had  been  so  long  under  the  English  dominion, 
threatened  a  fearful  issue  of  tl>e  war  to  Louis  XL,  sagacious, 
wise,  and  powerful,  as  that  prince  unquestionably  was. 

It  would  no  doubt  have  been  the  wisest  policy  of  Charles  of 
Burgundy,  when  thus  engaging  in  an  alliance  against  his  most 
formidable  neighbor,  and  hereditary  as  well  as  personal  enemy, 
to  have  avoided  all  cause  of  quarrel  with  the  Helvetian  Con- 
federacy, a  poor  but  most  warlike  people,  who  already  had  been  ^ 
taught  by  repeated  successes  to  feel  that  their  hardy  infantry 
could,  if  necessary,  engage  on  terms  of  equality,  or  even  of 
advantage,  the  flower  of  that  chivalry,  which  had  hitherto  been 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTBIN. 


considered  as  forming  the  strength  of  European  battle.  But 
the  measures  of  Charles,  whom  fortune  had  opposed  to  the  most 
astucious  and  politic  monarch  of  his  time,  were  always  dictated 
by  passionate  feeling  and  impulse,  rather  than  by  a  judicious 
consideration  of  the  circumstances  in  which  he  stood.  Haughty^- 
proud,  and  uncompromising,  though  neither  destitute  of  honor 
nor  generosity,  he  despised  and  hated  what  he  termed  the 
paltry  associations  of  herdsmen  and  shepherds,  united  with  a 
few  towns  which  subsisted  chiefly  by  commerce  ;  and  instead  of 
courting  the  Helvetian  Cantons,  like  his  crafty  enemy,  or  at 
least  affording  them  no  ostensible  pretence  of  quarrel,  he  omitted 
no  opportunity  of  showing  the  disregard  and  contempt  in  which 
he  held  their  upstart  consequence,  and  of  evincing  the  secret 
longing  which  he  entertained  to  take  vengeance  upon  them  for 
the  quantity  of  noble  blood  which  they  had  shed,  and  to  com- 
pensate the  repeated  successes  they  had  gained  over  the  feudal 
lords  of  whom  he  imagined  himself  the  destined  avenger. 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy's  possessions  in  the  Alsatian  territory 
afforded  him  many  opportunities  of  wreaking  his  displeasure 
upon  the  Swiss  League.  The  little  castle  and  town  of  Ferette, 
lying  within  ten  or  eleven  miles  of  Bale,  served  as  a  thorough- 
fare to  the  traffic  of  Berne  and  Soleure,  the  two  principal  towns 
of  the  Confederation.  In  this  place  the  Duke  posted  a  gover- 
nor, or  seneschal,  who  was  also  an  administrator  of  the  revenue, 
and  seemed  born  on  purpose  to  be  the  plague  and  scourge  of  his 
republican  neighbors. 

Archibald  von  Hagenbach  was  a  German  noble,  whose 
possessions  lay  in  Swabia,  and  was  universally  esteemed  one  of 
the  fiercest  and  most  lawless  of  that  frontier  nobility,  known  by 
the  name  of  Robber-knights  and  Robber-counts.  These  digni- 
taries, because  they  held  their  fiefs  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
claimed  as  complete  sovereignty  within  their  territories  of  a  mile 
square,  as  any  reigning  prince  of  Germany  in  his  more  extended 
dominions.  They  levied  tolls  and  taxes  on  strangers,  and  im- 
prisoned, tried,  and  executed  those  who,  as  they  alleged,  had 
committed  offences  within  their  petty  domains.  But  especially, 
and  in  further  exercise  of  their  seignorial  privileges,  they  made 
war  on  each  other,  and  on  the  Free  Cities  of  the  Empire,  attack- 
ing and  plundering  without  mercy  the  caravans,  or  large  trains 
of  waggons,  by  which  the  internal  commerce  of  Germany  was 
carried  on. 

A  succession  of  injuries  done  and  received  by  Archibald  of 
Hagenbach,  who  had  been  one  of  the  fiercest  sticklers  for 
this  privilege  of  faustrecht,  or  club-law,  as  it  may  be  termed, 
had  ended  in  his  being  obliged,  though  somewhat  advanced  in 


ANNE  OF  G^IkRSTEIN. 


life,  to  leave  a  country  where  his  tenure  of  existence  was  become 
extremely  precarious,  and  to  engage  in  the  service  of  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  who  willingly  employed  him,  as  he  was  a  man  of 
high  descent  and  proved  valor,  and  not  the  less,  perhaps,  that 
he  was  sure  to  find  in  a  man  of  Hagenbach's  fierce,  rapacious, 
and  haughty  disposition,  the  unscrupulous  executioner  of  what- 
soever severities  it  might  be  his  master's  pleasure  to  enjoin. 

The  traders  of  Berne  and  Soleure,  accordingly,  made  loud 
and  violent  complaints  of  Hagenbach's  exactions.  The  im- 
positions laid  on  commodities  which  passed  through  his  district 
of  La  Ferette,  to  whatever  place  they  might  be  ultimately  bound, 
were  arbitrarily  increased,  and  the  merchants  and  traders  who 
hesitated  to  make  instant  payment  of  what  was  demanded,  were 
exposed  to  imprisonment  and  personal  punishment.  The  com- 
mercial towns  of  Germany  appealed  to  the  Duke  against  this 
iniquitous  conduct  on  the  -part  of  the  Governor  of  La  Ferrette, 
and  requested  of  his  Grace's  goodness  that  he  would  withdraw 
Von  Hagenbach  from  their  neighborhood  ;  but  the  Duke  treated 
their  complaint  with  contempt.  The  Swiss  League  carried 
their  remonstrances  higher,  and  required  that  justice  should  be 
done  on  the  Governor  of  La  Ferette,  as  having  offended  against 
the  law  of  nations  ;  but  they  were  equally  unable  to  attact  atten- 
tion or  obtain  redress. 

At  length  the  Diet  of  the  Confederation  determined  to  send 
the  solemn  deputation  which  has  been  repeatedly  mentioned. 
One  or  two  of  these  envoys  joined  with  the  calm  and  prudent 
Arnold  Biederman,  in  the  hope  that  so  solemn  a  measure  might 
open  the  eyes  of  the  Duke  to  the  wicked  injustice  of  his  repre- 
sentative ;  others  among  the  deputies,  having  no  such  peaceful 
views,  were  determined,  by  this  resolute  remonstrance,  to  pave 
the  way  for  hostilities. 

Arnold  Biederman  was  an  especial  advocate  for  peace,  while 
its  preservation  was  compatible  with  national  independence,  and 
the  honor  of  the  Confederacy  ;  but  the  younger  Philipson  soon 
discovered  that  the  Landamman  alone,  of  all  his  family  cherished 
these  moderate  views.  The  opinion  of  his  sons  had  been  swayed 
and  seduced  by  the  impetuous  eloquence  and  overbearing  in- 
fluence of  Rudolph  of  Donnerhugel,  who,  by  some  feats  of  pecul- 
iar gallantry,  and  the  consideration  due  to  the  merits  of  his  an- 
cestors, had  acquired  an  influence  in  the  councils  of  his  native 
canton,  and  with  the  youth  of  the  League  in  general,  beyond  what 
was  usually  yielded  by  these  wise  republicans  to  men  of  his 
early  age.  Arthur,  who  was  now  an  acceptable  and  welcome 
comi)anion  of  all  their  hunting  parties  and  other  sports,  heard 
nothing  among  the  young  men  but  anticipations  of  war,  rendered 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEliSr. 


71 


delightful  by  the  hopes  of  booty  and  of  distinction,  which  were 
to  be  obtained  by  the  Switzers.  The  feats  of  their  ancestors 
against  the  Germans  had  been  so  wonderful  as  to  realize  the 
fabulous  victories  of  romance ;  and  while  the  present  race 
possessed  the  same  hardy  limbs,  and  the  same  inflexible  courage, 
they  eagerly  anticipated  the  same  distinguished  success.  When 
the  Governor  of  La  Ferette  was  mentioned  in  the  conversation, 
he  was  usually  spoken  of  as  the  bandog  of  Burgundy,  or  the 
Alsatian  mastiff  ;  and  intimations  were  openly  given,  that  if  his 
course  were  not  instantly  checked  by  his  master,  and  he  himself 
withdrawn  from  the  frontiers  of  Switzerland,  Archibald  of 
Hagenbach  would  find  his  fortress  no  protection  from  the 
awakened  indignation  of  the  wronged  inhabitants  of  Soleure,  and 
particularly  of  those  of  Berne. 

This  general  disposition  to  war  among  the  young  Switzers 
w^as  reported  to  the  elder  Philipson  by  his  son,  and  led  him  at 
one  time  to  hesitate  whether  he  ought  not  rather  to  resume  all 
the  inconveniences  and  dangers  of  a  journey,  accompanied  only 
by  Arthur,  than  run  the  risk  of  the  quarrels  in  which  he  might 
be  involved  by  the  unruly  conduct  of  these  fierce  mountain 
youths,  after  they  should  have  left  their  own  frontiers.  Such 
an  event  would  have  had,  in  a  peculiar  degree,  the  effect  of 
destroying  every  purpose  of  his  journey  ;  but  respected  as  Arnold 
Biederman  was  by  his  family  and  countrymen  the  English  mer- 
chant concluded,  upon  the  whole,  that  his  influence  would  be 
able  to  restrain  his  companions  until  the  great  question  of  peace 
or  war  should  be  determined,  and  especially  until  they  should 
have  discharged  their  commission  by  obtaining  an  audience  of 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  after  this  he  should  be  separated  from 
their  society,  and  not  liable  to  be  engaged  in  any  responsi- 
bility for  their  ulterior  measures. 

After  a  delay  of  about  ten  days,  the  deputation  commissioned 
to  remonstrate  with  the  Duke  on  the  aggressions  and  exactions 
of  Archibald  of  Hagenbach,  at  length  assembled  at  Geirstein, 
from  whence  the  members  were  to  journey  forth  together. 
They  were  three  in  number,  besides  the  young  Bernese,  and 
the  Landamman  of  Unterwalden.  One  was,  like  Arnold,  a 
proprietor  from  the  Forest  Cantons,  wearing  a  dress  scarcely 
handsomer  than  that  of  a  common  herdsman,  but  distinguished 
by  the  beauty  and  size  of  his  long  silvery  beard.  His  name  was 
Nicholas  Bonstetten.  Melchior  Sturmthal,  banner-bearer  of 
Berne,  a  man  of  middle  age,  and  a  soldier  of  distinguished 
courage,  with  Adam  Zimmerman,  a  burgess  of  Soleure,  who  was 
considerably  older,  completed  the  number  of  the  envoys. 

Each  was  dressed  after  his  best  fashion  j  but  notwithstanding 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


that  the  severe  eye  of  Arnold  Biederman  censured  one  or  two 
silver  belt-buckles,  as  well  as  a  chain  of  the  same  metal,  which 
decorated  the  portly  person  of  the  burgess  of  soleure,  it  seemed 
that  a  powerful  and  victorious  people,  for  such  the  Swiss  were 
now  to  be  esteemed,  were  never  represented  by  an  embassy  of 
such  patriarchal  simplicity.  The  deputies  traveled  on  foot,  with 
their  piked  staves  in  their  hands,  like  pilgrims  bound  for  some 
place  of  devotion.  Two  mules,  which  bore  their  little  stock 
of  baggage,  were  led  by  young  lads,  sons  or  cousins  of  members 
of  the  embassy,  who  had  obtained  permission,  in  this  manner, 
to  get  such  a  glance  of  the  world  beyond  the  mountains  as  this 
journey  promised  to  afford. 

But  although  their  retinue  was  small,  so  far  as  respected 
either  state  or  personal  attendance  and  accommodation,  the 
dangerous  circumstances  of  the  times,  and  the  very  unsettled 
state  of  the  country  beyond  their  own  territories,  did  not  permit 
men  charged  with  affairs  of  such  importance  to  travel  without  a 
guard.  Even  the  danger  arising  from  the  wolves,  which  when 
pinched  by  rhe  approach  of  winter,  have  been  known  to  descend 
from  their  mountain  fastnesses  into  open  villages,  such  as  those 
the  travelers  might  choose  to  quarter  in,  rendered  the  presence 
of  some  escort  necessary ;  and  the  bands  of  deserters  from 
various  services,  who  formed  parties  of  banditti  on  the  frontiers 
of  Alsatia  and  Germany,  combined  to  recommend  such  a 
precaution. 

Accordingly,  about  twenty  of  the  selected  youth  from  the 
various  Swiss  cantons,  including  Rudiger,  Ernest,  and  Sigis- 
mund,  Arnold's  three  eldest  sons,  attended  upon  the  deputa- 
tion ;  they  did  not,  however  observe  any  military  order,  or 
march  close  or  near  to  the  patriarchal  train.  On  the  contrary, 
they  formed  hunting  parties  of  five  or  six  together,  who  ex- 
plored the  rocks,  woods,  and  passes  of  the  mountains,  through 
which  the  envoys  journeyed.  Their  slower  pace  allowed  the 
active  young  men,  who  were  accompanied  by  their  large  shaggy 
dogs,  full  time  to  destroy  wolves  and  bears,  or  occasionally  to 
surprise  a  chamois  among  the  cliffs  ;  while  the  hunters,  even 
while  in  pursuit  of  their  sport,  were  careful  to  examine  such 
places  as  might  afford  opportunity  for  ambush,  and  thus  ascer- 
tained the  safety  of  the  party  whom  they  escorted  more 
securely  than  if  they  had  attended  close  on  their  train.  A  pe- 
culiar note  on  the  huge  Swiss  bugle,  before  described,  formed 
of  the  horn  of  the  mountain-bull,  was  the  signal  agreed  upon 
for  collecting  in  a  body  should  danger  occur.  Rudolph  Don- 
nerhugel,  so  much  younger  than  his  brethren  in  the  same  im- 
portant commission,  took  the  command  of  this  mountain  body- 


ANNE  OF  GFJERSTEII^, 


guard,  whom  he  usually  accompanied  in  their  sportive  excur- 
sions. In  point  of  arms  they  were  well  provided,  bearing  two- 
handed  swords,  long  partisans  and  spears,  as  well  as  both  cross 
and  long  bows,  short  cutlasses,  and  huntsmen's  knives.  The 
heavier  weapons,  as  impeding  their  activity,  were  carried  with 
the  baggage,  but  were  ready  to  be  assumed  on  the  slightest 
alarm. 

Arthur  Philipson,  like  his  late  antagonist,  naturally  pre- 
ferred the  company  and  sports  of  the  young  men,  to  the 
grave  conversation  and  slow  pace  of  the  fathers  of  the  moun- 
tain commonwealth.  There  was,  however,  one  temptation  to 
loiter  with  the  baggage,  which,  had  other  circumstances  per- 
mitted, might  have  reconciled  the  young  Englishman  to  forego 
the  opportunities  of  sport  which  the  Swiss  youth  so  eagerly 
sought  after,  and  endure  the  slow  pace  and  grave  conversation 
of  the  elders  of  the  party.  In  a  word,  Anne  of  Geierstein,  accom- 
panied by  a  Swiss  girl  her  attendant,  traveled  in  the  rear  of 
the  deputation. 

The  two  females  were  mounted  upon  asses,  whose  slow 
step  hardly  kept  pace  with  the  baggage  mules  ;  and  it  may  be 
fairly  suspected  that  Arthur  Philipson,  in  requital  of  the  im- 
portant services  which  he  had  received  from  that  beautiful  and 
interesting  young  woman,  would  have  deemed  it  no  extreme 
hardship  to  have  afforded  her  occasionally  his  assistance  on 
the  journey,  and  the  advantage  of  his  conversation  to  relieve 
the  tediousness  of  the  way.  But  he  dared  not  presume  to  offer 
attentions  which  the  customs  of  the  country  did  not  seem  to 
permit,  since  they  were  not  attempted  by  any  of  the  maiden's 
cousins,  or  even  by  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  who  certainly  had 
hitherto  appeared  to  neglect  no  opportunity  to  recommend  him- 
self to  his  fair  cousin.  Besides,  Arthur  had  reflection  enough 
to  be  convinced,  that  in  yielding  to  the  feelings  which  impel- 
led him  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  this  amiable  young  per- 
son, he  would  certainly  incur  the  serious  displeasure  of  his  father, 
and  probably  also  that  of  her  uncle,  by  whose  hospitality  they 
had  profited,  and  whose  safe-conduct  they  were  in  the  act  of  en- 
joying. 

The  young  Englishman,  therefore,  pursued  the  same 
amusements  which  interested  the  other  young  men  of  the 
party,  managing  only,  as  frequently  as  their  halts  permitted,  to 
venture  upon  offering  to  the  maiden  such  marks  of  courtesy  as 
could  afford  no  room  for  remark  or  censure.  And  his  charac- 
ter as  a  sportsman  being  now  well  established,  he  sometimes 
permitted  himself,  even  when  the  game  was  afoot,  to  loiter  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  path  on  which  he  could  at  least  mark  the 


J4  AiVNR  OF  GEtEkSTEm. 

flutter  of  the  gray  wimple  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  the  out- 
line of  the  form  which  it  shrouded.  This  indolence,  as  it 
seemed,  was  not  unfavorably  construed  by  his  companions,  be- 
ing only  accounted  an  indifference  to  the  less  noble  or  less  dan- 
gerous game  ;  for  when  the  object  was  a  bear,  wolf,  or  other  ani- 
mal of  prey,  no  spear,  cutlass,  or  bow  of  the  party,  not  even 
those  of  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  were  so  prompt  in  the  chase  as 
those  of  the  young  Englishman. 

Meantime,  the  elder  Philipson  had  other  and  more  serious 
subjects  of  consideration.  He  was  a  man,  as  the  reader  must 
have  already  seen,  of  much  acquaintance  with  the  world,  in 
which  he  had  acted  parts  different  from  that  which  he  now  sus- 
tained. Former  feelings  were  recalled  and  awakened,  by  the 
view  of  sports  familiar  to  his  early  years.  The  clamor  of  the 
hounds,  echoing  from  the  wild  hills  and  dark  forests  through 
which  they  traveled  ;  the  sight  of  the  gallant  young  huntsmen, 
appearing,  as  they  brought  the  object  of  their  chase  to  bay, 
amid  airy  cliffs  and  profound  precipices,  which  seemed  imper- 
vious to  the  human  foot ;  the  sounds  of  halloo  and  horn  rever- 
berating from  hill  to  hill,  had  more  than  once  well-nigh  im- 
pelled him  to  take  a  share  in  the  hazardous  but  animating 
amusement,  which,  next  to  war  was  then  in  most  parts  of 
Europe  the  most  serious  occupation  of  life.  But  the  feeling  was 
transient,  and  he  became  yet  more  deeply  interested  in  studying 
the  manners  and  opinions  of  the  persons  with  whom  he  was 
traveling. 

They  seemed  to  be  all  colored  with  the.  same  downright 
and  blunt  simplicity  which  characterized  Arnold  Biederman, 
although  it  was  in  none  of  them  elevated  by  the  same  dignity 
of  thought  or  profound  sagacity.  In  speaking  of  the  political 
state  of  their  country,  they  affected  no  secrecy  ;  and  although, 
with  the  exception  of  Rudolph,  their  own  young  men  were  not 
admitted  into  their  councils,  the  exclusion  seemed  only  adopted 
with  a  view  to  the  necessary  subordination  of  youth  to  age, 
and  not  for  the  purj3ose  of  observing  any  mystery.  In  the 
presence  of  the  elder  Philipson,  they  freely  discussed  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  means  which  their  coun- 
try possessed  of  maintaining  her  independence,  and  the  firm 
resolution  of  the  Helvetian  League  to  bid  defiance  to  the  ut- 
most force  the  world  could  bring  against  it,  rather  than  submit 
to  the  slightest  insult.  In  other  respects,  their  views  appeared 
wise  and  moderate,  although  the  Bannaret  of  Berne,  and  the 
consequential  Burgher  of  Soleure,  seemed  to  hold  the  conse- 
quences of  war  more  lightly  than  they  were  viewed  by  the 
cautious  Landamman  of  Unterwalden,  and  his  venerable  com- 


AMNk  OP  GEIERSTEW. 


panion,  Nicholas  Bonstetten,  who  subscribed  to  all  his  opin- 
ions. 

It  frequently  happened,  that,  quitting  these  subjects,  the 
conversation  turned  on  such  as  were  less  attractive  to  their 
fellow-traveler.  The  signs  of  the  weather,  the  comparative 
fertility  of  recent  seasons,  the  most  advantageous  mode  of 
managing  their  orchards  and  rearing  their  crops,  though  inter- 
esting to  the  mountaineers  themselves,  gave  Philipson  slender 
amusement  ;  and  notwithstanding  that  the  excellent  Meinherr 
Zimmerman  of  Soleure  would  fain  have  joined  with  him  In  con- 
versation respecting  trade  and  merchandise,  yet  the  Englishman, 
who  dealt  in  articles  of  small  bulk  and  considerable  value,  and 
traversed  sea  and  land  to  carry  on  his  traffic,  could  find  few 
mutual  topics  to  discuss  with  the  Swiss  trader,  whose  commerce 
only  extended  into  the  neighboring  districts  of  Burgundy  and 
Germany,  and  whose  goods  consisted  of  coarse  woolen  cloths, 
fustian,  hides,  peltry,  and  such  ordinary  articles. 

But,  ever  and  anon,  while  the  Switzers  were  discussing 
some  paltry  interests  of  trade,  or  describing  some  process  of 
rude  cultivation,  or  speaking  of  blights  in  grain,  and  the  mur- 
rain amongst  the  catlle,  with  all  the  dull  minuteness  of  petty 
farmers  and  traders  met  at  a  country  fair,  a  well-known  spot 
would  recall  the  name  and  story  of  a  battle  in  which  some  of 
them  had  served  (for  there  were  none  of  the  party  who  had  not 
been  repeatedly  in  arms),  and  the  military  details,  which  in 
other  countries  were  only  the  theme  of  knights  and  squires  who 
had  acted  their  part  in  them,  or  of  learned  clerks  who  labored 
to  record  them,  were,  in  this  singular  region,  the  familiar  and 
intimate  subjects  of  discussion  with  men  whose  peaceful  occu- 
pations seemed  to  place  them  at  an  immeasurable  distance 
from  the  profession  of  a  soldier.  This  led  the  Englishman  to 
think  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Rome,  where  the  plough 
was  so  readily  exchanged  for  the  sword,  and  the  cultivation  of 
a  rude  farm  for  the  management  of  public  affairs.  He  hinted 
this  resemblance  to  the  Landamman,  who  was  naturally  grati- 
fied with  the  compliment  to  his  country,  but  presently  replied, 
— "  May  Heaven  continue  among  us  the  homebred  virtues  of 
the  Romans,  and  preserve  us  from  their  lust  of  conquest  and 
love  of  foreign  luxuries  !  " 

The  slow  pace  of  the  travelers,  with  various  causes  of  deray 
which  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon,  occasioned  the  deputa- 
tion spending  two  nights  on  the  road  before  they  reached  Bale. 
The  small  towns  or  villages  in  which  they  quartered,  received 
them  with  such  marks  of  respectful  hospitality  as  they  had  the 
means  to  bestow,  and  their  arrival  was  a  signal  for  a  little  feastf 


76 


ANNE  OP  GEIEkSTEm. 


with  which  the  heads  of  the  community  uniformly  regaled 
them. 

On  such  occasions,  while  the  elders  of  the  village  enter- 
tained the  deputies  of  the  Confederation,  the  young  men  of  the 
escort  were  provided  for  by  those  of  their  own  age,  several  of 
whom,  usually  aware  of  their  approach,  were  accustomed  to  join 
in  the  chase  of  the  day,  and  made  the  strangers  acquainted  with 
the  spots  where  game  was  most  plenty. 

These  feasts  were  never  prolonged  to  excess,  and  the  most 
special  dainties  which  composed  them  were  kids,  lambs,  and 
game,  the  produce  of  the  mountains.  Yet  it  seemed  both  to 
Arthur  Philipson  and  his  father,  that  the  advantages  of  good 
cheer  were  more  prized  by  the  Banneret  of  Berne  and  the 
Burgess  of  Soleure,  than  by  their  host  the  Landamman,  and 
the  Deputy  of  Schwytz.  There  was  no  excess  committed,  as 
we  have  already  said  ;  but  the  deputies  first  mentioned,  obvi- 
ously understood  the  art  of  selecting  the  choicest  morsels,  and 
were  connoisseurs  in  the  good  wine,  chiefly  of  foreign  growth, 
with  which  they  freely  washed  it  down.  Arnold  was  too  wise 
to  censure  what  he  had  no  means  of  amending;  he  contented 
himself  by  observing  in  his  own  person  a  rigorous  diet,  living 
indeed  almost  entirely  upon  vegetables  and  fair  water,  in  which 
he  was  closely  imitated  by  the  old  gray-bearded  Nicholas  Bon- 
stetten,  who  seemed  to  make  it  his  principal  object  to  follow 
the  Landamman's  example  in  everything. 

It  was,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  third  day  after  the 
commencement  of  their  journey,  before  the  Swiss  deputation 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Bale,  in  which  city,  then  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  south-western  extremity  of  Germany,  they  pro- 
posed taking  up  their  abode  for  the  evening,  nothing  doubting 
a  friendly  reception.  The  town,  it  is  true,  was  not  then,  nor 
till  about  thirty  years  afterward,  a  part  of  the  Swiss  Con- 
federation, to  which  it  was  only  joined  in  1501  ;  but  it  was  a 
Free  Imperial  City,  connected  with  Berne,  Soleure,  Lucerne, 
and  other  towns  of  Switzerland,  by  mutual  interests  and  con- 
stant intercourse.  It  was  the  object  of  the  deputation  to 
negotiate,  if  possible,  a  peace,  which  could  not  be  more  useful 
to  themselves  than  to  the  city  of  Bale,  considering  the  inter- 
ruiHions  of  commerce  which  must  be  occasioned  by  a  rupture 
between  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  Cantons,  and  the 
great  advantage  which  that  city  would  derive  by  preserving  a 
neutrality,  situated  as  it  was  betwixt  these  two  hostile  powers. 

They  anticipated,  therefore,  as  welcome  a  reception  from  the 
auth(')rities  of  Bale,  as  they  had  received  while  in  the  bounds 
of  their  own  Confederation,  since  the  interests  of  that  city 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


77 


were  so  deeply  concerned  in  the  objects  of  their  mission. — • 
The  next  chapter  will  show  how  far  these  expectations  were 
realized. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

They  saw  that  city,  welcoming  the  Rhine, 
As  from  his  mountain  heritage  hr;  bursts, 
As  purposed  proud  Orgetorix  of  yore, 
Leaving  the  desert  region  of  the  hills, 
To  lord  it  o'er  the  fertile  plains  of  Gaul. 

Helvetia. 

The  eyes  of  the  English  travelers,  wearied  with  a  succession 
of  wild  mountainous  scenery,  now  gazed  with  pleasure  upon  a 
country  still  indeed  irregular  and  hilly  in  its  surface,  but  capable 
of  high  cultivation,  and  adorned  with  corn-fields  and  vineyards. 
The  Rhine  a  broad  and  large  river,  poured  its  gray  stream  in 
a  huge  sweep  through  the  landscape,  and  divided  into  two 
portions  the  city  of  Bale,  which  is  situated  on  its  banks.  The 
southern  part,  to  which  the  path  of  the  Swiss  deputies  con- 
ducted them,  displayed  the  celebrated  cathedral,  and  the  lofty 
terrace  which  runs  in  front  of  it,  and  seemed  to  remind  the 
travelers  that  they  now  approached  a  country  in  which  the 
operations  of  man  could  make  themselves  distinguished  even 
among  the  works  of  nature,  instead  of  being  lost,  as  the  fate 
of  the  most  splendid  efforts  of  human  labor  must  have  been, 
among  those  tremendous  mountains  which  they  had  so  lately 
traversed. 

They  were  yet  a  mile  from  the  entrance  of  the  city,  when 
the  party  was  met  by  one  of  the  magistrates,  attended  by  two 
or  three  citizens  mounted  on  mules,  the  velvet  housings  of 
which  expressed  wealth  and  quality.  They  greeted  the  Lan- 
damman  of  Unterwalden  and  his  party  in  a  respectful  manner, 
and  the  latter  prepared  themselves  to  hear,  and  make  a  suitable 
reply  to,  the  hospitable  invitation  which  they  naturally  expected 
to  receive. 

The  message  of  the  community  of  Bale  was,  however,  diamet- 
rically opposite  to  what  they  had  anticipated.  It  was  deliv- 
ered with  a  good  deal  of  diffidence  and  hesitation  by  the 
functionary  who  met  them,  and  who  certainly,  while  discharging 
his  commission,  did  not  appear  to  consider  it  as  the  most 
respectable  which  he  might  have  borne.  There  were  many 
professions  of  the  most  profound  and  fraternal  regard  for  the 
cities  of  the  Helvetian  League,  with  whom  the  orator  of  Bile 


78 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


declared  his  own  State  to  be  united  in  friendship  and  interests 
But  he  ended  by  intimating,  that,  on  account  of  certain  cogent 
and  weighty  reasons,  which  should  be  satisfactorily  explained  at 
more  leisure,  the  free  city  of  Bale  could  not,  this  evening, 
receive  within  its  walls  the  highly  respected  deputies,  who 
where  traveling  at  the  command  of  the  Helvetian  Diet,  to  the 
court  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

Philipson  marked  with  much  interest  the  effect  which  this 
most  unexpected  intimation  produced  on  the  members  of 
the  embassage.  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  who  had  joined  their 
company  as  they  approached  Bale,  appeared  less  surprised  than 
his  associates,  and,  while  he  remained  perfectly  silent,  seemed 
rather  anxious  to  penetrate  their  sentiments,  than  disposed  to 
express  his  own.  It  was  not  the  first  time  the  sagacious  mer- 
chant had  observed  that  this  bold  and  fiery  young  man  could, 
when  his  purposes  required  it,  place  a  strong  constraint  upon 
the  natural  impetuosity  of  his  temper.  For  the  others,  the 
Banneret's  brow  darkened  ;  the  face  of  the  Burgess  of  Soleure 
became  flushed  like  the  moon  when  rising  in  the  north-west ; 
the  grey-bearded  deputy  of  Schwytz  looked  anxiously  on 
Arnold  Biederman  ;  and  the  Landamman  himself  seemed  more 
moved  than  was  usual  in  a  person  of  his  equanimity.  At 
length,  he  replied  to  the  functionary  of  Bale,  in  a  voice  some- 
what altered  by  his  feelings  : — 

"  This  is  a  singular  message  to  the  Deputies  of  the  Swiss 
Confederacy,  bound  as  we  are  upon  an  amicable  mission,  on 
which  depends  the  interest  of  the  good  citizens  of  Bale,  whom 
we  have  always  treated  as  our  good  friends,  and  who  still  pro- 
fess to  bv.  o.  The  shelter  of  their  roofs,  the  protection  of 
their  walls,  the  wonted  intercourse  of  hospitality,  is  what  no 
friendly  State  hath  a  right  to  refuse  to  the  inhabitants  of 
another/' 

Nor  is  it  with  their  will  that  the  community  of  Bale  refuse 
it,  worthy  Landamman,"  replied  the  magistrate.  Not  you 
alone,  and  your  worthy  associates,  but  your  escort,  and  your 
very  beasts  of  burden,  should  be  entertained  with  all  the  kind- 
ness which  the  citizens  of  Bale  could  bestow — But  we  act 
under  constraint." 

**And  by  whom  exercised  "  said  the  Banneret,  bursting 
out  into  passion.  "  Has  the  Emperor  Sigismund  profited  so 
little  by  the  example  of  his  predecessors  "  

"The  Emperor,"  replied  the  delegate  of  Bale,  interrupting 
the  Banneret,  "  is  a  well-intentioned  and  peaceful  monarch,  as 
he  has  been  ever ;  but — there  are  Burgundian  troops,  of  late- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


79 


marched  into  the  Sundgaw,  and  messages  have  been  sent  to 
our  State  from  Count  Archibald  of  Hagenbach." 

Enough  said,"  replied  the  Landamman.  Draw  not  fur- 
ther the  veil  from  a  weakness  for  which  you  blush.  I  compre- 
hend you  entirely.  Bale  lies  too  near  the  citadel  of  La  Ferette 
to  permit  its  citizens  to  consult  their  own  inclinations.  — 
Brother,  we  see  where  your  difficulty  lies — we  pity  you— and 
we  forgive  your  inhospitality." 

"  Nay,  but  hear  me  to  an  end,  worthy  Landamman,"  an° 
swered  the  magistrate.  "  There  is  here  in  the  vicinity  an  old 
hunting-seat  of  the  Counts  of  Falkenstein,  called  Graffs-lust,"^ 
which,  though  ruinous,  yet  may  afford  better  lodgings  than  the 
open  air,  and  is  capable  of  some  defence — though  Heaven 
forbid  that  any  one  should  dare  to  intrude  upon  your  repose  ! 
And  hark  ye  hither,  my  worthy  friends  ; — if  you  find  in  the  old 
place  some  refreshment,  as  wine,  beer,  and  the  like,  use  them 
without  scruple,  for  they  are  there  for  your  accommodation." 

"  I  do  not  refuse  to  occupy  a  place  of  security,"  said  the 
Landamman;  "for  although  the  causing  us  to  be  excluded 
from  Bale  may  be  only  done  in  the  spirit  of  petty  insolence 
and  malice,  yet  it  may  also,  for  what  we  can  tell,  be  connected 
with  some  purpose  of  violence.  Your  provisions  we  thank  you 
for;  but  we  will  not,  with  my  consent,  feed  at  the  cost  of 
friends  who  are  ashamed  to  own  us  unless  by  stealth." 

"  One  thing  more,  my  worthy  sir,"  said  the  official  of  Bale 
— "  You  have  a  maiden  in  company,  who,  I  presume  to  think, 
is  your  daughter.  There  is  but  rough  accommodation  where 
you  are  going,  even  for  men ; — for  women  there  is  little  better, 
though  what  we  could  we  have  done  to  arrange  matters  as 
well  as  may  be.  But  rather  let  your  daughter  go  with  us  back 
to  Bale,  where  my  dame  will  be  a  mother  to  her  till  next  morn- 
ing, when  I  will  bring  her  to  your  camp  in  safety.  We  promised 
to  shut  our  gates  against  the  men  of  the  Confederacy,  but  the 
women  were  not  mentioned." 

You  are  subtle  casuists,  you  men  of  Bale."  answered  the 
Landamman;  "but  know,  that  from  the  time  in  which  the 
Helvetians  sallied  forth  to  encounter  Caesar  down  to  the 
present  hour,  the  women  of  Switzerland,  in  the  press  of  danger, 
have  had  their  abode  in  the  camp  of  their  fathers,  brothers, 
and  husbands,  and  sought  no  further  safety  than  they  might 
find  in  the  courage  of  their  relations.  We  have  enough  of  men 
to  protect  our  women,  and  my  niece  shall  remain  with  us,  and 
take  the  fate  which  Heaven  may  send  us." 


*  Graffs-lust — i.e.y  Count's-delight. 


So 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Adieu,  then,  worthy  friend,"  said  the  magistrate  of  Bele ; 
"  it  grieves  me  to  part  with  you  thus,  but  evil  fate  will  have 
it  so.  Yonder  grassy  avenue  will  conduct  you  to  the  old 
hunting-seat,  where  Heaven  send  that  you  may  pass  a  quiet 
night;  for,  apart  from  other  risks,  men  say  that  these  ruins 
have  no  good  name.  Will  you  yet  permit  your  niece,  since 
such  the  young  person  is,  to  pass  to  Bale  for  the  night  in  my 
company  ?  " 

"  If  we  are  disturbed  by  beings  like  ourselves,''  said  Arnold 
Beiderman,  "  we  have  strong  arms,  and  heavy  partisans ;  if 
we  should  be  visited,  as  your  words  would  imply,  by  those  of  a 
different  description,  we  have,  or  should  have,  good  consciences, 
and  confidence  in  Heaven. — Good  friends,  my  brethren  on  this 
embassy,  have  I  spoken  your  sentiments  as  well  as  mine  own 

The  other  deputies  intimated  their  assent  to  what  their 
companion  had  said,  and  the  citizens  of  Bale  took  a  courteous 
farewell  of  their  guests,  endeavoring,  by  the  excess  of  civility, 
to  atone  for  their  deficiency  in  effective  hospitality.  After  their 
departure,  Rudolph  was  the  first  to  ex;.  ress  his  sense  of  their 
pusillanimous  behavior,  on  which  he  had  been  silent  during 
their  presence.  Coward  dogs  !  "  he  said  ;  may  the  Butcher 
of  Burgundy  flay  the  very  skins  from  them  with  his  exactions, 
to  teach  them  to  disown  old  friendships,  rather  than  abide  the 
lightest  blast  of  a  tyrant's  anger !  " 

And  not  even  their  own  tyrant  either,''  said  another  of  the 
group, — for  several  of  the  young  men  had  gathered  round  their 
seniors,  to  hear  the  welcome  which  they  expected  from  the 
magistrates  of  Bale. 

^'  No,"  replied  Ernest,  one  of  Arnold  Biederman's  sons, 
"  they  do  not  pretend  that  their  own  prince  the  Emperor  hath 
interfered  with  them  ;  but  a  w^ord  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
which  should  be  no  more  to  them  than  a  breath  of  wind  from 
the  west,  is  sufficient  to  stir  them  to  such  brutal  inhospitality. 
It  were  well  to  march  to  the  city,  and  compel  them  at  the 
sword's  point  to  give  us  shelter." 

A  murmur  of  applause  arose  amongst  the  youth  around, 
which  awakened  the  displeasure  of  Arnold  Biederman. 

"  Did  I  hear,"  he  said,  "  the  tongue  of  a  son  of  mine,  or 
was  it  that  of  a  brutish  Lanz-knecht,*  who  has  no  pleasure  but 
in  battle  or  violence  ?  Where  is  the  modesty  of  the  youth  of 
Switzerland,  who  were  wont  to  wait  the  signal  for  action  till  it 
pleased  the  elders  of  the  canton  to  give  it,  and  were  as  gentle 


*  A  private  soldier  of  the  German  infantry. 


AJ^NE  OF  GEtERSTEm. 


as  maidens  till  the  voice  of  their  patriarchs  bade  them  be  bold 
as  lions  ?  " 

"  I  meant  no  harm,  father,"  said  Ernest,  abashed  with  this 
rebuke,  far  less  any  slight  toward  you  ;  but  I  must  needs 
say  "  

Say  not  a  word,  my  son,"  replied  Arnold,  *'but  leave  our 
camp  to-morrow  by  break  of  day ;  and,  as  thou  takest  thy  way 
back  to  Geierstein,  to  which  I  command  thine  instant  return, 
remember,  that  he  is  not  fit  to  visit  strange  countries,  who  can- 
not rule  his  tongue  before  his  own  countrymen,  and  to  his  own 
father." 

The  Banneret  of  Berne,  the  Burgess  of  Soleure,  even  the 
long-bearded  Deputy  from  Schwytz,  endeavored  to  intercede 
for  the  offender,  and  obtain  a  remission  of  his  banishment ;  but 
it  was  in  vain." 

"  No,  my  good  friends  and  brethren,  no,"  replied  Arnold. 
"  These  young  men  require  an  example  ;  and  though  I  am 
grieved  in  one  sense  that  the  offence  has  chanced  within  my 
own  family,  yet  I  am  pleased  in  another  light,  that  the  delin- 
quent should  be  one  over  whom  I  can  exercise  full  authority, 
without  suspicion  or  partiality. — Ernest,  my  son,  thou  hast 
heard  my  commands  :  Return  to  Geierstein  with  the  morning's 
light,  and  let  me  find  thee  an  altered  man  when  I  return 
thither." 

The  young  Swiss,  who  was  evidently  much  hurt  and  shocked 
at  this  public  affront,  placed  one  knee  on  the  ground,  and 
kissed  his  father's  right  hand,  while  Arnold,  without  the  slight 
est  sign  of  anger,  bestowed  his  blessing  upon  him  ;  and  Ernest, 
without  a  word  of  remonstrance,  fell  into  the  rear  of  the  party. 
The  deputation  then  proceeded  down  the  avenue  which  had 
been  pointed  out  to  them,  and  at  the  bottom  of  which  arose  the 
massy  ruins  of  Graffs-lust;  but  there  was  not  enough  of  day- 
light remaining  to  discern  their  exact  form.  They  could  ob- 
serve as  they  drew  nearer,  and  as  the  night  became  darker, 
that  three  or  four  windows  were  lighted  up,  while  the  rest  of 
the  front  remained  obscured  in  gloom.  When  they  arrived  at 
the  place,  they  perceived  it  was  surrounded  by  a  large  and  deep 
moat,  the  sullen  surface  of  which  reflected,  though  faintly,  the 
glimmer  of  the  lights  within. 


82  ANNE  OF  GEiERSTEm, 


CHAPTER  NINTH. 

Francisco, — Give  you  good-night. 
Marcellus. — O,  farewell,  honest  soldier. 

Who  hath  relieved  you  ? 
Francisco. — Give  you  good-night;  Bernardo  hath  my  place. 

Hamlet. 

The  first  occupation  of  our  travelers  was  to  fine  the  means 
of  crossing  the  moat  ;  and  they  were  not  long  of  discovering  the 
tete-du-p07it  on  which  the  drawbridge,  when  lowered,  had  form- 
erly rested.  The  bridge  itself  had  been  long  decayed,  but  a 
temporary  passage  of  fir-trees  and  planks  had  been  construct- 
ed, apparently  very  lately,  which  admitted  them  to  the  chief 
entrance  of  the  castle.  On  entering  it,  they  found  a  wicket 
opening  under  the  archway,  which,  glimmering  with  light, 
served  to  guide  them  to  a  hall  prepared  evidently  for  their 
accommodation  as  well  as  circumstances  had  admitted  of. 

A  large  fire  of  well-seasoned  wood  burned  blithely  in  the 
chimney,  and  had  been  maintained  so  long  there  that  the  air  of 
the  hall,  notwithstanding  its  great  size  and  somewhat  ruinous 
aspect,  felt  mild  and  genial.  There  was  also  at  the  end  of  the 
apartment  a  stack  of  wood,  large  enough  to  maintain  the  fire 
had  they  been  to  remain  there  a  week.  Two  or  three  long 
tables  in  the  hall  stood  covered  and  ready  for  their  reception  ; 
and,  on  looking  more  closely,  several  large  hampers  were 
found  in  a  corner,  containing  cold  provisions  of  every  kind,  pre- 
pared with  great  care,  for  their  immediate  use.  The  eyes  of  the 
good  Burgess  of  Soleure  twinkled  when  he  beheld  the  young 
men  in  the  act  of  transferring  the  supper  from  the  hampers, 
and  arranging  it  on  the  table. 

WelV  said  he,  these  poor  men  of  Bale  have  saved  their 
character  ;  since,  if  they  have  fallen  short  in  welcome,  they  have 
abounded  in  good  cheer." 

"Ah,  friend  !  "  said  Arnold  Biederman,  the  absence  of  the 
landlord  is  a  great  deduction  from  the  entertainment.  Better 
half  an  apple  from  the  hand  of  your  host  than  a  bridal  feast 
without  his  company." 

'^We  owe  them  the  less  for  their  banquet,"  said  the  Ban- 
neret. "  But  from  the  doubtful  language  they  held,  I  should 
judge  it  meet  to  keep  a  strong  guard  to-night,  and  even  that 
some  of  our  young  men  should,  from  time  to  time,  patrol 
around  the  old  ruins.    The  place  is  strong  and  defensible,  and 


•        ANJVE  OF  GElERSTEm.  '  83 

SO  tar  our  thanks  are  due  to  those  who  have  acted  as  our 
quarter-masters.  We  will,  however,  with  your  permission,  my 
honored  brethren,  examine  the  house  within,  and  then  arrange 
regular  guards  and  patrols. — To  your  duty  then,  young  men^ 
and  search  these  ruins  carefully, — they  may,  perchance,  con- 
tain more  than  ourselves  ;  for  we  are  now  near  one  who,  like  a 
pilfering  fox,  moves  more  willingly  by  night  than  by  day,  and 
seeks  his  prey  amidsi  ruins  and  wildernesses  rather  than  in  the 
open  field." 

All  agreed  to  this  proposal.  The  young  men  took  torches, 
of  which  a  good  provision  had  been  left  for  their  use,  and  made 
a  strict  search  through  the  ruins. 

The  greater  part  of  the  castle  was  much  more  wasted  and 
ruinous  than  the  portion  which  the  citizens  of  Bale  seemed  to 
have  destined  for  the  accommodation  of  the  embassy.  Some 
parts  were  roofless,  and  the  whole  desolate.  The  glare  of  light 
—  the  gleam  of  arms — the  sound  of  the  human  voice,  and  echoes 
of  mortal  tread,  startled  from  their  dark  recesses  bats,  owls,  and 
other  birds  of  ill  omen,  the  usual  inhabitants  of  such  time-worn 
edifices,  whose  flight  through  the  desolate  chambers  repeatedly 
occasioned  alarm  amongst  those  who  heard  the  noise  without 
seeing  the  cause,  and  shouts  of  laughter  when  it  became  known. 
They  discovered  that  the  deep  moat  surrounded  their  place  of 
retreat  on  all  sides,  and  of  course  that  they  were  in  safety 
against  any  attack  which  could  be  made  from  without,  except 
it  was  attempted  by  the  main  entrance,  which  it  was  easy  to 
barricade,  and  guard  with  sentinels.  They  also  ascertained  by 
strict  search,  that  though  it  was  possible  an  individual  might 
be  concealed  amid  such  a  waste  of  ruins,  yet  it  was  altogether 
impossible  that  any  number  which  might  be  formidable  to  so 
large  a  party  as  their  own,  could  have  remained  there  without 
a  certainty  of  discovery.  These  particulars  were  reported  to 
the  Banneret,  who  directed  Donnerhugel  to  take  charge  of  a 
body  of  six  of  the  young  men,  such  as  he  should  himself  choose, 
to  patrol  on  the  outside  of  the  building  till  the  first  cock-crowing, 
and  at  that  hour  to  return  to  the  castle,  when  the  same  number 
were  to  take  the  duty  till  morning  dawned,  and  then  be  relieved 
in  their  turn.  Rudolph  declared  his  own  intention  to  remain  on 
guard  the  whole  night  ;  and  as  he  was  equally  remarkable  for 
vigilance  as  for  strength  and  courage,  the  external  watch  was 
considered  as  safely  provided  for,  it  being  settled  that,  in  case 
of  any  sudden  rencounter,  the  deep  and  hoarse  sound  of  the 
Swiss  bugle  should  be  the  signal  for  sending  support  to  the 
patroling  party. 

Within  side  the  castle,  the  precautions  were  taken  with  equal 


84 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTRm. 


vigilance.  A  sentinel,  to  be  relieved  every  two  hours,  was 
appointed  to  take  post  at  the  principal  gate,  and  other  two  kept 
watch  on  the  other  side  of  the  castle,  although  the  moat  ap- 
peared to  insure  safety  in  that  quarter. 

These  precautions  being  taken,  the  remainder  of  the  party 
sat  down  to  refresh  themselves,  the  deputies  occupying  the  upper 
part  of  the  hall,  while  those  of  their  escort  modestly  arranged 
themselves  in  the  lower  end  of  the  same  large  apartment. 
Quantities  of  hay  and  straw,  which  were  left  piled  in  the  wide 
castle,  were  put  to  the  purpose  for  which  undoubtedly  they  had 
been  destined  by  the  citizens  of  Bale,  and,  with  the  aid  of  cloaks 
and  mantles,  were  judged  excellent  good  bedding  by  a  hardy 
race,  who,  in  war  or  the  chase,  were  often  well  satisfied  with  a 
much  worse  night's  lair. 

The  attention  of  the  Balese  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  provide 
for  Anne  of  Geierstein  separate  accommodation,  more  suitable  to 
her  use  than  that  assigned  to  the  men  of  the  party.  An  apart- 
ment, which  had  probably  been  the  buttery  of  the  castle,  entered 
from  the  hall,  and  had  also  a  doorway  leading  out  into  a  passage 
connected  with  the  ruins  ;  but  this  last  had  hastily,  yet  carefully, 
been  built  up  with  large  hewn  stones  taken  from  the  ruins  ; 
without  mortar,  indeed,  or  any  other  cement,  but  so  well  secured 
by  their  own  weight,  that  an  attempt  to  displace  them  must 
have  alarmed  not  only  any  one  who  might  be  in  the  apartment 
itself,  but  also  those  who  were  in  the  hall  adjacent,  or  indeed 
in  any  part  of  the  castle.  In  the  small  room  thus  carefully 
arranged  and  secured,  there  were  two  pallet-beds  and  a  large 
fire,  which  blazed  on  the  hearth,  and  gave  warmth  and  comfort 
to  the  apartment.  Even  the  means  of  devotion  were  not  for- 
gotten, a  small  crucifix  of  bronze  being  hung  over  a  table,  on 
which  lay  a  breviary. 

Those  who  first  discovered  this  little  place  of  retreat,  came 
back  loud  in  praise  of  the  delicacy  of  the  citizens  of  Bale,  who, 
while  preparing  for  the  general  accommodation  of  the  strangers, 
had  not  failed  to  provide  separately  and  peculiarly  for  that  of 
their  female  companion. 

Arnold  Biederman  felt  the  kindness  of  this  conduct.  We 
should  pity  our  friends  of  Bale,  and  not  nourish  resentment 
against  them,'*  he  said.  **They  have  stretched  their  kindness 
toward  us  as  far  as  their  personal  apprehensions  permitted  ; 
and  that  is  saying  no  small  matter  for  them,  my  masters,  for 
no  passion  is  so  unutterably  selfish  as  that  of  fear. — Anne,  my 
love,  thou  art  fatigued.  Go  to  the  retreat  provided  for  you,  and 
Lizette  shall  bring  you  from  this  abundant  ma,ss  of  provisions 
what  will  be  fittest  for  your  evening  meal.  * 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


8S 


So  saying,  he  led  his  niece  into  the  little  bedroom,  and, 
looking  round  with  an  air  of  complacency  wished  her  good 
repose  ;  but  there  was  something  on  the  maiden's  brow  which 
seemed  to  augur  that  her  uncle's  wishes  would  not  be  fulfilled. 
From  the  moment  she  had  left  Switzerland,  her  looks  had 
become  clouded  ;  her  intercourse  with  those  who  approached 
her  had  grown  more  brief  and  rare  ;  her  whole  appearance  was 
.narked  with  secret  anxiety  or  secret  sorrow.  This  did  not 
tscape  her  uncle,  who  naturally  imputed  it  to  the  pain  of  part- 
ing from  him,  which  was  probably  soon  to  take  place,  and  to  her 
regret  at  leaving  the  tranquil  spot  in  which  so  many  years  of 
her  youth  had  been  spent. 

But  Anne  of  Geierstein  had  no  sooner  entered  the  apartment, 
than  her  whole  frame  trembled  violently,  and  the  color  leaving 
her  cheeks  entirely,  she  sunk  down  on  one  of  the  pallets,  where, 
resting  her  elbows  on  her  knees,  and  pressing  her  hands  on  her 
forehead,  she  rather  resembled  a  person  borne  down  by  mental 
distress,  or  oppressed  by  some  severe  illness,  than  one  who,  tired 
with  a  journey,  was  in  haste  to  betake  herself  to  needful  rest. 
Arnold  was  not  quick-sighted  as  to  the  many  sources  of  female 
passion.  He  saw  that  his  niece  suffered  ;  but  imputing  it  only 
to  the  causes  already  mentioned,  augmented  by  the  hysterical 
effects  often  produced  by  fatigue,  he  gently  blamed  her  for 
having  departed  from  her  character  of  a  Swiss  maiden  ere  she 
was  yet  out  of  reach  of  a  Swiss  breeze  of  wind. 

"  Thou  must  not  let  the  dames  of  Germany  or  Flanders 
think  that  our  daughters  have  degenerated  from  their  mothers  ; 
else  must  we  fight  the  battles  of  Sempach  and  Laupen  over 
again,  to  convince  the  emperor,  and  this  haughty  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  that  our  men  are  of  the  same  mettle  with  their 
forefathers.  And  as  for  our  parting,  I  do  not  fear  it.  My 
brother  is  a  Count  of  the  Empire,  indeed,  and  therefore  he 
must  needs  satisfy  himself  that  everything  over  which  he  pos- 
sesses any  title  shall  be  at  his  command,  and  sends  for  thee  to 
prove  his  right  of  doing  so.  But  I  know  him  well  :  He  will  no 
sooner  be  satisfied  that  he  may  command  thy  attendance  at 
pleasure,  than  he  will  concern  himself  about  thee  no  more. 
Thee  t  Alas  !  poor  thing,  in  what  couldst  thou  aid  his  courtly 
intrigues  and  ambitious  plans  1  No,  no — thou  art  not  for  the 
noble  Count's  purpose,  and  must  be  content  to  trudge  back  to 
rule  the  dairy  at  Geierstein,  and  be  the  darling  of  thine  old 
peasantlike  uncle." 

*^  Would  to  God  we  were  there  even  now  !  "  said  the  maiden, 
in  a  tone  of  wretchedness  which  she  strove  in  vain  to  conceal 
or  suppress. 


86 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


That  may  hardly  be  till  we  have  executed  the  purpose 
which  brought  us  hither/'  said  the  literal  Landamman  ;  "  But 
lay  thee  on  thy  pallet,  Anne — take  a  morsel  of  food  and  three 
drops  of  wine,  and  thou  wilt  wake  to-morrow,  as  gay  as  on  a 
Swiss  holiday  when  the  pipe  sounds  the  reveille." 

Anne  was  now  able  to  plead  a  severe  headache,  and  de- 
clining all  refreshment,  which  she  declared  herself  incapable 
of  tasting,  she  bade  her  uncle  good-night.  She  then  desired 
Lizette  to  get  some  food  for  herself,  cautioning  her,  as  she  re- 
turned, to  make  as  little  noise  as  possible,  and  not  to  break 
her  repose  if  she  should  have  the  good  fortune  to  fall  asleep. 
Arnold  Biederman  then  kissed  his  niece,  and  returned  to  the 
hall,  where  his  colleagues  in  office  were  impatient  to  commence 
an  attack  on  the  provisions  which  were  in  readiness ;  to  which 
the  escort  of  young  men,  diminished  by  the  patrols  and  senti- 
nels, were  no  less  disposed  than  their  seniors. 

The  signal  of  assault  was  given  by  the  Deputy  from 
Schwytz,  the  eldest  of  the  party,  pronouncing  in  patriarchal 
form  a  benediction  over  the  meal.  The  travelers  then  com- 
menced their  operations  with  a  vivacity  which  showed  that  the 
uncertainty  whether  they  should  get  any  food,  and  the  delays 
which  had  occurred  in  arranging  themselves  in  their  quarters, 
had  infinitely  increased  their  appetites.  Even  the  Landamman, 
whose  moderation  sometimes  approached  to  abstinence,  seemed 
that  night  in  a  more  genial  humor  than  ordinary.  His  friend 
of  Schwytz,  after  his  example,  ate,  drank,  and  spoke  more  than 
usual ;  while  the  rest  of  the  deputies  pushed  their  meal  to  the 
verge  of  a  carousal.  The  elder  Philipson  marked  the  scene 
with  an  attentive  and  anxious  eye,  confining  his  applications  to 
the  wine-cup  to  such  pledges  as  the  politeness  of  the  times 
called  upon  him  to  reply  to.  His  son  had  left  the  hall  just  as 
the  banquet  began,  in  the  manner  which  we  are  now  to  relate. 

Arthur  had  proposed  to  himself  to  join  the  youths  who  were 
to  perform  the  duty  of  sentinels  within,  or  patrols  on  the  out- 
side of  their  place  of  repose,  and  had  indeed  made  some  ar- 
rangement for  that  purpose  with  Sigismund,  the  third  of  the 
Landamman's  sons.  But  while  about  to  steal  a  parting  glance 
at  Anne  of  Geierstein,  before  offering  his  service  as  he  pro- 
posed, there  appeared  on  her  brow  such  a  deep  and  solemn 
expression,  as  diverted  his  thoughts  from  every  other  subject, 
excepting  the  anxious  doubts  as  to  what  could  possibly  have 
given  rise  to  such  a  change.  The  placid  openness  of  brow ; 
the  eye  which  expressed  conscious  and  fearless  innocence  ;  the 
lips  which,  seconded  by  a  look  as  frank  as  her  words,  seemed 
ever  ready  to  speak,  in  kindness  and  in  confidence,  that  which 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


87 


the  heart  dictated,  were  for  the  moment  entirely  changed  in 
character  and  expression,  and  in  a  degree  and  manner  for 
which  no  ordinary  cause  could  satisfactorily  account.  Fatigue 
might  have  banished  the  rose  from  the  maiden's  beautiful  com- 
plexion, and  sickness  or  pain  might  have  dimmed  her  eye  and 
clouded  her  brow.  But  the  look  of  deep  dejection  with  which 
she  fixed  her  eyes  at  times  on  the  ground,  and  the  startled  and 
terrified  glance  which  she  cast  around  her  at  other  intervals, 
must  have  had  their  rise  in  some  different  source.  Neither 
could  illness  or  weariness  explain  the  manner  in  which  her  lips 
were  contracted  or  compressed  together,  like  one  who  makes 
up  her  mind  to  act  or  behold  something  that  is  fearful,  or  ac- 
count for  the  tremor  which  seeemed  at  times  to  steal  over  her 
insensibly,  though  by  a  strong  effort  she  was  able  at  intervals 
to  throw  it  off.  For  this  change  of  expression  there  must  be 
in  the  heart  some  deeply  melancholy  and  afflicting  cause. 
What  could  that  cause  be  ? 

.  It  is  dangerous  for  youth  to  behold  beauty  in  the  pomp  of 
all  her  charms,  with  every  look  bent  upon  conquest — more 
dangerous  to  see  her  in  the  hour  of  unaffected  and  unapprehen- 
sive ease  and  simplicity,  yielding  herself  to  the  graceful  whim 
of  the  moment,  and  as  willing  to  be  pleased  as  desirous  of 
pleasing.  There  are  minds  which  may  be  still  more  affected 
by  gazing  on  beauty  in  sorrow,  and  feeling  that  pity,  that  desire 
of  comforting  the  lovely  mourner,  which  the  poet  has  described 
as  so  nearly  akin  to  love.  But  to  a  spirit  of  that  romantic  and 
adventurous  cast  which  the  Middle  Ages  frequently  produced, 
the  sight  of  a  young  and  amiable  person  evidently  in  a  state  of 
terror  and  suffering,  which  had  no  visible  cause,  was  perhaps 
still  more  impressive  than  beauty,  in  her  pride,  her  tenderness, 
or  her  sorrow.  Such  sentiments,  it  must  be  remembered, 
were  not  confined  to  the  highest  ranks  only,  but  might  then  be 
found  in  all  classes  of  society  which  were  raised  above  the  mere 
peasant  or  artisan.  Young  Philipson  gazed  on  Anne  of  Geierstein 
with  such  intense  curiosity,  mingled  with  pity  and  tenderness, 
that  the  bustling  scene  around  him  seemed  to  vanish  from  his 
eyes,  and  leave  no  one  in  the  noisy  hall  save  himself  and  the 
object  of  his  interest. 

"  What  could  it  be  that  so  evidently  oppressed  and  almost 
quailed  a  spirit  so  well  balanced,  and  a  courage  so  well  tem- 
pered, when,  being  guarded  by  the  swords  of  the  bravest  men 
perhaps  to  be  found  in  Europe,  and  lodged  in  a  place  of  strength, 
even  the  most  timid  of  her  sex  might  have  found  confidence  i 
Surely,  if  an  attack  were  to  be  made  upon  them,  the  clamor  of 
a  conflict  in  such  circumstances  could  scarce  be  more  terrific 


88 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


than  the  roar  of  those  cataracts  which  he  had  seen  her  despise  ? 
At  least,  he  thought,  she  ought  to  be  aware  that  there  is  one, 
who  is  bound  by  friendship  and  gratitude  to  fight  to  the  death 
\n  her  defence.  Would  to  heaven,  he  continued  in  the  same 
reverie,  it  were  possible  to  convey  to  her,  without  sign  or  speech, 
the  assurance  of  my  unalterable  resolution  to  protect  her  in  the 
worst  of  perils  ! — As  such  thoughts  streamed  through  his  mind, 
Anne  raised  her  eyes  in  one  of  those  fits  of  deep  feeling  which 
seemed  to  overwhelm  her  ;  and,  while  she  cast  them  round  the 
hall,  with  a  look  of  apprehension,  as  if  she  expected  to  see  amid 
the  well-known  companions  of  her  journey  some  strange  and 
unwelcome  apparition,  they  encountered  the  fixed  and  anxious 
gaze  of  young  Philipson.  They  were  instantly  bent  on  the 
ground,  while  a  deep  blush  showed  how  much  she  was  conscious 
of  having  attracted  his  attention  by  her  previous  deportment. 

Arthur,  on  his  part,  with  equal  consciousness,  blushed  as 
deeply  as  the  maiden  herself,  and  drew  himself  back  from  her 
observation.  But  when  Anne  rose  up,  and  was  escorted  by  her 
uncle  to  her  bedchamber,  in  the  manner  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, it  seemed  to  Philipson  as  if  she  had  carried  with  her 
from  the  apartment  the  lights  with  which  it  was  illuminated, 
and  left  it  in  the  twilight  melancholy  of  some  funeral  hall.  His 
deep  musings  were  pursuing  the  subject  which  occupied  them 
thus  anxiously,  when  the  manly  voice  of  Donnerhugel  spoke 
close  in  his  ear — 

"  What,  comrade,  has  our  journey  to-day  fatigued  you  so 
much  that  you  go  to  sleep  upon  your  feet  ? 

"  Now  Heaven  forbid,  Hauptman/'  said  the  Englishman, 
starting  from  his  reverie,  and  addressing  Rudolph  by  his  name 
(signifying  Captain,  or  literally  Head-man),  which  the  youth  of 
the  expedition  had  by  unanimous  consent  bestowed  on  him, — 
"  Heaven  forbid  I  should  sleep,  if  there  be  aught  like  action  in 
the  wind.'^ 

"  Where  dost  thou  propose  to  be  at  cock-crow  ?  said  the 
Swiss. 

"  Where  duty  shall  call  me,  or  your  experience,  noble  Haupt- 
man,  shall  appoint,"  replied  Arthur. — "  But,  with  your  leave,  1 
purposed  to  take  Sigismund's  guard  on  the  bridge  till  midnight 
^)r  morning  dawn.  He  still  feels  the  sprain  which  he  received 
in  his  spring  after  yonder  chamois,  and  I  persuaded  him  to  take 
some  uninterrupted  rest,  as  the  best  mode  of  restoring  his 
strength." 

"  He  will  do  well  to  keep  his  counsel,  then,"  again  whispered 
Donnerhugel  ;  "the  old  Landamman  is  not  a  man  to  make 
allowances  for  mishaps,  when  they  interfere  with  duty.  Those 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


89 


who  are  under  his  orders  should  have  as  few  brains  as  a  bull,  as 
strong  limbs  as  a  bear,  and  be  as  impassible  as  lead  or  iron  to 
all  the  casualties  of  life,  and  all  the  weaknesses  of  humanity." 

Arthur  replied  in  the  same  tone  : — "  I  have  been  the  Landam- 
man's  guest  for  some  time,  and  have  seen  no  specimens  of  any 
such  rigid  discipline." 

"  You  are  a  stranger,"  said  the  Swiss,  "  and  the  old  man 
has  too  much  hospitality  to  lay  you  under  the  least  restraint. 
You  are  a  volunteer,  too,  in  whatever  share  you  choose  to  take 
in  our  sports  or  our  military  duty  ;  and,  th-erefore,  when  I  ask 
you  to  walk  abroad  with  me  at  the  first  cock-crowing,  it  is  only 
in  the  event  that  such  exercise  shall  entirely  consist  with  your 
own  pleasure." 

"  I  consider  myself  as  under  your  command  for  the  time," 
said  Philipson  ;  ^'  but,  not  to  bandy  courtesy,  at  cock-crow  I 
shall  be  relieved  from  my  watch  on  the  drawbridge,  and  will 
be  by  that  time  glad  to  exchange  the  post  for  a  more  extended 
walk." 

"  Do  you  not  choose  more  of  this  fatiguing,  and  probably 
unnecessary  duty,  than  may  befit  your  strength  t  "  said  Rudolph. 

"  I  take  no  more  than  you  do,"  said  Arthur,  as  you  pro- 
pose not  to  take  rest  till  morning." 

"  True,"  answered  Donnerhugel,  "but  I  am  a  Swiss." 

"  And  I,"  answered  Philipson,  quickly,  "  am  an  English- 
man." 

"  I  did  not  mean  what  I  said  in  the  sense  you  take  it,"  said 
Rudolph,  laughing  ;  "  I  only  meant,  that  I  am  more  interested 
in  this  matter  than  you  can  be,  who  are  a  stranger  to  the  cause 
in  which  we  are  personally  engaged." 

"  I  am  a  stranger,  no  doubt,"  replied  Arthur ;  "  but  a 
stranger  who  has  enjoyed  your  hospitality,  and  who  therefore 
claims  a  right,  while  with  you,  to  a  share  in  your  labors  and 
dangers." 

"  Be  it  so,"  said  Rudolph  Donnerhugel.  "  I  shall  have  fin- 
ished my  first  rounds  at  the  hour  when  the  sentinels  at  the 
castle  are  relieved,  and  shall  be  ready  to  recommence  them  in 
your  good  company." 

"  Content,"  said  the  Englishmen.  "  And  now  I  will  to  my 
post,  for  I  suspect  Sigismund  is  blaming  me  already,  as  oblivi- 
ous of  my  promise." 

They  hastened  together  to  the  gate,  where  Sigismund  will- 
ingly yielded  up  his  weapon  and  his  guard  to  young  Philipson, 
confirming  the  idea  sometimes  entertained  of  him,  that  he  was 
the  most  indolent  and  least  spirited  of  the  family  of  Geiersteine 
Rudolph  could  not  suppress  his  pleasure. 


go 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


What  would  the  Landamman  say,"  he  demanded,  "  if  he 
saw  thee  thus  quietly  yield  up  post  and  partisan  to  a  stranger  ?  " 

^'  He  would  say  I  did  well,"  answered  the  young  man,  noth- 
ing daunted;  ^'for  he  is  for  ever  reminding  us  to  let  the 
stranger  have  his  own  way  in  everything  ;  and  English  Arthur 
stands  on  this  bridge  by  his  own  wish,  and  no  asking  of  mine. 
— Therefore,  kind  Arthur,  since  thou  will  barter  warm  straw 
and  a  sound  sleep  for  frosty  air  and  a  clear  moonlight,  I  make 
thee  welcome  with  all  my  heart.  Hear  your  duty  :  You  are  to 
stop  all^  who  enter,'Or  attempt  to  enter,  or  till  they  give  the 
password.  If  they  are  strangers,  you  must  give  alarm.  But 
you  will  suffer  such  of  our  friends  as  are  known  to  you  to  pass 
outward,  without  challenge  or  alarm,  because  the  deputation 
may  find  occasion  to  send  messengers  abroad." 

k.  murrain  on  thee,  thou  lazy  losel  I  "  said  Rudolph — 
"  Thou  art  the  only  sluggard  of  thy  kin." 

"Then  am  I  the  only  wise  man  of  them  all,"  said  the  youth. 
— "  Hark  ye,  brave  Hauptman,  ye  have  supped  this  evening, — ■ 
have  ye  not  1  " 

It  is  a  point  of  wisdom,  ye  owl,"  answered  the  Bernese, 
not  to  go  into  the  forest  fasting." 

"  If  it  is  wisdom  to  eat  when  we  are  hungry,"  answered 
Sigismund,  "  there  can  be  no  folly  in  sleeping  when  we  are 
weary."  So  saying,  and  after  a  desperate  yawn  or  two,  the  re- 
lieved sentinel  halted  off,  giving  full  effect  to  the  sprain  of 
which  he  complained. 

"  Yet  there  is  strength  in  those  loitering  limbs,  and  valor  in 
that  indolent  and  sluggish  spirit,"  said  Rudolph  to  the  English- 
man. "  But  it  is  time  that  I,  who  censure  others,  should  be- 
take me  to  my  own  task. —  Hither,  comrades  of  the  watch, 
hither." 

The  Bernese  accompanied  these  words  with  a  whistle,  which 
brought  from  within  six  young  men,  whom  he  had  previously 
chosen  for  the  duty,  and  who,  after  a  hurried  supper,  now 
waited  his  summons.  One  or  two  of  them  had  large  blood- 
hounds or  lyme-dogs,  which,  though  usually  employed  in  the 
pursuit  of  animals  of  chase,  were  also  excellent  for  discovering 
ambuscades,  in  which  duty  their  services  were  now  to  be  em- 
ployed. One  of  these  animals  was  held  in  a  leash,  by  the  per- 
son who,  forming  the  advance  of  the  party,  when  about  twenty 
yards  in  front  of  them  ;  a  second  was  the  property  of  Donner- 
hugel  himself,  who  had  the  creature  singularly  under  command. 
Three  of  his  companions  attended  him  closely  and  the  two 
others  followed,  one  of  whom  bore  a  horn  of  the  Bernese  wild 
bull,  by  way  of  bugle.    This  little  party  crossed  the  moat  by 


ANm  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


91 


the  temporary  bridge,  and  moved  on  to  the  verge  of  the  forest, 
which  lay  adjacent  to  the  castle,  and  the  skirts  of  which  were 
most  likely  to  conceal  any  ambuscade  that  could  be  apprehended. 
The  moon  was  now  up,  and  near  the  full,  so  that  Arthur,  from 
the  elevation  on  which  the  castle  stood,  could  trace  their  slow, 
cautious  march,  amid  the  broad  silver  light,  until  they  were  lost 
in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

When  this  object  had  ceased  to  occupy  his  eyes,  the  thoughts 
of  his  lonely  watch  again  returned  to  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and 
to  the  singular  expression  of  distress  and  apprehension  which 
had  that  evening  clouded  her  beautiful  features.  Then  the 
blush  which  had  chased,  for  the  moment,  paleness  and  terror 
from  her  countenance,  at  the  instant  his  eyes  encountered  hers 
— was  it  anger — was  it  modesty — was  it  some  softer  feeling, 
more  gentle  than  the  one,  more  tender  than  the  other.?  Young 
Philipson,  who,  like  Chaucer's  Squire,  was  as  modest  as  a 
maid,''  almost  trembled  to  give  to  that  look  the  favorable  inter- 
pretation, which  a  more  self-satisfied  gallant  would  have  applied 
to  it  without  scruple.  No  hue  of  rismg  or  setting  day  was  ever 
so  lovely  in  the  eyes  of  the  young  man,  as  that  blush  was  in  his 
recollection ;  nor  did  ever  enthusiastic  visionary,  or  poetical 
dreamer,  find  out  so  many  fanciful  forms  in  the  clouds,  as 
Arthur  divined  various  interpretations  from  the  indications  of 
interest  which  had  passed  over  the  beautiful  countenance  of 
the  Swiss  maiden. 

In  the  meantime,  the  thought  suddenly  burst  on  his  reverie, 
that  it  could  little  concern  him  what  was  the  cause  of  the  per- 
turbation she  had  exhibited.  They  had  met  at  no  distant 
period  for  the  first  time, — they  must  soon  part  forever.  She 
could  be  nothing  more  to  him  than  the  remembrance  of  a 
beautiful  vision,  and  he  could  have  no  other  part  in  her  memory 
save  as  a  stranger  from  a  foreign  land,  who  had  been  a  sojourner 
for  a  season  in  her  uncle's  house,  but  whom  she  could  never 
expect  to  see  again.  When  this  idea  intruded  on  the  train  of 
romantic  visions  which  agitated  him,  it  was  like  the  sharp  stroke 
of  the  harpoon,  which  awakens  the  whale  from  slumbering  tor- 
pidity into  violent  action.  The  gateway  in  which  the  young 
soldier  kept  his  watch  seemed  suddenly  too  narrow  for  him. 
He  rushed  across  the  temporary  bridge,  and  hastily  traversed 
a  short  space  of  ground  in  front  of  the  tete-du-pont^  or  defensive 
work,  on  which  its  outer  extremity  rested. 

Here  for  a  time  he  paced  the  narrow  extent  to  which  he  was 
confined  by  his  duty  as  a  sentinel,  with  long  and  rapid  strides, 
as  if  he  had  been  engaged  by  vow  to  take  the  greatest  possible 
quantity  of  exercise  upon  that  limited  space  of  ground.  His 


92 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


exertion,  however,  produced  the  effect  of  in  some  degree  com 
posing  his  mind,  recalling  him  to  himself,  and  reminding  him 
of  the  numerous  reasons  which  prohibited  his  fixing  his  atten- 
tion, much  more  his  affections,  upon  this  young  person,  how- 
ever fascinating  she  waSo 

I  have  surely,  he  thought,  as  he  slackened  his  pace,  and 
shouldered  his  heavy  partizan,  sense  enough  left  to  recollect  my 
condition  and  my  duties — to  think  of  my  father,  to  whom  I  am 
all  in  all — and  to  think  also  on  the  dishonor  which  must 
accrue  to  me,  were  I  capable  of  winning  the  affections  of  a 
frank-hearted  and  confiding  girl,  to  whom  I  could  never  do 
justice  by  dedicating  my  life  to  return  them.  "  No,''  he  said  to 
himself ;  she  will  soon  forget  me,  and  I  will  study  to  remem- 
ber her  no  otherwise  than  I  would  a  pleasing  dream,  which  hath 
for  a  moment  crossed  a  night  of  perils  and  dangers,  such  as 
my  life  seems  doomed  to  be." 

As  he  spoke,  he  stopped  short  in  his  walk,  and  as  he  rested 
on  his  weapon,  a  tear  rose  unbidden  to  his  eye,  and  stole  down 
his  cheek  without  being  wiped  away.  But  he  combated  this 
gentler  mood  of  passion  as  he  had  formerly  battled  with  that 
which  was  of  a  wilder  and  more  desperate  character.  Shaking 
off  the  dejection  and  sinking  of  spirit  which  he  felt  creeping 
upon  him,  he  resumed,  at  the  same  time,  the  air  and  attitude 
of  an  attentive  sentinel,  and  recalled  his  mind  to  the  duties  of 
his  watch,  .which,  in  the  tumult  of  his  feelings,  he  had  almost 
forgotten.  But  what  was  his  astonishment,  when,  as  he  looked 
out  on  the  clear  landscape,  there  passed  from  the  bridge  toward 
the  forest,  crossing  him  in  the  broad  moonlight,  the  living  and 
moving  likeness  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  ! 


CHAPTER  TENTH. 

We  know  not  when  we  sleep  nor  when  we  wake. 

Visions  distinct  and  perfect  cross  our  eye, 

Which  to  the  slund)crer  seem  realities  ; 

And  while  they  waked,  some  men  have  seen  such  sights 

As  set  at  nought  the  evidence  of  sense, 

And  left  them  well  persuaded  they  were  dreaming. 

Anonymous. 

The  apparition  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  crossed  her  lover — her 
admirer,  at  least,  we  must  call  him — within  shorter  time  than 
we  can  tell  the  story.    But  it  was  distinct,  perfect,  and  un- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


93 


doubted.  In  the  very  instant  when  the  young  Englishman, 
shaking  oE  his  fond  despondency,  raised  his  head  to  look  out 
upon  the  scene  of  his  watch,  she  came  from  the  nearer  end  of 
the  bridge,  crossing  the  path  of  the  sentinel,  upon  whom  she 
did  not  even  cast  a  look,  and  passed  with  a  rapid  yet  steady 
pace  toward  the  verge  of  the  woodland. 

It  would  have  been  natural,  though  Arthur  had  been 
directed  not  to  challenge  persons  who  left  the  castle,  but  only 
such  as  might  approach  it,  that  he  should  nevertheless,  had  it 
only  been  in  mere  civility,  have  held  some  communication, 
however  slight,  with  the  maiden  as  she  crossed  his  post.  But 
the  suddenness  of  her  appearance  took  from  him  for  the  instant 
both  speech  and  motion.  It  seemed  as  if  his  own  imagination 
had  raised  up  a  phantom,  presenting  to  his  outward  senses  the 
form  and  features  which  engrossed  his  mind  ;  and  he  was  silent, 
partly  at  least  from  the  idea,  that  what  he  gazed  upon  was  im- 
material, and  not  of  this  world. 

It  would  have  been  no  less  natural  that  Anne  of  Geierstein 
should  have  in  some  manner  acknowledged  the  person  who  had 
spent  a  considerable  time  under  the  same  roof  with  her,  had 
been  often  her  partner  in  the  dance,  and  her  companion  in  the 
field ;  but  she  did  not  evince  the  slightest  token  of  recognition, 
nor  even  look  toward  him  as  she  passed ;  her  eye  was  on  the 
wood,  to  which  she  advanced  swiftly  and  steadily,  and  she  was 
hidden  by  its  boughs  ere  Arthur  had  recollected  himself  suffi- 
ciently to  determine  what  to  do. 

His  first  feeling  was  anger  at  himself  for  suffering  her  to 
pass  unquestioned,  when  it  might  well  chance,  that  upon  any 
errand  which  called  her  forth  at  so  extraordinary  a  time  and 
place,  he  might  have  been  enabled  to  afford  her  assistance,  or 
at  least  advice.  This  sentiment  w^as  for  a  short  time  so  pre- 
dominant, that  he  ran  toward  the  place  w^here  he  had  seen 
the  skirt  of  her  dress  disappear,  and  w^hispering  her  name  as 
loud  as  the  fear  of  alarming  the  castle  permitted,  conjured  her 
to  return,  and  hear  him  but  for  a  few  brief  moments.  No 
answer,  however,  w^as  returned  ;  and  when  the  branches  of  the 
trees  began  to  darken  over  his  head  and  to  intercept  the  moon- 
light, he  recollected  that  he  was  leaving  his  post,  and  exposing 
his  fellow-travelers,  who  were  trusting  in  his  vigilance,  to  the 
danger  of  surprise. 

He  hastened,  therefore,  back  to  the  castle  gate,  with  matter 
for  deeper  and  more  inextricable  doubt  and  anxiety,  than  had 
occupied  him  during  the  commencement  of  his  watch.  He 
asked  himself  in  vain,  with  what  purpose  that  modest  young 
maiden,  whose  manners  were  frank,  but  whose  conduct  had 


94 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


always  seemed  so  delicate  and  reserved,  could  sally  forth  at 
midnight  like  a  damsel-errant  in  romance,  when  she  was  in  a 
strange  country  and  suspicious  neighborhood  ;  yet  he  rejected, 
as  he  would  have  shrunk  from  blasphemy,  any  interpretation 
which  could  have  thrown  censure  upon  Anne  of  Geierstein. 
No,  nothing  was  she  capable  of  doing  for  which  a  friend  could 
have  to  blush.  But  connecting  her  previous  agitation  with  the 
extraordinary  fact  of  her  leaving  the  castle,  alone  and  defence- 
less, at  such  an  hour,  Arthur  necessarily  concluded  it  must 
argue  some  cogent  reason,  and,  as  was  most  likely,  of  an  un- 
pleasant nature. — "  I  will  watch  her  return,"  he  internally 
uttered,  *'and,  if  she  will  give  me  an  opportunity,  I  will  convey 
to  her  the  assurance  that  there  is  one  faithful  bosom  in  her 
neighborhood,  which  is  bound  in  honor  and  gratitude  to  pour 
out  every  drop  of  its  blood,  if  by  doing  so  it  can  protect  her 
from  the  slightest  inconvenience.  This  is  no  silly  flight  of 
romance,  for  which  common  sense  has  a  right  to  reproach  me, 
it  is  only  what  I  ought  to  do,  what  I  must  do,  or  forego  every 
claim  to  be  termed  a  man  of  honesty  or  honor.'' 

Yet  scarce  did  the  young  man  think  himself  anchored  on  a 
resolution  which  seemed  unobjectionable,  than  his  thoughts 
were  again  adrift.  He  reflected  that  Anne  might  have  a  desire 
to  visit  the  neighboring  town  of  Bale,  to  which  she  had  been 
invited  the  day  before,  and  where  her  uncle  had  friends.  It 
was  indeed  an  uncommon  hour  to  select  for  such  a  purpose ; 
but  Arthur  was  aware  that  the  Swiss  maidens  feared  neither 
solitary  walks  nor  late  hours,  and  that  Anne  would  have  walked 
among  her  own  hills  by  moonlight  much  further  than  the  dis- 
tance betwixt  their  place  of  encampment  and  Bale,  to  see  a  sick 
friend,  or  for  any  similar  purpose.  To  press  himself  on  her 
confidence,  then,  might  be  impertinence,  not  kindness ;  and  as 
she  had  passed  him  without  taking  the  slightest  notice  of  his 
presence,  it  was  evident  she  did  not  mean  voluntarily  to  make 
him  her  confidant ;  and  probably  she  was  involved  in  ^o  diffi- 
culties where  his  aid  could  be  useful.  In  that  case,  the  duty 
of  a  gentleman  was  to  permit  her  to  return  as  she  had  gone 
forth,  unnoticed  and  unquestioned,  leaving  it  with  herself  to 
hold  communication  with  him  or  not  as  she  should  choose. 

Another  idea,  belonging  to  the  age,  also  passed  through  his 
mind,  though  it  made  no  strong  impression  upon  it.  This 
form,  so  perfectly  resembling  Anne  of  Geierstein,  might  be  a 
deception  of  the  sight,  or  it  might  be  one  of  those  fantastic 
apparitions,  concerning  which  there  were  so  many  tales  told  in 
all  countries,  and  of  which  Switzerland  and  Germany  had,  as 
Arthur  well  knew,  their  full  share.    The  internal  and  undefin- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


95 


able  feelings  which  restrained  him  from  accosting  the  maiden, 
as  might  have  been  natural  for  him  to  have  done,  are  easily 
explained,  on  the  supposition  that  his  mortal  frame  shrunk 
from  an  encounter  with  a  being  of  a  different  nature.  There 
had  also  been  some  expressions  of  the  magistrate  of  Bale,  which 
might  apply  to  the  castle's  being  liable  to  be  haunted  by  beings 
from  another  world.  But  though  the  general  belief  in  such 
ghostly  apparitions  prevented  the  Englishman  from  being 
positively  incredulous  on  the  subject,  yet  the  instructions  of 
his  father,  a  man  of  great  intrepidity  and  distinguished  good 
sense,  had  taught  him  to  be  extremely  unwilling  to  refer  any- 
thing to  supernatural  interferences,  which  was  capable  of  ex- 
planation by  ordinary  rules  ;  and  he  therefore  shook  off,  without 
difficulty,  any  feeling  of  superstitious  fear,  which  for  an  instant 
connected  itself  with  his  nocturnal  adventure.  He  resolved 
finally  to  suppress  all  disquieting  conjecture  on  the  subject,  and 
to  await  firmly,  if  not  patiently,  the  return  of  the  fair  vision, 
which,  if  it  should  not  fully  explain  the  mystery,  seemed  at 
least  to  afford  the  only  chance  of  throwing  light  upon  it. 

Fixed,  therefore,  in  purpose,  he  traversed  the  walk  which  his 
duty  permitted,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  part. of  the  forest 
where  he  had  seen  the  beloved  form  disappear,  and  forgetful 
for  the  moment  that  his  watch  had  any  other  purpose  than  to 
observe  her  return.  But  from  this  abstraction  of  mind  he  was 
roused  by  a  distant  sound  in  the  forest,  which  seemed  the  clash 
of  armor.  Recalled  at  once  to  a  sense  of  his  duty,  and  its 
importance  to  his  father  and  his  fellow-travelers,  Arthur  planted 
himself  on  the  temporary  bridge,  where  a  stand  could  best  be 
made,  and  turned  both  eyes  and  ears  to  watch  for  approaching 
danger.  The  sound  of  arms  and  footsteps  came  nearer — spears 
and  helmets  advanced  from  the  greenwood  glade,  and  twinkled 
in  the  moonlight.  But  the  stately  form  of  Rudolph  Donner- 
hugel,  marching  in  front,  was  easily  recognized,  and  announced 
to  our  sentinel  the  return  of  the  patrol.  Upon  their  approach 
to  the  bridge,  the  challenge,  and  interchange  of  sign  and  counter- 
sign, which  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  took  place  in  due  form  ; 
and  as  Rudolph^s  party  filed  off  one  after  another  into  the  castle, 
he  commanded  them  to  wake  their  companions,  with  whom  he 
intended  to  renew  the  patrol,  and  at  the  same  time  to  send  a 
relief  to  Arthur  Philipson,  whose  watch  on  the  bridge  was  now 
ended.  This  last  fact  was  confirmed  by  the  deep  and  distant 
toll  of  the  Minster  clock  from  the  town  of  Bale,  which,  prolong- 
ing its  sullen  sound  over  field  and  forest,  announced  that  mid- 
night was  past. 

"  And  now,  comrade/'  continued  Rudolph  to  the  Englishman, 


96 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


have  the  cold  air  and  long  watch  determined  thee  to  retire  to 
food  and  rest,  or  dost  thou  still  hold  the  intention  of  partaking 
our  rounds  ? 

In  very  truth,  it  would  have  been  Arthur's  choice  to  have 
remained  in  the  place  where  he  was,  for  the  purpose  of  watch- 
ing Anne  of  Geierstein's  return  from  her  mysterious  excursion. 
He  could  not  easily  have  found  an  excuse  for  this,  however, 
and  he  was  unwilling  to  give  the  haughty  Donnerhugel  the  least 
suspicion  that  he  was  inferior  in  hardihood,  or  in  the  power  of 
enduring  fatigue,  to  any  of  the  tall  mountaineers,  whose  com- 
panion he  chanced  to  be  for  the  present.  He  did  not,  therefore, 
indulge  even  a  moment's  hesitation ;  but  while  he  restored  the 
borrowed  partisan  to  the  sluggish  Sigismund,  who  came  from 
the  castle  yawning  and  stretching  himself  like  one  whose  slum- 
bers had  been  broken  by  no  welcome  summons,  when  they  were 
deepest  and  sweetest,  he  acquainted  Rudolph  that  he  retained 
his  purpose  of  partaking  in  his  reconnoitring  duty.  They  were 
speedily  joined  by  the  rest  of  the  patroling  party,  amongst 
whom  was  Rudiger,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Landamman  of  Unter- 
walden  ;  and  when,  led  by  the  Bernese  champion,  they  had 
reached  the  skirts  of  the  forest,  Rudolph  command  three  of 
them  to  attend  Rudiger  Biederman. 

*^Thou  wilt  make  thy  round  to  the  left  side,"  said  the 
Bernese  ;  "  I  will  draw  off  to  the  right — see  thou  keepest  a 
good  look  out,  and  we  will  meet  merrily  at  the  place  appointed. 
Take  one  of  the  hounds  with  you.  I  will  keep  Wolf-fanger, 
who  will  open  on  a  Burgundian  as  readily  as  on  a  bear." 

Rudiger  moved  off  with  his  party  to  the  left,  according  to  the 
directions  received  ;  and  Rudolph,  having  sent  forward  one  of 
his  number  in  front,  and  stationed  another  in  the  rear,  com- 
manded the  third  to  follow  himself  and  Arthur  Philipson,  who 
thus  constituted  the  main  body  of  the  patrol.  Having  inti- 
mated to  their  immediate  attendant  to  keep  at  such  distance 
as  to  allow  them  freedom  of  conversation,  Rudolph  addressed 
the  Englishman  with  the  familiarity  which  their  recent  friend- 
ship had  created. — "  And  now,  King  Arthur,  what  thinks  the 
Majesty  of  England  of  our  Helvetian  youth }  Could  they  win 
guerdon  in  tilt  or  tourney,  thinkest  thou,  noble  prince  Or 
would  they  rank  but  amongst  the  coward  knights  of  Cornou- 
ailles  1  "  * 

"  For  tilt  and  tourney  I  cannot  answer,"  said  Arthur,  sum- 
moning up  his  spirits  to  reply,  because  I  never  beheld  one  of 
you  mounted  on  a  steed,  or  having  spear  in  rest.    But  if  strong 

*The  chivalry  of  Cornwall  are  generally  undervalued  in  the  Norman- 
Frenqh  romances.    The  cause  is  difficult  to  discover. 


AMNE  OP  CkiERSTElN-. 


limbs  and  stout  hearts  are  to  be  considered,  I  would  match  you 
Swiss  gallants  with  those  of  any  country  in  the  universe,  where 
manhood  is  to  be  looked  for,  whether  it  be  in  heart  or  hand.*' 
Thou  speakest  us  fair;  and,  young  Englishman,'^  said 
Rudolph,  "  know  that  we  think  as  highly  of  thee,  of  which  I 
will  presently  afford  thee  a  proof.  Thou  talkedst  but  now  cf 
horses.  I  know  but  little  of  them  ;  yet  I  judge  thou  wouldst 
not  buy  a  steed  which  thou  hadst  only  seen  covered  with  trap- 
pings, or  encumbered  with  saddle  and  bridle,  but  wouldst  desire 
to  look  at  him  when  stripped  and  in  his  natural  state  of  freedom 

Ay,  marry,  would  1,'^  said  Arthur.  Thou  hast  spoken  on 
that  as  if  thou  hadst  been  born  in  a  district  called  Yorkshire, 
which  men  call  the  merriest  part  of  merry  England.'' 

Then  I  tell  thee,"  said  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  "  that  thou 
hast  seen  our  Swiss  youth  but  half,  since  thou  hast  observed 
them  as  yet  only  in  their  submissive  attendance  upon  the  elders 
of  their  cantons,  or,  at  most,  in  their  mountain  sports,  which, 
though  they  may  show  men's  outward  strength  and  activity, 
can  throw  no  light  on  the  spirit  and  disposition  by  which  that 
strength  and  activity  are  to  be  guided  and  directed  in  matters 
of  high  enterprise." 

*'The  Swiss  probably  designed  that  these  remarks  should 
excite  the  curiosity  of  the  stranger.  But  the  Englishman  had  the 
image,  look,  and  form  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  as  she  had  passed 
him  in  the  silent  hours  of  his  watch,  too  constantly  before  him, 
to  enter  willingly  upon  a  subject  of  conversation  totally  foreign 
to  what  agitated  his  mind:  He,  therefore,  only  compelled  him- 
self to  reply  in  civility,  that  he  had  no  doubt  his  esteem  for 
the  Swiss,  both  aged  and  young,  would  increase  in  proportion 
with  his  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  nation. 

He  was  then  silent ;  and  Donnerhugel,  disappointed,  per- 
haps, at  having  failed  to  excite  his  curiosity,  walked  also  in 
silence  by  his  side.  Arthur,  meanwhile,  was  considering  with 
himself  whether  he  should  mention  to  his  companion  the  cir- 
cumstance which  occupied  his  own  mind,  in  the  hope  that  the 
kinsman  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  ancient  friend  of  her  house, 
might  be  able  to  throw  some  light  on  the  subject. 

But  he  felt  within  his  mind  an  insurmountable  objection  to 
converse  with  the  Swiss  on  a  subject  in  which  Anne  was  con- 
cerned. That  Rudolph  made  pretensions  to  her  favor  could 
hardly  be  doubted  ;  and  though  Arthur,  had  the  question  been 
put  to  him,  must  in  common  consistency  have  resigned  all  com- 
petition on  the  subject,  still  he  could  not  beaY  to  think  on  the 
possibility  of  his  rival's  success,  and  would  not  willingly  have 
endured  to  hear  him  pronounce  her  name. 


98 


Al^NE  OF  GEIER^TEIN. 


Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  this  secret  irritability  that  Arthur, 
though  he  made  every  effort  to  conceal  and  to  overcome  the 
sensation,  still  felt  a  secret  dislike  to  Rudolph  Donnerhugel, 
whose  frank,  but  somewhat  coarse  familiarity,  was  mingled  with 
a  certain  air  of  protection  and  patronage,  which  the  Englishman 
thought  was  by  no  means  called  for.  He  met  the  openness  of 
the  Bernese,  indeed,  with  equal  frankness,  but  he  was  ever  and 
anon  tempted  to  reject  or  repel  the  tone  of  superiority  by  which 
it  was  accompanied.  The  circumstances  of  their  duel  had  given 
the  Swiss  no  ground  for  such  triumph  ;  nor  did  Arthur  feel 
himself  included  in  that  roll  of  the  Swiss  youth,  over  whom 
Rudolph  exercised  domination,  by  general  consent.  So  little 
did  Philipson  relish  this  affectation  of  superiority,  that  the  poor 
jest  that  termed  him  King  Arthur,  although  quite  indifferent 
to  him  when  applied  by  any  of  the  Biedermans,  was  rather 
offensive  when  Rudolph  took  the  same  liberty  ;  so  that  he  often 
found  himself  in  the  awkward  condition  of  one  who  is  internally 
irritated,  without  having  any  outward  manner  of  testifying  it 
with  propriety.  Undoubtedly,  the  root  of  all  this  tacit  dislike 
to  the  young  Bernese  was  a  feeling  of  rivalry  ;  but  it  was  a 
feeling  which  Arthur  dared  not  avow  even  to  himself.  It  was 
sufBciently  powerful,  however,  to  suppress  the  slight  inclination 
he  had  felt  to  speak  with  Rudolph  on  the  passage  of  the  night 
which  had  most  interested  him  ;  and  as  the  topic  of  conversation 
introduced  by  his  companion  had  been  suffered  to  drop,  they 
walked  on  side  by  side  in  silence,  "  with  the  beard  on  the 
shoulder,"  as  the  Spaniard  says — looking  round,  that  is,  on  all 
hands  ;  and  thus  performing  the  duty  of  a  vigilant  watch. 

At  length,  after  they  had  walked  nearly  a  mile  through 
forest  and  field,  making  a  circuit  around  the  ruins  of  Graffs- 
lust,  of  such  an  extent  as  to  leave  no  loom  for  an  ambush 
betwixt  them  and  the  place,  the  old  hound,  led  by  the  vidette 
who  was  foremost,  stopped,  and  uttered  a  low  growl. 

How  now,  Wol  f-f anger  !  "  said  Rudolph,  advancing. — 
"  What,  old  fellow  !  dost  thou  not  know  friends  from  foes  t 
Come,  what  sayest  thou,  on  better  thoughts? — Thou  must  not 
lose  character  in  thy  old  age — try  it  again.'* 

The  dog  raised  his  head,  snuffed  the  air  all  around,  as  if  he 
understood  what  his  master  had  said,  then  shook  his  head  and 
tail,  as  if  answering  to  his  voice. 

"  Why,  there  it  is  now,"  said  Donnerhugel,  patting  the 
animal's  shaggy  back  ;  "  second  thoughts  are  worth  gold ;  thou 
Sieest  it  is  a  friend  after  all." 

The  dog  again  shook  his  tail,  and  moved  forward  with  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


99 


same  unconcern  as  before  ;  Rudolph  fell  back  into  his  place,  and 
his  companion  said  to  him — 

"  We  are  about  to  meet  Rudiger  and  our  companions,  I  sup- 
pose, and  the  dog  hears  their  footsteps,  though  we  cannot/' 

"  It  can  scarcely  yet  be  Rudiger,"  said  the  Bernese ;  "  his 
walk  around  the  castle  is  of  a  wider  circumference  than  ours. 
Some  one  approaches,  however,  for  Wolf-fanger  is  again  dis- 
satisfied— Look  sharply  out  on  all  sides/' 

As  Rudolph  gave  his  party  the  word  to  be  on  the  alert,  they 
reached  an  open  glade,  in  which  were  scattered,  at  considerable 
distance  from  each  other,  some  old  pine-trees  of  gigantic  size, 
which  seemed  yet  huger  and  blacker  than  ordinary,  from  their 
broad  sable  tops  and  shattered  branches  being  displayed  against 
the  clear  and  white  moonlight. 

"We  shall  here  at  least,''  said  the  Swiss,  "have  the  advan- 
tage of  seeing  clearly  whatever  approaches.  But  I  judge,"  said 
he,  after  looking  around  for  a  minute,  "it  is  but  some  wolf  or 
deer  that  has  crossed  our  path,  and  the  scent  disturbs  the 
hound. — Hold — stop — yes  it  must  be  so  :  he  goes  on." 

The  dog  accordingly  proceeded,  after  having  given  some 
signs  of  doubt,  uncertainty,  and  even  anxiety.  Apparently, 
however,  he  became  reconciled  to  what  had  disturbed  him,  and 
proceeded  once  more  in  the  ordinary  manner. 

"  This  is  singular  !  "  said  Arthur  Philipson  ;  "  and,  to  my 
thinking,  I  saw  an  object  close  by  yonder  patch  of  thicket, 
where,  as  well  as  I  can  guess,  a  few  thorn  and  hazel  bushes 
surrounded  the.  stems  of  four  or  five  large  trees." 

"  My  eye  has  been  on  that  very  thicket  for  these  five  minutes 
past,  and  I  saw  nothing,"  said  Rudolph. 

"  Nav,  but,"  answered  the  young  Englishman,  "  I  saw  the 
object,  whatever  it  was,  while  you  were  engaged  in  attending 
to  the  dog.  And,  by  your  permission,  I  will  forward  and 
examine  the  spot." 

"  Were  you,  strictly  speaking,  under  my  command,"  said 
Donnerhugel,  "I  would  command  you  to  keep  your  place.  If 
they  be  foes,  it  is  essential  that  we  should  remain  together. 
But  you  are  a  volunteer  in  our  watch,  and  therefore  may  use 
your  freedom." 

"  I  thank  you,"  answered  Arthur,  and  sprang  quickly  for- 
ward. 

He  felt,  indeed,  at  the  moment,  that  he  was  not  acting 
courteously  as  an  individual,  nor  perhaps  correctly  as  a  soldier  ; 
and  that  he  ought  to  have  rendered  obedience  for  the  time,  to 
the  captain  of  the  party  in  which  he  had  enlisted  himself. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  object  which  he  had  seen,  though 


lOO 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


at  a  distance  and  imperfectly,  seemed  to  bear  a  resemblance  to 
the  retiring  form  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  as  she  had  vanished 
from  his  eyes,  an  hour  or  two  before,  under  the  cover  of  the 
forest ;  and  his  ungovernable  curiosity  to  ascertain  whether  it 
might  not  be  the  maiden  in  person,  allowed  him  to  listen  to  no 
other  consideration. 

Ere  Rudolph  had  spoken  out  his  few  words  of  reply,  Arthur 
was  half-way  to  the  thicket.  It  was,  as  it  had  seemed  at  a 
distance,  of  small  extent,  and  not  fitted  to  hide  any  person  who 
did  not  actually  couch  down  amongst  the  dwarf  bushes  and 
underwood.  Anything  white,  also,  which  bore  the  human  size 
and  form,  must,  he  thought,  have  been  discovered  among  the 
dark  red  stems  and  swarthy  colored  bushes  which  were  before 
him.  These  observations  were  mingled  with  other  thoughts. 
If  it  was  Anne  of  Geierstein  whom  he  had  a  second  time  seen, 
she  must  have  left  the  more  open  path,  desirous  probably  of 
avoiding  notice  ;  and  what  right  or  title  had  he  to  direct  upon 
her  the  observation  of  the  patrol  t  He  had,  he  thought, 
observed,  that  in  general  the  maiden  rather  repelled  than  en- 
couraged the  attentions  of  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  ;  or,  where  it 
would  have  been  discourteous  to  have  rejected  them  entirely, 
that  she  endured  without  encouraging  them.  What,  then, 
could  be  the  propriety  of  his  intruding  upon  her  private  walk, 
singular,  indeed,  from  time  and  place,  but  which,  on  that  ac- 
count, she  might  be  more  desirous  to  keep  secret  from  the 
observation  of  one  who  was  disagreeable  to  her  ?  Nay.  was  it 
not  possible  that  Rudolph  might  derive  advantage  to  his  other- 
wise unacceptable  suit,  by  possessing  the  knowledge  of  some- 
thing which  the  maiden  desired  to  be  concealed  \ 

As  these  thoughts  pressed  upon  him,  Arthur  made  a  pause, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  thicket,  from  which  he  was  now 
scarce  thirty  yards  distant  ;  and  although  scrutinizing  it  with 
all  the  keen  accuracy  which  his  uncertainty  and  anxiety  dic- 
tated, he  was  actuated  by  a  strong  feeling  that  it  would  be 
wisest  to  turn  back  to  his  companions,  and  report  to  Rudolph 
that  his  eyes  had  deceived  him. 

But  while  he  was  yet  undecided  whether  to  advance  or 
return,  the  object  which  he  had  seen  became  again  visible  on 
the  verge  of  the  thicket,  and  advanced  straight  toward  him, 
bearing,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  the  exact  dress  and  figure 
of  Anne  of  Geierstein  !  This  vision — for  the  time,  place,  and 
suddenness  of  the  appearance,  made  it  seem  rather  an  illusion 
than  a  reality- — struck  Arthur  with  surprise  wliich  amounted  to 
terror.  The  figure  passed  within  a  spear's  length,  unchallenged 
by  him,  and  giving  not  the  slightest  sign  of  recognition  ;  and. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


loi 


directing  its  course  to  the  right  hand  of  Rudolph,  and  the  two 
or  three  who  were  with  him,  was  again  lost  among  the  broken 
ground  and  bushes. 

Once  more  the  young  man  was  reduced  to  a  state  of  the 
most  ine:3jtricable  doubt  ;  nor  was  he  roused  from  the  stupor 
into  which  he  was  thrown,  till  the  voice  of  the  Bernese  sounded 
in  his  ear, — 

"  Why,  how  now.  King  Arthur — art  thou  asleep,  or  art  thou 
wounded  ?  " 

"  Neither,"  said  Philipson,  collecting  himself  \  "  only  much 
surprised." 

"  Surprised  and  at  what,  most  royal  "  

"  Forbear  foolery,"  said  Arthur,  somewhat  sternly,  "  and 
answer  as  thou  art  a  man — Did  she  not  meet  thee  ? — didst  thou 
not  see  her  ?  " 

"  See  her ! — see  whom  t  "  said  Donnerhugel.  "  I  saw  no  one. 
And  I  could  have  sworn  you  had  seen  no  one  either,  for  I  had 
you  in  my  eye  the  whole  time  of  your  absence,  excepting  two  or 
three  moments.  If  you  saw  aught,  why  gave  you  not  the  alarm  ?  " 

"  Because  it  was  only  a  woman,"  answered  Arthur  faintly. 
Only  awoman  !  "  repeated  Rudolph,  in  a  tone  of  contempt. 
"  By  my  honest  word.  King  Arthur,  if  I  had  not  seen  pretty 
flashes  of  valor  fly  from  thee  at  times,  I  should  be  apt  to  think 
that  thou  hadst  only  a  woman's  courage  thyself.  Strange,  that 
a  shadow  by  night,  or  a  precipice  in  the  day,  should  quell  so 

bold  a  spirit  as  thou  hast  often  shown  "  

And  as  I  will  ever  show,  when  occasion  demands  it,"  in- 
terrupted the  Englishman,  with  recovered  spirit.  But  I  swear 
to  you,  that  if  I  be  now  daunted,  it  is  by  no  merely  earthly  fears 
that  my  mind  hath  been  for  a  moment  subdued." 

"  Let  us  proceed  on  our  walk,"  said  Rudolph  ;  we  must  not 
neglect  the  safety  of  our  friends.  This  appearance,  of  which 
thou  speakest,  may  be  but  a  trick  to  interrupt  our  duty," 

They  moved  on  through  the  moonlight  glades  A  minute's 
reflection  restored  young  Philipson  to  his  full  recollection,  and 
with  that  to  the.  painful  consciousness  that  he  had  played  a 
ridiculous  and  unworthy  part  in  the  presence  of  the  person, 
whom  (of  the  male  sex,  at  least)  he  would  the  very  last  have  » 
chosen  as  a  witness  of  his  weakness. 

He  ran  hastily  over  the  relations  which  stood  betwixt  him- 
self, Donnerhugel,  the  Landamman,  his  niece,  and  the  rest  of 
that  family  ;  and,  contrary  to  the  opinion  which  he  had  enter- 
tained but  a  short  while  before,  settled  In  his  own  mind  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  mention  to  the  immediate  leader  under  whom 
he  had  placed  himself,  the  appearance  which  he  had  twice 


TC2 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


observed  in  the  course  of  that  night's  duty.  There  might  be 
family  circumstances, — the  payment  of  a  vow,  perhaps,  or  some 
such  reason, — which  might  render  intelhgible  to  her  connections 
the  behavior  of  this  young  lady.  Besides,  he  was  for  the  pres- 
ent a  soldier  on  duty,  and  these  mysteries  might  be  fraught 
with  evils  to  be  anticipated  or  guarded  against  ;  in  either  case, 
his  companions  were  entitled  to  be  made  aware  of  what  he  had 
seen.  It  must  be  supposed  that  this  resolution  was  adopted 
when  the  sense  of  duty,  and  of  shame  for  the  weakness  which 
he  had  exhibited,  had  for  the  moment  subdued  Arthur's  per- 
sonal feelings  toward  Anne  of  Geierstein, — feelings,  also,  liable 
to  be  chilled  by  the  mysterious  uncertainty  which  the  events 
of  that  evening  had  cast,  like  a  thick  mist,  around  the  object 
of  them. 

While  the  Englishman's  reflections  were  taking  this  turn, 
his  captain  or  companion,  after  a  silence  of  several  minutes,  at 
length  addressed  him. 

I  believe,"  he  said,  "  my  dear  comrade,  that,  as  being  at 
present  your  officer,  I  have  some  title  to  hear  from  you  the 
report  of  what  you  have  just  now  seen,  since  it  must  be  some- 
thing of  importance  which  could  so  strongly  agitate  a  mind  so 
firm  as  yours.  But  if,  in  your  own  opinion,  it  consists  with  the 
general  safety  to  delay  your  report  of  what  you  have  seen  until 
we  return  to  the  castle,  and  then  to  deliver  it  to  the  private  ear 
of  the  Landamman,  you  have  only  to  intimate  your  purpose  ; 
and,  far  from  urging  you  to  place  confidence  in  me  personally, 
though  I  hope  I  am  not  undeserving  of  it,  I  will  authorize  your 
leaving  us,  and  returning  instantly  to  the  castle." 

This  proposal  touched  him  to  whom  it  was  made  exactly  in 
the  right  place.  An  absolute  demand  of  his  confidence  might 
perhaps  have  been  declined ;  the  tone  of  moderate  request  and 
conciliation  fell  presently  in  with  the  Englisman's  own  re- 
flections. 

"I  am  sensible,"  he  said,  Hauptman,  that  I  ought  to 
mention  to  you  that  which  I  have  seen  to-night ;  but  on  the 
first  occasion,  it  did  not  fall  within  my  duty  to  do  so  ;  and, 
now  that  I  have  a  second  time  witnessed  the  same  appearance, 
I  have  felt  for  these  few  seconds  so  much  surprised  at  what  I 
have  seen,  that  even  yet  I  can  scarce  find  words  to  express  it." 

As  I  cannot  guess  what  you  may  have  to  say,"  replied  tlie 
Bernese,  "  I  must  beseech  you  to  be  explicit.  We  are  but  poor 
readers  of  riddles,  we  thick-headed  Switzers." 

"  Yet  it  is  but  a  riddle  which  I  have  to  place  before  you, 
Rudolph  Donnerhugel,"  answered  the  Englishman,  "  and  a 
riddle  which  is  far  beyond  my  own  guessing  at."    He  then 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


proceeded,  though  not  without  hesitation,  "  While  you  were 
performing  your  first  patrol  amongst  the  ruins,  a  female  crossed 
the  bridge  from  within  the  castle,  walked  by  my  post  without 
saying  a  single  word,  and  vanished  under  the  shadows  of  the 
forest.'' 

"  Ha ! exclaimed  Donnerhugel,  and  made  no  further 
answer. 

Arthur  proceeded.  "  Within  these  five  minutes,  the  same 
female  form  passed  me  a  second  time,  issuing  from  the  little 
thicket  and  clump  of  firs,  and  disappeared  without  exchanging 
a  word.  Know,  further,  this  apparition  bore  the  form,  face, 
gait,  and  dress  of  your  kinswoman,  Anne  of  Geierstein." 

"  Singular  enough,"  said  Rudolph,  in  a  tone  of  incredulity. 
"  I  must  not,  I  suppose,  dispute  your  word,  for  you  would 
receive  doubt  on  my  part  as  a  mortal  injury — such  is  your 
northern  chivalry.  Yet,  let  me  say,  I  have  eyes  as  well  as  you, 
and  I  scarce  think  they  quitted  you  for  a  minute.  We  were  not 
fifty  yards  from  the  place  where  I  found  you  standing  in  amaze- 
ment. How,  therefore,  should  not  we  also  have  seen  that 
which  you  say  and  think  you  saw  " 

"To  that  I  can  give  no  answer,*' said  Arthur.  "Perhaps 
your  eyes  were  not  exactly  turned  upon  me  during  the  short 
space  in  which  I  saw  this  form — Perhaps  it  might  be  visible — 
as  they  say  fantastic  appearances  sometimes  are — to  only  one 
person  at  a  time." 

"You  suppose,  then,  that  the  appearance  was  imaginary,  or 
fantastic   "  said  the  Bernese. 

"  Can  I  tell  you  .'^  "  replied  the  Englishman.  "  The  Church 
gives  its  warrant  that  there  are  such  things  ;  and  surely  it  is 
more  natural  to  believe  this  apparition  to  be  an  illusion,  than 
to  suppose  that  Anne  of  Geierstein,  a  gentle  and  well-nurtured 
maiden,  should  be  traversing  the  woods  at  this  wild  hour,  when 
safety  and  propriety  so  strongly  recommend  her  being  within 
doors." 

"There  is  much  in  what  you  say,"  said  Rudolph  ;  "  and  yet 
there  are  stories  afloat,  though  few  care  to  mention  them,  which 
seem  to  allege  that  Anne  of  Geierstein  is  not  altogether  such  as 
other  maidens  ;  and  that  she  has  been  met  with,  in  body  and 
spirit,  where  she  could  hardly  have  come  by  her  own  unassisted 
efforts." 

"  Ha  !  "  said  Arthur ;  "  so  young,  so  beautiful,  and  already 
in  league  with  the  destroyer  of  mankind  ?    It  is  impossible." 

"  I  said  not  so,"  replied  the  Bernese  ;  "  nor  have  I  leisure  at 
present  to  explain  my  meaning  more  fully.  As  we  return  to  the 
Castle  of  Graffs-lust,  I  may  have  an  opportunity  to  tell  you 


104 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


more.  But  I  chiefly  brought  you  on  this  patrol  to  introduce 
you  to  some  friends,  whom  you  will  be  pleased  to  know,  and 
who  desire  your  acquaintance  ;  and  it  is  here  I  expect  to  meet 
them/^ 

So  saying,  he  turned  round  the  projecting  corner  of  a  rock, 
and  an  unexpected  scene  was  presented  to  the  eyes  of  the 
young  Englishman. 

In  a  sort  of  nook  or  corner,  screened  by  the  rocky  projection, 
there  burned  a  large  fire  of  wood,  and  around  it  sat,  reclined, 
or  lay,  twelve  or  fifteen  young  men  in  the  Swiss  garb,  but  dec- 
orated with  ornaments  and  embroider)^,  which  reflected  back 
the  light  of  the  fire.  The  same  red  gleam  was  returned  by 
silver  wine-cups,  which  circulated  from  hand  to  hand  with  the 
flasks  which  filled  them.  Arthur  could  also  observe  the  relics 
of  a  banquet,  to  which  due  honor  seemed  to  have  been  lately 
rendered. 

The  revelers  started  joyfully  up  at  the  sight  of  Donnerhugel 
and  his  companions,  and  saluted  him,  easily  distinguished 
as  he  was  by  his  stature  by  the  title  of  Captain,  warmly  and  ex- 
ultingly  uttered,  while,  at  the  same  time,  every  tendency  to  noisy 
acclamation  was  cautiously  suppressed.  The  zeal  indicated 
that  Rudolph  came  most  welcome — the  caution  that  he  came 
in  secret,  and  was  to  be  received  with  mystery. 

To  the  general  greeting  he  answered, — "  I  thank  you,  my 
brave  comrades.    Has  Rudiger  yet  reached  you  ?  " 

"  Thou  seest  he  has  not,''  said  one  of  the  party ;  had  it 
been  so,  we  would  have  detained  him  here  till  your  coming, 
brave  Captain.'' 

*^  He  has  loitered  on  his  patrol,"  said  the  Bernese.  "  We 
too  were  delayed,  yet  we  are  here  before  him.  I  bring  with 
me,  comrades,  the  brave  Englishman,  whom  I  mentioned  to 
you  as  a  desirable  associate  in  our  daring  purpose." 

He  is  welcome,  most  welcome  to  us,"  said  a  young  man, 
whose  richly  embroidered  dress  of  azure  blue  gave  him  an  air 
of  authority ;  "  most  welcome  is  he,  if  he  brings  with  him  a 
heart  and  a  hand  to  serve  our  noble  task." 

"For  both  I  will  be  responsible,"  said  Rudolph.  "Pass 
the  wine-cup,  then,  to  the  success  of  our  glorious  enterprise, 
and  the  health  of  this  our  new  associate  !  " 

While  they  were  replenishing  the  cups  with  wine  of  a  qual- 
ity far  superior  to  any  which  Arthur  had  yet  tasted  in  these 
regions,  he  thought  it  right,  before  engaging  himself  in  the 
pledge,  to  learn  the  secret  object  of  the  association  which 
seemed  desirous  of  adopting' him. 

"  Before  I  engage  my  poor  services  to  you,  fair  sirs,  since 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


it  pleases  you  to  desire  them,  permit  me,"  he  said,  to  ask  the 
purpose  and  character  of  the  undertaking  in  which  they  are  to 
be  employed." 

"  Shouldst  thou  have  brought  him  hither,"  said  the  cavalier 
in  blue  to  Rudolph,  "  without  satisfying  him  and  thyself  on 
that  point  ?  " 

"  Care  not  thou  about  it,  Lawrenz,"  replied  the  Bernese  ; 
"  I  know  my  man. — Be  it  known,  then,  to  you,  my  good  friend," 
he  continued,  addressing  the  Englishman,  that  my  comrades 
and  I  are  determined  at  once  to  declare  the  freedom  of  the  Swiss 
commerce,  and  to  resist  to  the  death,  if  it  be  necessary,  all  un- 
lawful and  extortionate  demands  on  the  part  of  our  neigh- 
bors." 

"I  understand  so  much,"  said  the  370ung  Englishman, 
"and  that  the  present  deputation  proceeds  to  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy with  remonstrances  to  that  effect." 

"  Hear  me,"  replied  Rudolph.  The  question  is  like  to 
be  brought  to  a  bloody  determination  long  ere  we  see  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy^s  most  august  and  most  gracious  countenance. 
That  his  influence  should  be  used  to  exclude  us  from  Bale,  a 
neutral  town,  and  pertaining  to  the  empire,  gives  us  cause  to 
expect  the  worst  reception  when  we  enter  his  own  dominions. 
We  have  even  reason  to  think  that  we  might  have  suffered  from 
his  hatred  already,  but  for  the  vigilance  of  the  ward  which  we 
have  kept.  Horsemen,  from  the  direction  of  La  Ferette,  have 
this  night  reconnoitred  our  posts;  and  had  they  not  found  us 
prepared,  we  had,  without  question,  been  attacked  in  our  quar- 
ters. But  since  we  have  escaped  to-night,  we  must  take  care 
for  to-morrow.  For  this  purpose,  a  number  of  the  bravest 
youth  of  the  city  of  Bale,  incensed  at  the  pusillanimity  of  their 
magistrates,  are  determined  to  join  us,  in  order  to  wipe  away 
the  disgrace  which  the  cowardly  inhospitality  of  their  magis- 
tracy has  brought  on  their  native  place." 

"  That  we  will  do  ere  the  sun,  that  will  rise  two  hours  hence 
'shalf  sink  into  the  western  sky,"  said  the  cavalier  in  blue ;  and 
those  around  joined  him  in  stern  assent. 

"  Gentle  sirs,"  replied  Arthur,  when  there  was  a  pause,  "let 
me  remind  you,  that  the  embassy  which  you  attend  is  a  peace- 
ful one,  and  that  those  who  act  as  its  escort,  ought  to  avoid  any- 
thing which  can  augment  the  differences  which  it  comes  to 
reconcile.  You  cannot  expect  to  receive  offence  in  the  Duke's 
dominions,  the  privileges  of  envoys  being  respected  in  all 
civilized  countries ;  and  you  will,  I  am  sure,  desire  to  offer 
none." 

"We  may  be  subjected  to  insult,  however,"  replied  the 


io6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Bernese,  "  and  that  through  your  concerns,  Arthur  Philipson^ 
and  those  of  thy  father." 

"  I  understand  you  not/'  replied  Philipson. 
Your  father,"  answered  Donnerhugel,    is  a  merchant,  and 
bears  with  him  wares  of  small  bulk  but  high  value  ?  " 

He  does  so,"  answered  Arthur ;  "  and  what  of  that  ?  " 

"  Marry,"  answered  Rudolph,  "  that  if  it  be  not  better  looked 
to,  the  Bandog  of  Burgundy  is  like  to  fall  heir  to  a  large  propor- 
tion of  your  silks,  satins,  and  jewelry  work." 

"  Silks,  satins,  and  jewels  !  "  exclaimed  another  of  the  revel- 
ers ;  "  such  wares  will  not  pass  toll-free  where  Archibald  of 
Hagenbach  hath  authority." 

Fair  sirs,"  resumed  Arthur,  after  a  moment's  consideration, 
these  wares  are  my  father's  property,  not  mine  ;  and  it  is  for 
him,  not  me,  to  pronounce  how  much  of  them  he  might  be  con- 
tent to  part  with  in  the  way  of  toll,  rather  than  give  occasion  to 
a  fray,  in  which  his  companions,  who  have  received  him  into 
their  society,  must  be  exposed  to  injury  as  w^ell  as  himself.  I 
can  only  say,  that  he  has  weighty  affairs  at  the  court  of  Bur- 
gundy, which  must  render  him  desirous  of  reaching  it  in  peace 
with  all  men  ;  and  it  is  my  private  belief  that,  rather  than  incur 
the  loss  and  danger  of  a  broil  with  the  garrison  of  La  Ferette, 
he  would  be  contented  to  sacrifice  all  the  property  which  he  has 
at  present  with  him.  Therefore,  I  must  request  of  you,  gentle- 
men, a  space  to  consult  his  pleasure  on  this  occasion  ;  assuring 
you,  that  if  it  be  his  will  to  resist  the  payment  of  these  duties 
to  Burgundy,  you  shall  find  in  me  one  who  is  fully  determined 
to  fight  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood." 

Good  King  Arthur,"  said  Rudolph  ;  "  thou  art  a  dutiful 
observer  of  the  Fifth  Commandment,  and  thy  days  shall  be  long 
in  the  land.  Do  not  suppose  us  neglectful  of  the  same  duty, 
although,  for  the  present,  we  conceive  ourselves  bound,  in  the 
first  place,  to  attend  to  the  weal  of  our  country,  the  common 
parent  of  our  fathers  and  ourselves.  But  as  you  know  our  pro- 
found respect  for  the  Landamman,  you  need  not  fear  that  we 
shall  willingly  offer  him  offence,  by  rashly  engaging  in  hostil- 
ities, or  without  some  weighty  reason  ;  and  an  attempt  to  plunder 
his  guest  would  have  been  met,  on  his  part,  with  resistance  to 
the  death.  I  had  hoped  to  find  both  you  and  your  father  prompt 
enough  to  resent  such  a  gross  injury.  Nevertheless,  if  your 
father  inclines  to  present  his  fleece  to  be  shorn  by  Archibald  of 
Hagenbach,  whose  scissors,  he  will  find,  clip  pretty  closely,  it 
would  be  unnecessary  and  uncivil  in  us  to  interpose.  Meantime, 
you  have  the  advantage  of  knowing,  that  in  case  the  Gover- 
nor of  La  Ferette  should  be  disposed  to  strip  you  of  skin  as  well 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


107 


as  fleece,  there  are  more  men  dose  at  hand  than  you  looked 
for,  whom  you  will  find  both  able  and  willing  to  render  you 
prompt  assistance." 

"  On  these  terms/'  said  the  Englishman,  "  I  make  my  ac- 
knowledgments to  these  gentlemen  of  Bale,  or  whatever  other 
country  hath  sent  them  forth,  and  pledge  them  in  a  brotherly 
cup  to  our  further  and  more  intimate  acquaintance." 

"  Health  and  prosperity  to  the  United  Cantons,  and  their 
friends  !  "  answered  the  Blue  Cavalier.  "  And  death  and  con- 
fusion to  all  besides." 

The  cups  were  replenished ;  and  instead  of  a  shout  of  ap- 
plause, the  young  men  around  testified  their  devoted  determina- 
tion to  the  cause  which  was  thus  announced,  by  grasping  each 
other's  hands,  and  then  brandishing  their  weapons  with  a  fierce 
yet  noiseless  gesture.  ^ 

"  Thus,"  said  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  our  illustrious  ances- 
tors, the  fathers  of  Swiss  independence,  met  in  the  immortal 
field  of  Rutli,  between  Uri  and  Unterwalden.  Thus  they  swore 
to  each  other,  under  the  blue  firmament  of  heaven,  that  they 
would  restore  the  liberty  of  their  oppressed  country  ;  and  history 
can  tell  how  well  they  kept  their  word." 

"  And  she  shall  record,"  said  the  Blue  Cavalier,  how  well 
the  present  Switzers  can  preserve  the  freedom  which  their 
fathers  won. — Proceed  in  your  rounds,  good  Rudolph,  and  be 
assured,  that  at  the  signal  of  the  Hauptman,  the  soldiers  will 
not  be  far  absent ; — all  is  arranged  as  formerly,  unless  you  have 
new  orders  to  give  us." 

"  Hark  thee  hither,  Lawrenz,"  said  Rudolph  to  the  Blue 
Cavalier, — and  Arthur  could  hear  him  say, — "  Beware,  my 
friend,  that  the  Rhine  wine  be  not  abused ; — if  there  is  too 
much  provision  of  it,  manage  to  destroy  the  flasks ; — a  mule 
may  stumble,  thou  knowest,  or  so.  Give  not  way  to  Rudiger  in 
this.  He  is  grown  a  wine-bibber  since  he  joined  us.  We  must 
bring  both  heart  and  hand  to  what  may  be  done  to-morrow." — - 
They  then  whispered  so  low  that  Arthur  could  hear  nothing  of 
their  further  conference,  and  bid  each  other  adieu,  after  clasp- 
ing hands,  as  if  they  were  renewing  some  solemn  pledge  of 
union. 

Rudolph  and  his  party  then  moved  forward,  and  were  scarce 
out  of  sight  of  their  new  associates,  when  the  vidette,  or  fore- 
most of  their  patrol,  gave  the  signal  of  alarm.  Arthur's  heart 
leaped  to  his  lips — "  It  is  Anne  of  Geierstein  !  "  he  said,  inter- 
nally. 

"The  dogs  are  silent,"  said  the  Bernese.  "Those  who  ap- 
proach must  be  the  companions  of  our  watch." 


io8 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


They  proved,  accordingly,  to  be  Rudiger  and  his  party,  who. 
halting  on  the  appearance  of  their  comrades,  made  and  under- 
went a  formal  challenge  ;  such  advance  had  the  Swiss  already 
made  in  military  discipline,  which  was  but  little  and  rudely 
studied  by  the  infantry  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  Arthur  could 
hear  Rudolph  take  his  friend  Rudiger  to  task  for  not  meeting 
him  at  the  halting-place  appointed.  It  leads  to  new  revelry 
on  your  arrival,"  he  said,  and  to-morrow  must  find  us  cool 
and  determined." 

Cool  as  an  icicle,  noble  Hauptman,"  answered  the  son  of 
the  Landamman,  ^'  and  determined  as  the  rock  it  hangs  upon." 

Rudolph  again  recommended  temperance,  and  the  young 
Biederman  promised  compliance.  The  two  parties  passed  each 
other  with  friendly  though  silent  greeting  ;  and  there  was  soon  a 
considerable  distan^ce  between  them. 

The  country  was  more  open  on  the  side  of  the  castle,  around 
which  their  duty  now  led  them,  than  where  it  lay  opposite  to  the 
principal  gate.  The  glades  were  broad,  the  trees  thinly  scattered 
over  pasture  land,  and  there  were  no  thickets,  ravines,  or  similar 
places  of  ambush,  so  that  the  eye  might,  in  the  clear  moonlight, 
well  command  the  country. 

"  Here,"  said  Rudolph,  "  we  may  judge  ourselves  secure 
enough  for  some  conference  ;  and  therefore  may  I  ask  thee, 
Arthur  of  England,  now  that  thou  hast  seen  us  more  closely, 
what  thinkest  thou  of  the  Switzer  youth  'i — If  thou  hast  learned 
less  than  I  could  have  wished,  thank  thine  own  uncommuni- 
cative temper,  which  retired  in  some  degree  from  our  con- 
fidence." 

"  Only  in  so  far  as  I  could  not  have  answered,  and  therefore 
ought  not  to  have  received  it,"  said  Arthur.  *'The  judgment  I 
have  been  enabled  to  form  amounts,  in  few  words,  to  this  : 
Your  purposes  are  lofty  and  noble  as  your  mountains ;  but  the 
stranger  from  the  low  country  is  not  accustomed  to  tiead  the 
circuitous  path  by  which  you  ascend  them.  My  foot  has  been 
always  accustomed  to  move  straight  forward  upon  the  green- 
sward." 

You  speak  in  riddles,"  answered  the  Bernese. 
"  Not  so,"  returned  the  Englisman.  I  think  you  ought 
plainly  to  mention  to  your  seniors  (the  nominal  leaders  of  young 
men  who  seemed  well  disposed  to  take  their  own  road)  that  you 
expect  an  attack  in  the  neighborhood  of  La  Ferette,  and  hope 
for  assistance  from  some  of  the  townsmen  of  Bale." 

Ay,  truly,"  answered  Donnerhugcl ,  "  and  the  Landamman 
would  stop  his  journey  till  he  despatched  a  messenger  for  safe- 


ANNE  OP"  GEIEI^STEIN. 


#     conduct  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy ;  and  should  he  grant  it, 
there  were  an  end  of  all  hope  of  war." 

True,"  replied  Arthur ;  but  the  Landamman  would 
thereby  obtain  his  own  principal  object,  and  the  sole  purpose 
of  the  mission — that  is,  the  establishment  of  peace." 

"  Peace — peace  ? "  answered  the  Bernese^  hastily. — "  Were 
my  wishes  alone  to  be  opposed  to  those  of  Arnold  Biederman,  I 
know  so  much  of  his  honor  and  faith,  I  respect  so  highly  his 
valor  and  patriotism,  that  at  his  voice  I  would  sheathe  my 
sword,  even  if  my  most  mortal  enemy  stood  before  me.  But 
mine  is  not  the  single  wish  of  a  single  man  ;  the  whole  of  my 
canton,  and  that  of  Soleure,  are  determined  on  war.  It  was  by 
war,  noble  war,  that  our  fathers  came  forth  from  the  house  of 
their  captivity — it  w^as  by  war,  successful  and  glorious  war,  that 
a  race,  who  had  been  held  scarce  so  much  worth  thinking  on  as 
the  oxen  which  they  goaded,  emerged  at  once  into  liberty  and 
consequence,  and  were  honored  because  they  were  feared,  as 
much  as  they  had  been  formerly  despised  because  they  were 
unresisting." 

"  This  may  be  all  very  true,"  said  the  young  Englishman; 
"  but,  in  my  opinion,  the  object  of  your  mission  has  been  deter- 
mined by  your  Diet  or  House  of  Commons.  They  have  re- 
solved to  send  you  with  others  as  messengers  of  peace ;  but  you 
are  secretly  blowing  the  coals  of  war  ;  and  while  all  or  most  of 
your  senior  colleagues  are  setting  out  to-morrow  in  expectation 
of  a  peaceful  journey,  you  stand  prepared  for  a  combat,  and 
look  for  the  means  of  giving  cause  for  it." 

"  And  is  it  not  well  that  I  do  stand  so  prepared  ?  "  answered 
Rudolph.  "  If  our  reception  in  Burgundy's  dependencies  be 
peaceful,  as  you  say  the  rest  of  the  deputation  expect,  my  pre- 
cautions will  be  needless  ;  but  at  least  they  can  do  no  harm.  If 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  shall  be  the  means  of  averting  a  great  mis- 
fortune from  my  colleagues,  my  kinsman  Arnold  Biederman,  my 
fair  cousin  Anne,  your  father,  yourself — from  all  of  us  in  short, 
who  are  joyously  traveling  together." 

Arthur  shook  his  head.  "  There  is  something  in  all  this,"  he 
said,  "which  I  understand  not,  and  will  not  seek  to  understand. 
I  only  pray  that  you  will  not  make  my  father's  concerns  the  sub- 
ject of  breaking  truce  ;  it  may,  as  you  hint,  involve  the  Landam- 
man in  a  quarrel,  which  he  might  otherwise  have  avoided.  I  am 
sure  my  father  will  never  forgive  it." 

"  I  have  pledged  my  word,"  said  Rudolph,  already  to  that 
effect."  But  if  he  should  like  the  usage  of  the  Bandog  of  Bur- 
gundy less  than  you  seem  to  apprehend  he  will,  there  is  no  harm 


110 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


in  your  knowing  that,  in  time  of  need,  he  may  be  well  and  % 
actively  supported/' 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  by  the  assurance, replied  the  English- 
man. 

"  And  thou  mayest  thyself,  my  friend,'^  continued  Rudolph. 
"  take  a  warning  from  what  thou  hast  heard  :  Men  go  not  to  a 
bridal  in  armor,  nor  to  a  brawl  in  silken  doublet." 

I  will  be  clad  to  meet  the  worst,''  said  Arthur  ;  "  and  for 
that  purpose  I  will  don  a  light  hauberk  of  well-tempered  steel, 
proof  against  spear  or  arrow  ;  and  I  thank  you  for  your  kindly 
counsel." 

"  Nay,  thank  not  me,"  said  Rudolph  ;  "  I  were  ill  deserving 
to  be  a  leader  did  I  not  make  those  who  are  to  follow  me 
— more  especially  so  trusty  a  follower  as  thou  art — aware  of  the 
time  when  they  should  buckle  on  their  armor,  and  prepare  for 
hard  blows." 

Here  the  conversation  paused  for  a  moment  or  two,  neither 
of  the  speakers  being  entirely  contented  with  his  companion, 
although  neither  pressed  any  further  remark. 

The  Bernese,  judging  from  the  feelings  which  he  had  seen 
predominate  among  the  traders  of  his  own  country,  had  enter- 
tained little  doubt  that  the  Englishman,  finding  himself  power- 
Sully  supported  in  point  of  force,  would  have  caught  at  the  oppor- 
tunity to  resist  paying  the  exorbitant  imposts  with  which  he  was 
threatened  at  the  next  town,  which  would  probably,  without  any 
effort  on  Rudolph's  part,  have  led  to  breaking  of  the  truce  on  the 
part  of  Arnold  Biederman  himself,  and  to  an  instant  declaration 
of  hostilities.  On  the  other  hand,  young  Philipson  could  not 
understand  or  approve  of  Donnerhugel's  conduct,  who,  himself 
a  member  of  a  peaceful  deputation,  seemed  to  be  animated 
with  the  purpose  of  seizing  an  opportunity  to  kindle  the  flames 
of  war. 

Occupied  by  these  various  reflections,  they  walked  side  by 
side  for  some  time  without  speaking  together,  until  Rudolph 
broke  silence. 

"  Your  curiosity  is  then  ended.  Sir  Englishman,"  said  he, 
"  respecting  the  apparition  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  ?" 

'*  P'ar  from  it,"  replied  Philipson.  "  But  1  would  unwillingly 
intrude  any  questions  on  you  while  you  are  busy  with  the  duties 
of  your  patrol." 

"  That  may  be  considered  as  over,"  said  the  Bernese,  "for 
there  is  not  a  bush  near  us  to  cover  a  Burgundian  knave,  and 
a  glance  around  us  from  time  to  time  is  all  that  is  now  needful 
to  prevent  surprise.  And  so,  listen  while  I  tell  a  tale,  never 
sung  or  harped  in  hall  or  bower,  and  which,  I  begin  to  think, 


ANiVE  OP  GEIERSTEm. 


in 


deserves  as  much  credit,  at  least,  as  is  due  to  the  Tales  of  the 
Round  Table,  which  ancient  troubadours  and  minne-singers 
dole  out  to  us  as  the  authentic  chronicles  of  your  renowed 
namesake. 

"Of  Anne's  ancestors  on  the  male  side  of  the  house,"  con- 
tinued Rudolph,  "  I  dare  say  you  have  heard  enough,  and  are 
well  aware  how  they  dwelt  in  the  old  walls  at  Geierstein  beside 
the  cascade,  grinding  their  vassals,  devouring  the  substance  of 
their  less  powerful  neighbors,  and  plundering  the  goods  of  the 
travelers  whom  ill  luck  sent  within  ken  of  the  vulture's  eyry, 
the  one  year ;  and  in  the  next,  wearying  the  shrines  for  mercy 
for  their  trespasses,  overwhelming  the  priests  with  the  wealth 
which  they  showered  upon  them,  and  finally,  vowing  vows, 
and  making  pilgrimages,  sometimes  as  palmers,  sometimes  as 
crusaders,  as  far  as  Jerusalem  itself,  to  atone  for  the  iniquities 
which  they  had  committed  without  hesitation  or  struggle  of 
conscience." 

"  Such  I  have  understood,"  replied  the  young  Englishman, 
"  was  the  history  of  the  house  of  Geierstein,  till  Arnold,  or  his 
immediate  ancestors,  exchanged  the  lance  for  the  sheep-hook." 

"  But  it  is  said,"  replied  the  Bernese,  "  that  the  powerful 
and  wealthy  Barons  of  Arnheim,  of  Swabia,  whose  only  female 
descendant  became  the  wife  to  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein,  and 
the  mother  of  this  young  person,  whom  Swiss  call  simply  Anne, 
and  Germans  Countess  Anne  of  Geierstein,  were  nobles  of  a 
different  cast.  They  did  not  restrict  their  lives  within  the 
limits  of  sinning  and  repenting, — of  plundering  harmless  peas- 
ants, and  pampering  fat  monks  ;  but  were  distinguished  for 
something  more  than  building  castles  with  dungeons  and  folter- 
kammers,  or  torture  chambers,  and  founding  monasteries  with 
Galilees  and  Refectories. 

"  These  same  Barons  of  Arnheim  were  men  who  strove  to 
enlarge  the  boundaries  of  human  knowledge,  and  converted 
their  castles  into  a  species  of  college,  where  there  were  more 
ancient  volumes  than  the  monks  have  piled  together  in  the 
library  of  St.  Gall.  Nor  were  their  studies  in  books  alone. 
Deep  buried  in  their  private  laboratories,  they  attained  secrets 
which  were  afterward  transmitted  through  the  race  from  father 
to  son,  and  were  supposed  to  have  approached  nearly  to  the 
deepest  recesses  of  alchymy.  The  report  of  their  wisdom  and 
their  wealth  was  often  brought  to  the  Imperial  footstool ;  and 
in  the  frequent  disputes  which  the  Emperors  maintained  with 
the  Popes  of  old,  it  is  said  they  were  encouraged,  if  not  insti- 
gated, by  the  counsels  of  Barons  of  Arnheim,  and  supported 
by  their  treasures.    It  was,  perhaps,  such  a  course  of  politics, 


A.VKE  OF  GElEkSTEm. 


joined  to  the  unusual  and  mysterious  studies  which  the  faniily 
of  Arnheim  so  long  pursued,  which  excited  against  them  the 
generaliy  received  opinion,  that  they  were  assisted  in  their  su- 
perhuman researches  by  the  supernatural  influences.  The 
priests  were  active  in  forwarding  this  cry  against  men,  who, 
perhaps,  had  no  other  fault  than  that  of  being  wiser  than 
themselves. 

'  Look  what  guests,'  they  said,  *  are  received  in  the  halls  of 
Arnheim  !  Let  a  Christian  knight,  crippled  in  war  with  the 
Saracens,  present  himself  on  the  drawbridge,  he  is  guerdoned 
with  a  crust  and  a  cup  of  wine,  and  required  to  pass  on  his 
way.  If  a  palmer,  redolent  of  the  sanctity  acquired  by  his 
recent  visits  to  the  most  holy  shrines,  and  by  the  sacred  relics 
which  attest  and  reward  his  toil,  approach  the  unhallowed  walls, 
the  warder  bends  his  crossbow,  and  the  porter  shuts  the  gate, 
as  if  the  wandering  saint  brought  the  plague  with  him  from 
Palestine.  But  comes  there  a  gray-bearded,  glib-tongued  Greek, 
with  his  parchment  scroll,  the  very  letters  of  which  are  painful 
to  Christian  eyes — comes  there  a  Jewish  Rabbin,  with  his  Tal- 
mud and  Cabala — comes  there  a  swarthy  sun-burnt  Moor,  who 
can  boast  of  having  read  the  language  of  the  Stars  in  Chaldea, 
the  cradle  of  astrological  science — Lo,  the  wandering  impostor 
or  sorcerer  occupies  the  highest  seat  at  the  Baron  of  Arnheim's 
board,  shares  with  him  the  labors  of  the  alembic  and  the  fur- 
nace, learns  from  him  mystic  knowledge,  like  that  of  which  our 
first  parents  participated  to  the  overthrow  of  their  race,  and 
requites  it  with  lessons  more  dreadful  than  he  receives,  till  the 
profane  host  has  added  to  his  hoard  of  unholy  wisdom  all  that 
the  pagan  visitor  can  communicate.  And  these  things  are  done 
in  Almain,  which  is  called  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  of  which 
so  many  priests  are  princes! — they  are  done,  and  neither  ban 
nor  monition  is  issued  against  a  race  of  sorcerers,  who,  from 
age  to  age,  go  on  triumphing  in  their  necromancy! ' 

"  Such  arguments,  which  were  echoed  from  mitred  Abbots 
to  the  cell  of  Anchorites,  seem,  nevertheless,  to  have  made  little 
impression  on  the  Imperial  counsel.  But  ihey  served  to  excite 
the  zeal  of  many  a  Baron  and  Free  Count  of  the  Empire,  who 
were  taught  by  them  to  esteem  a  war  or  feud  with  the  Barons 
of  Arnheim  as  partaking  of  the  nature,  and  entitled  to  the 
immunities,  of  a  crusade  against  the  enemies  of  the  Faith,  and 
to  regard  an  attack  upon  these  obnoxious  potentates,  as  a  mode 
of  clearing  off  their  deep  scores  with  the  Christian  Church. 
But  the  Lords  of  Arnheim,  though  not  seeking  for  quarrel,  were 
by  no  means  un warlike,  or  averse  to  maintaining  their  own 
defence.    Some,  on  the  contrary,  belonging  to  this  obnoxious 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


113 


race  were,  not  the  less  distinguished  as  gallant  knights  and 
good  men-at-arms.  They  were,  besides  wealthy,  secured  and 
strengthened  by  great  alliances,  and  in  an  eminent  degree  wise 
and  providentc  This  the  parties  who  assailed  them  learned  to 
their  cost. 

The  confederacies  formed  against  the  Lords  of  Arnheim 
were  broke  up ;  the  attacks  which  their  enemies  meditated 
were  anticipated  and  disconcerted;  and  those -who  employed 
actual  violence  were  repelled  with  signal  loss  to  the  assailants : 
until  at  length  an  impression  was  produced  in  their  neighbor- 
hood, that  by  their  accurate  information  concerning  meditated 
violence,  and  their  extraordinary  powers  of  resisting  and  defeat- 
ing it,  the  obnoxious  Barons  must  have  brought  to  their  defence 
means  which  merely  human  force  was  incapable  of  overthrow- 
ing ;  so  that,  becoming  as  much  feared  as  hated,  they  were 
suffered  for  the  last  generation  to  remain  unmolested.  And 
this  was  the  rather  the  case,  that  the  numerous  vassals  of  this 
great  house  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  their  feudal  superiors, 
abundantly  ready  to  rise  in  their  defence,  and  disposed  to  be- 
lieve, that,  whether  their  lords  were  sorcerers  or  no,  their  own 
condition  would  not  be  mended  by  exchanging  their  government- 
either  for  the  rule  of  the  crusaders  in  this  holy  warfare,  or  that 
of  the  churchmen  by  whom  it  was  instigated.  The  race  of  these 
barons  ended  in  Herman  von  Arnheim,  the  maternal  grand- 
father of  Anne  of  Geierstein.  He  was  buried  with  his  helmet, 
sword,  and  shield,  as  is  the  German  custom  with  the  last  male 
of  a  noble  family. 

But  he  left  an  only  daughter,  Sybilla  of  Arnheim,  to  in- 
herit a  considerable  portion  of  his  estate  ;  and  I  never  heard 
that  the  strong  imputation  of  sorcery  which  attached  to  her 
house,  prevented  numerous  applications,  from  persons  of  the 
highest  distinction  in  the  Empire,  to  her  legal  guardian  the 
Emperor,  for  the  rich  heiress's  hand  in  marriage.  Albert  of 
Geierstein,  however,  though  an  exile,  obtained  the  preference. 
He  was  gallant  and  handsome,  which  recommended  him  to 
Sybilla  ;  and  the  Emperor,  bent  at  the  time  on  the  vain  idea  of 
recovering  his  authority  in  the  Swiss  mountains,  was  desirous 
to  show  himself  generous  to  Albert,  whom  he  considered  as  a 
fugitive  from  his  country  for  espousing  the  Imperial  cause. 
You  may  thus  see,  most  noble  King  Arthur,  that  Anne  of 
Geierstein,  the  only  child  of  their  marriage,  descends  from  no 
ordinary  stock ;  and  that  circumstances  in  which  she  may  be 
concerned,  are  not  to  be  explained  or  judged  of  so  easily,  or 
upon  the  same  grounds  of  reasoning,  as  in  the  case  of  ordinary 
persons." 


114 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEIN 


"  By  my  honest  word,  Sir  Rudolph  of  Donnerhugel/'  said 
Arthur,  studiously  laboring  to  keep  a  command  upon  his  feel- 
ings, "  I  can  see  nothing  in  your  narrative,  and  understand 
nothing  from  it,  unless  it  be,  that  because  in  Germany,  as  in 
other  countries,  there  have  been  fools  who  have  annexed  the 
idea  of  witchcraft  and  sorcery  to  the  possession  of  knowledge  and 
wisdom,  you  are  therefore  disposed  to  stigmatize  a  young 
maiden,  who  has  always  been  respected  and  beloved  by  those 
around  her,  as  a  disciple  of  arts  which,  I  trust,  are  as  uncommon 
as  unlawful." 

Rudolph  paused  ere  he  replied. 

''I  could  have  wished,"  he  said,  ''that  you  had  been  satis- 
fied with  the  general  character  of  Anne  of  Geierstein's  maternal 
family,  as  offering  some  circumstances  which  may  account  for 
what  you  have,  -according  to  your  own  report,  this  night  wit- 
nessed, and  I  am  really  unwilling  to  go  into  more  particular 
details.  To  no  one  can  Anne  of  Geierstein's  fame  be  so 
dear  as  to  me.  I  am,  after  her  uncle's  family,  her  nearest 
relative,  and  had  she  remained  in  Switzerland,  or  should  she,  as 
is  most  probable,  return  thither  after  the  present  visit  to  her 
father,  perhaps  our  connection  might  be  drawn  yet  closer. 
This  has,  indeed,  only  been  prevented  by  certain  prejudices  of 
her  uncle's  respecting  her  father's  authority,  and  the  nearness 
of  our  relationship,  which,  however,  comes  within  reach  of  a 
license  very  frequently  obtained.  But  I  only  mention  these 
things,  to  show  you  how  much  more  tender  I  must  necessarily 
hold  Anne  of  Geierstein's  reputation,  than  it  is  possible  for  you 
to  do,  being  a  stranger,  known  to  her  but  a  short  while  since, 
and  soon  to  part  with  her,  as  I  understand  your  purpose, 
forever." 

The  turn  taken  in  this  kind  of  apology  irritated  Arthur  so 
highly,  that  it  required  all  the  reasons  which  recommended  cool- 
ness, to  enable  him  to  answer  with  assumed  composure. 

'*  I  can  have  no  ground.  Sir  Hauptman,"  he  said,  "  to  chal- 
lenge any  opinion  which  you  may  entertain  of  a  young  person 
with  whom  you  are  so  closely  connected,  as  you  appear  to  be 
with  Anne  of  Geierstein.  I  only  wonder  that,  with  such  regard 
for  her  as  your  relationship  implies,  you  should  be  disposed  to 
receive,  on  popular  and  trivial  traditions,  a  belief  which  must 
injuriously  affect  your  kinswoman,  more  especially  one  with 
whom  you  intimate  a  wish  to  form  a  still  more  close  connection. 
Bethink  you,  sir,  that  in  all  Christian  lands,  the  imputation  of 
sorcery  is  the  most  foul  which  can  be  thrown  on  Christian  man 
or  woman." 

"  And  I  am  so  far  from  intimating  such  an  imputation,"  said 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


■Rudolph,  somewhat  fiercely,  *'  that,  by  the  good  sword  I  wear, 
he  that  dared  give  breath  to  such  a  thought  against  Anne  of 
Geierstein,  must  undergo  my  challenge,  and  take  my  life,  or  lose 
his  own.  But  the  question  is  not  whether  the  maiden  herself 
practices  sorcery,  which  he  who  avers  had  better  get  ready  his 
tomb,  and  provide  for  his  souFs  safety ;  the  doubt  lies  here, 
whether,  as  the  descendant  of  a  family,  whose  relations  with  the 
unseen  world  are  reported  to  have  been  of  the  closest  degree, 
elfish  and  fantastical  beings  may  not  have  powder  to  imitate  her 
form,  and  to  present  her  appearance  where  she  is  not  personally 
present — in  fine,  whether  they  have  permission  to  play  at  her 
expense  fantastical  triC:ks,  which  they  cannot  exercise  over  other 
mortals,  whose  forefathers  have  ever  regulated  their  lives  by  the 
rules  of  the  Church,  and  died  in  regular  communion  with  it. 
And  as  I  sincerely  desire  to  retain  your  esteem,  I  have  no 
objection  to  communicate  to  you  more  particular  circumstances 
respecting  her  genealogy,  confirming  the  idea  I  have  now 
expressed.  But  you  will  understand  they  are  of  the  most  private 
nature,  and  that  I  expect  secrecy  under  the  strictest  personal 
penalty." 

"  I  shall  be  silent,  sir,''  replied  the  young  Englishman,  still 
struggling  with  suppressed  passion,  "  on  everything  respecting 
the  character  of  a  maiden  whom  I  am  bound  to  respect  so  highly. 
But  the  fear  of  no  man's  displeasure  can  add  a  feather's  weight 
to  the  guarantee  of  my  own  honor." 

"  Be  it  so,"  said  Rudolph  ;  "  it  is  not  my  wish  to  awake  angry 
feelings ;  but  I  am  desirous,  both  for  the  sake  of  your  good 
opinion,  which  I  value,  and  also  for  the  plainer  explanation  of 
w^hat  I  have  darkly  intimated,  to  communicate  to  you  what  other- 
wise I  would  much  rather  have  left  untold." 

"  You  must  be  guided  by  your  own  sense  of  what  is  necessary 
and  proper  in  the  case,"  answered  Philipson ;  '*but  remember 
I  press  not  on  your  confidence  for  the  communication  of 
anything  that  ought  to  remain  secret,  far  less  where  that  young 
lady  is  the  subject." 

Rudolph  answered,  after  a  minute's  pause, — "  Thou  hast  seen 
and  heard  too  much,  Arthur,  not  to  learn  the  whole,  or  at  least 
all  that  I  know  or  apprehend  on  the  mysterious  subject.  It  is 
impossible  but  the  circumstances  must  at  times  recur  to  your 
recollection,  and  I  am  desirous  that  you  should  possess  all  the 
information  necessary  to  understand  them  as  clearly  as  the 
nature  of  the  facts  will  permit.  We  have  yet,  keeping  leftward 
to  view  the  bog,  upward  of  a  mile  to  make  ere  the  circuit  of 
the  castle  is  accomplished.  It  will  afford  leisure  enough  for 
the  tale  I  have  to  tell." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


"Speak  on — I  listen  !"  answered  the  Englishman,  divided 
between  his  desire  to  know  all  that  it  was  possible  to  learn  con- 
cerning Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  his  dislike  to  hear  her  name 
pronounced  with  such  pretensions  as  those  of  Donnerhugel, 
together  with  the  revival  of  his  original  prejudices  against  the 
gigantic  Swiss,  whose  manners,  always  blunt,  nearly  to  coarse- 
ness, seemed  now  marked  by  assumed  superiority  and  presump- 
tion. Arthur  listened,  however,  to  his  wild  tale,  and  the  interest 
which  he  took  in  it  soon  overpowered  all  other  sensations. 


CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 
donnerhugel's  narrative. 

These  be  the  adept*s  doctrines — every  element 
Is  peopled  with  its  separate  race  of  spirits. 
The  airy  Sylphs  on  the  blue  ether  float 
Deep  in  the  earthy  cavern  skulks  the  Gnome; 
The  sea-green  Naiad  skims  the  ocean  billow, 
And  the  fierce  fire  is  yet  a  friendly  home 
To  its  peculiar  sprite — the  Salamander. 

Anonymous. 

I  TOLD  you  (said  Rudolph)  that  the  Lords  of  Arnheim,  though 
from  father  to  son  they  were  notoriously  addicted  to  secret  studies, 
were,  nevertheless,  like  the  other  German  nobles,  followers  of 
war  and  the  chase.  This  was  peculiarly  the  case  with  Anne's 
maternal  grandfather,  Herman  of  Arnheim,  who  prided  himself 
on  possessing  a  splendid  stud  of  horses,  and  one  steed  in  par- 
ticular, the  noblest  ever  known  in  these  circles  of  Germany.  I 
should  make  wild  work  were  I  to  attempt  a  description  of  such 
an  animal,  so  I  will  content  myself  with  saying  his  color  was 
jet  black,  without  a  hair  of  white  either  on  his  face  or  feet.  For 
this  reason,  and  the  wildness  of  his  disposition,  his  master  had 
termed  him  Apollyon  ;  a  circumstance  which  was  secretly  con- 
sidered as  tending  to  sanction  the  evil  reports  which  touched  the 
house  of  Arnheim,  being,  it  was  said,  the  naming  of  a  favorite 
animal  after  a  foul  fiend. 

I  t  chanced,  one  November  day,  that  the  Baron  had  been  hunt- 
ing  in  the  forest,  and  did  not  reach  home  till  nightfall.  There 
were  no  guests  with  him,  for,  as  I  hinted  to  you  before,  the  Castle 
of  Arnheim  seldom  received  any  other  than  those  from  whom  its 
inhabitants  hoped  to  gain  augmentation  of  knowledge.  The 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Baron  was  seated  alone  in  his  hall,  illuminated  with  cressets  and 
torches.  His  one  hand  held  a  volume  covered  with  characters 
unintelligible  to  all  save  himself.  The  other  rested  on  the 
marble  table,  on  which  was  placed  a  flask  of  Tokay  wine.  A 
page  stood  in  respectful  attendance  near  the  bottom  of  the  large 
and  dim  apartment,  and  no  sound  was  heard  save  that  of  the 
night  wind,  when  it  sighed  mournfully  through  the  rusty  coats 
of  mail,  and  waved  the  tattered  banners  which  were  the  tapestry 
of  the  feudal  hall.  At  once  the  footstep  of  a  person  was  heard 
ascending  the  stairs  in  haste  and  trepidation  ;  the  door  of  the 
hall  was  thrown  violently  open,  and,  terrified  to  a  degree  of 
ecstacy,  Caspar,  the  head  of  the  Baron's  stable,  or  his  master 
of  horse,  stumbled  up  almost  to  the  foot  of  the  table  at  which 
his  lord  was  seated,  with  the  exclamation  in  his  mouth, — 
My  lord,  my  lord,  a  fiend  is  in  the  stable  !  '' 

"What  means  this  folly?"  said  the  Baron,  arising,  surprised 
and  displeased  at  an  interruption  so  unusual. 

**Let  me  endure  your  displeasure,"  said  Caspar,  "if  I  speak 
not  truth  !    Apollyon  "  

Here  he  paused. 

"  Speak  out,  thou  frightened  fool,"  said  the  Baron  ;  "  is  my 
horse  sick  or  injured  .^*" 

The  master  of  the  stalls  again  gasped  forth  the  word, 
"  Apollyon  ! " 

"  Say  on,"  said  the  Baron  ;  "  were  Apollyon  in  presence 
personally,  it  were  nothing  to  shake  a  brave  man's  mind." 

"The  devil,"  answered  the  master  of  the  horse,  "is  in 
Apollyon's  stall ! " 

"  Fool  !  "  exclaimed  the  nobleman,  snatching  a  torch  from 
the  wall ;  "  what  is  it  that  could  have  turned  thy  brain  in  such 
silly  fashion  1  Things  like  thee,  that  are  born  to  serve  us^ 
should  hold  their  brains  on  a  firmer  tenure,  for  our  sakes,  if  not 
for  that  of  their  worthless  selves." 

As  he  spoke,  he  descended  to  the  court  of  the  castle,  to  visit 
the  stately  range  of  stables  which  occupied  all  the  lower  part 
of  the  quadrangle  on  one  side.  He  entered,  where  fifty  gallant 
steeds  stood  in  rows,  on  each  side  of  the  ample  hall. '  At  the 
side  of  each  stall  hung  the  weapons  of  offence  and  defence  of 
a  man-at-arms,  as  bright  as  constant  attention  could  make  them, 
together  with  the  buff-coat  which  formed  the  trooper's  under- 
garment.  The  Baron,  followed  by  one  or  two  of  the  domestics, 
who  had  assembled  full  of  astonishment  at  the  unusual  alarm, 
hastened  up  to  the  head  of  the  stable  betwixt  the  rows  of 
steeds.  As  he  approached  the  stall  of  his  favorite  horse,  which 
was  the  uppermost  of  the  right-hand  row,  the  gallant  steed 


neither  neighed,  nor  shook  his  head,  nor  stamped  with  his  foot, 
nor  gave  the  usual  signs  of  joy  at  his  lord's  approach ;  a  faint 
moaning,  as  if  he  implored  assistance,  was  the  only  acknowl- 
edgment he  gave  of  the  Baron's  presence. 

Sir  Herman  held  up  the  torch,  and  discovered  that  there 
was  indeed  a  tall  dark  figure  standing  in  the  stall,  resting  his 
hand  on  the  horse's  shoulder.  "  Who  art  thou,"  said  the  Baron, 
"  and  what  dost  thou  here  ? " 

"I  seek  refuge  and  hospitality,''  replied  the  stranger  ;  "  and 
I  conjure  thee  to  grant  it  me,  by  the  shoulder  of  thy  horse, 
and  by  the  edge  of  thy  sword,  and  so  as  they  may  never  fail 
thee  when  thy  need  is  at  the  utmost  ? " 

Thou  art,  then,  a  brother  of  the  Sacred  Fire,"  said  Baron 
Herman  of  Arnheim ;  "  and  I  may  not  refuse  thee  the  refuge 
which  thou  requirest  of  me,  after  the  ritual  of  the  Persian 
Magi.  From  whom,  and  for  what  length  of  time,  dost  thou 
crave  my  protection  ?  " 

"From  those,"  replied  the  stranger,  "who  shall  arrive  in 
quest  of  me  before  the  morning  cock  shall  crow,  and  for  the 
full  space  of  a  year  and  a  day  from  this  period." 

"I  may  not  refuse  thee,"  said  the  Baron,  "consistently  with 
my  oath  and  my  honor.  For  a  year  and  a  day  I  will  be  thy 
pledge,  and  thou  shalt  share  with  me  roof  and  chamber,  wine 
and  food.  But  thou,  too,  must  obey  the  law  of  Zoroaster, 
which,  as  it  says.  Let  the  Stronger  protect  the  weaker  brother, 
says  also,  let  the  Wiser  instruct  the  brother  who  hath  less 
knowledge.  I  am  the  stronger,  and  thou  shalt  be  safe  under 
my  protection  ;  but  thou  art  the  wiser,  and  must  instruct  me 
in  the  more  secret  mysteries." 

"You  mock  your  servant,"  said  the  stranger  visitor ;  but 
if  aught  is  known  to  Dannischemend  which  can  avail  Herman, 
his  instructions  shall  be  as  those  of  a  father  to  a  son." 

"  Come  forth,  then,  from  thy  place  of  refuge,"  said  the 
Baron  of  Arnheim.  "I  swear  to  thee  by  the  sacred  fire  which 
lives  without  terrestrial  fuel,  and  by  the  fraternity  which  is  be- 
twixt us,  and  by  the  shoulder  of  my  horse,  and  the  edge  of  my 
good  sword,  I  will  be  thy  warrant  for  a  year  and  a  day,  if  so 
far  my  power  shall  extend." 

The  stranger  came  forth  accordingly  ;  and  those  who  saw  the 
singularity  of  his  appearance,  scarce  wondered  at  the  fears  of 
Caspar,  the  stall-master,  when  he  found  such  a  person  in  the 
stable,  by  what  mode  of  entrance  he  was  unable  to  conceive. 
When  he  reached  the  lighted  hall,  to  which  the  Baron  con- 
ducted him,  as  he  would  have  done  a  welcomed  and  honored 
guest,  the  stranger  appeared  to  be  very  tall,  and  of  a  dignified 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTETN. 


119 


aspect.  His  dress  was  Asiatic,  being  a  long  black  caftan,  01 
gown,  like  that  worn  by  Armenians,  and  a  lofty  square  cap, 
covered  with  the  wool  of  Astracan  Iambs.  Every  article  of  the 
dress  was  black,  which  gave  relief  to  the  long  white  beard  that 
flowed  down  over  his  bosom.  His  gown  was  fastened  by  a  sash 
of  black  silk  net-work,  in  which,  instead  of  a  poniard  or  sword, 
was  stuck  a  silver  case,  containing  writing  materials,  and  a  roll 
of  parchment.  The  only  ornament  of  his  apparel  consisted  in 
a  large  ruby  of  uncommon  brilliancy,  which,  when  he  approach- 
ed the  light,  seemed  to  glow  with  such  liveliness,  as  if  the  gem 
itself  had  emitted  the  rays  which  it  only  reflected  back.  To  the 
offer  of  refreshment  tlie  stranger  replied,  Bread  I  may  not 
eat,  water  shall  not  moisten  my  lips,  until  the  avenger  shall 
have  passed  by  the  threshold.'' 

The  Baron  commanded  the  lamps  to  be  trimmed,  and  fresh 
torches  to  be  lighted,  and  sending  his  own  household  to  rest, 
remained  seated  in  the  hall  along  with  the  stranger,  his  sup- 
pliant. At  the  dead  hour  of  midnight,  the  gates  of  the  cas»tle 
were  shaken  as  by  a  whirlwind,  and  a  voice,  as  of  a  herald,  was 
heard  to  demand  a  herald's  lawful  prisoner,  Dannischemend, 
the  son  of  Hali.  The  warder  then  heard  a  lower  window  of 
the  hall  thrown  open,  and  could  distinguish  his  master's  voice 
addressing  the  person  who  had  thus  summoned  the  castle.  But 
the  night  was  so  dark  that  he  might  not  see  the  speakers,  and 
the  language  which  they  used  was  either  entirely  foreign,  or  so 
largely  interspersed  with  strange  words,  that  he  could  not  un- 
derstand a  syllable  which  they  said.  Scarce  five  minutes  had 
elapsed,  when  he  who  was  without  again  elevated  his  voice  as 
before,  and  said  in  German,  For  a  year  and  a  day,  then,  I 
forbear  my  forfeiture  ; — but  coming  for  it  when  that  time  shall 
elapse,  I  come  for  my  right,  and  will  no  longer  be  withstood." 

From  that  period,  Dannischemend,  the  Persian,  was  a  con- 
stant guest  at  the  castle  of  Arnheim,  and,  indeed,  never  for  any 
visible  purpose  crossed  the  drawbridge.  His  amusements,  or 
studies,  seemed  centred  in  the  library  of  the  castle,  and  in  the 
laboratory,  where  the  Baron  sometimes  toiled  in  conjunction 
with  him  for  many  hours  together.  The  inhabitants  of  the  cas- 
tle could  find  no  fault  in  the  Magus,  or  Persian,  excepting  his 
apparently  dispensing  with  the  ordinances  of  religion,  since  he 
neither  went  to  mass  nor  confession,  nor  attended  upon  other 
religious  ceremonies.  The  chaplain  did  indeed  profess  himself 
satisfied  with  the  state  of  the  stranger's  conscience  ;  but  it  had 
been  long  suspected  that  the  worthy  ecclesiastic  held  his  easy 
office  on  the  very  reasonable  condition  of  approving  the  princi- 


ANNE  OJF  GEIERSTEIN: 


pies,  and  asserting  the  orthodoxy,  of  all  guests  whom  the  Baror 
invited  to  share  his  hospitality. 

It  was  observed  that  Dannischemend  was  rigid  in  paying  his 
devotions,  by  prostrating  himself  in  the  first  rays  of  the  rising 
sun,  and  that  he  constructed  a  silver  lamp  of  the  most  beautiful 
proportions,  which  he  placed  on  a  pedestal,  representing  a  trun- 
cated column  of  marble,  having  its  base  sculptured  with  hiero- 
glyphical  imaginary.  With  what  essences  he  fed  this  flame  was 
unknown  to  all,  unless  perhaps  to  the  Baron  ;  but  the  flame 
was  more  steady,  pure,  and  lustrous,  than  any  which  was  ever 
seen,  excepting  the  sun  of  heaven  itself  ;  and  it  was  generally 
believed  that  the  Magian  made  it  an  object  of  worship  in  the 
absence  of  that  blessed  luminary.  Nothing  else  was  observed 
of  him,  unless  that  his  morals  seemed  severe,  his  gravity  ex- 
treme, his  general  mode  of  life  very  temperate,  and  his  fasts 
and  vigils  of  frequent  recurrence.  Except  on  particular  occa- 
sions, he  spoke  to  no  one  of  the  castle  but  the  Baron  ;  but  as 
he  had  money,  and  was  liberal,  he  was  regarded  by  the  domes- 
tics with  awe  indeed,  but  without  fear  or  dislike. 

Winter  was  succeeded  by  spring,  summer  brought  her 
flowers,  and  autumn  her  fruits,  which  ripened  and  were  fading, 
when  a  foot-page,  who  sometimes  attended  them  in  the  labora- 
tory to  render  manual  assistance  when  required,  heard  the 
Persian  say  to  the  Baron  of  Arnheim,  "  You  will  do  well,  my 
son,  to  mark  my  words  ;  for  my  lessons  to  you  are  drawing  to 
an  end,  and  there  is  no  power  on  earth  which  can  longer  post- 
pone my  fate." 

**Alas,  my  master  !  "  said  the  Baron,  and  must  I  then 
lose  the  benefit  of  your  direction,  just  when  your  guiding  hand 
becomes  necessary  to  place  me  on  the  very  pinnacle  of  the 
temple  of  wisdom  1  " 

"  Be  not  discouraged,  my  son,"  answered  the  page;  I  will 
bequeath  the  task  of  perfecting  you  in  your  studies  to  my 
daughter,  who  will  come  hither  on  purpose.  But  remember,  if 
you  value  the  permanence  of  your  family,  look  not  upon  her  as 
aught  else  than  a  helpmate  in  your  studies ;  for  if  you  forget 
the  instructress  in  the  beauty  of  the  maiden,  you  will  be  buried 
with  your  sword  and  your  shield,  as  the  last  male  of  your  house ; 
and  further  evil,  believe  me,  will  arise  ;  for  such  alliances  never 
come  to  a  happy  issue,  of  which  my  own  is  an  example. — But 
hush,  we  are  observed." 

The  household  of  the  Castle  of  Arnheim  having  but  few 
things  to  interest  them,  were  the  more  eager  observers  of  those 
which  came  under  their  notice  ;  and  when  the  termination  of 
the  period  when  the  Persian  was  to  receive  shelter  in  the  castle 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


121 


began  to  approach,  some  of  the  inmates,  under  various  pretexts, 
but  which  resolved  into  very  terror,  absconded,  while  others 
held  themselves  in  expectation  of  some  striking  and  terrible 
catastrophe.  None  such,  however,  took  place ;  and  on  the 
expected  anniversary,  long  ere  the  witching  hour  of  midnight, 
Dannischemend  terminated  his  visit  in  the  castle  of  Arnheim, 
by  riding  away  from  the  gate  in  the  guise  of  an  ordinary 
traveler.  The  Baron  had  meantime  taken  leave  of  his  tutor 
with  many  marks  of  regret,  and  some  which  amounted  even  to 
sorrow.  The  sage  Persian  comforted  him  by  a  long  whisper, 
of  which  the  last  part  only  was  heard, — "  By  the  first  beam  of 
sunshine  she  will  be  with  you.  Be  kind  to  her,  but  not  over 
kind."  He  then  departed,  and  was  never  again  seen  or  heard 
of  in  the  vicinity  of  Arnheim. 

The  Baron  was  observed  during  all  the  day  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  stranger  to  be  particularly  melancholy.  He 
remained,  contrary  to  his  custom,  in  the  great  hall,  and  neither 
visited  the  library  nor  the  laboratory,  where  he  could  no  longer 
enjoy  the  company  of  his  departed  instructor.  At  dawn  of  the 
ensuing  morning.  Sir  Herman  summoned  his  page,  and,  con- 
trary to  his  habits,  which  used  to  be  rather  careless  in  respect 
of  apparel,  he  dressed  himself  with  great  accuracy  ;  and,  as  he 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  of  noble  figure,  he  had  reason  to 
be  satisfied  with  his  appearance.  Having  performed  his  toilet, 
he  waited  till  the  sun  had  just  appeared  above  the  horizon,  and, 
taking  from  the  table  the  key  of  the  laboratory,  which  the  page 
believed  must  have  lain  there  all  night,  he  walked  thither,  fol- 
lowed by  his  attendant.  At  the  door,  the  Baron  made  a  pause, 
and  seemed  at  one  time  to  doubt  whether  he  should  not  send 
away  the  page,  at  another  to  hesitate  whether  he  should  open 
the  door,  as  one  might  do  who  expected  some  strange  sight 
within.  He  pulled  up  resolution,  however,  turned  the  key, 
threw  the  door  open,  and  entered.  The  page  followed  close 
behind  his  master,  and  was  astonished  to  the  point  of  extreme 
terror  at  what  he  beheld,  although  the  sight,  however  extra- 
ordinary, had  in  it  nothing  save  what  was  agreeable  and 
lovely. 

The  silver  lamp  was  extinguished,  or  removed  from  Its 
pedestal  where  stood  in  place  of  it  a  most  beautiful  female 
figure  in  the  Persian  costume,  in  which  the  color  of  pink  pre- 
dominated. But  she  wore  no  turban  or  head-dress  of  any  kind, 
saving  a  blue  ribbon  drawn  through  her  auburn  hair,  and 
secured  by  a  gold  clasp,  the  outer  side  of  which  was  orna- 
mented by  a  superb  opal,  which  amid  the  changing  lights 


122 


ANNE  OF  GEIERS  7EIN 


peculiar  to  that  gem,  displayed  internally  a  slight  tinge  of  red 
like  a  spark  of  fire. 

The  figure  of  this  young  person  was  rather  under  the  middle 
size,  but  perfectly  well  formed ;  the  Eastern  dress,  with  the 
wide  trowsers  gathered  round  the  ankles,  made  visible  the 
smallest  and  most  beautiful  feet  which  had  ever  been  seen, 
while  hands  and  arms  of  the  most  perfect  symmetry  were 
partly  seen  from  under  the  folds  of  the  robe.  The  little  lady's 
countenance  was  of  a  lively  and  expressive  character,  in  which 
spirit  and  wit  seemed  to  predominate  ;  and  the  quick  dark  eye, 
with  its  beautifully  formed  eyebrow,  seemed  to  presage  the 
arch  remark,  to  which  the  rosy  and  half  smiling  lip  appeared 
ready  to  give  utterance. 

The  pedestal  on  which  she  stood,  o\  rather  was  perched,  would 
have  appeared  unsafe  had  any  figure  heavier  than  her  own  been 
placed  there.  But,  however  she  had  been  transported  thither, 
she  seemed  to  rest  on  it  as  lightly  and  safely  as  a  linnet,  when 
it  has  dropped  from  the  sky  on  the  tendril  of  a  rosebud.  The 
first  beam  of  the  rising  sun,  falling  through  a  window  directly 
opposite  to  the  pedestal,  increased  the  effect  of  this  beautiful 
figure,  which  remained  as  motionless  as  if  it  had  been  carved 
in  marble.  She  only  expressed  her  sense  of  the  Baron  of  Arn- 
heim's  presence  by  something  of  a  quicker  respiration,  and  a 
deep  blush,  accompanied  by  a  slight  smile. 

Whatever  reason  the  Baron  of  Arnheim  might  have  for 
expecting  to  see  some  such  object  as  now  exhibited  its  actual 
presence,  the  degree  of  beauty  which  it  presented  was  so  much 
beyond  his  expectation,  that  for  an  instant  he  stood  without 
breath  or  motion.  At  once,  however,  he  seemed  to  recollect 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  welcome  the  fair  stranger  to  his  castle, 
and  to  relieve  her  from  her  precarious  situation.  He  stepped 
forward  accordingly  with  the  words  of  welcome  on  his  tongue, 
and  was  extending  his  arms  to  lift  her  from  the  pedestal,  which 
was  nearly  six  feet  high  ;  but  the  light  and  active  stranger 
merely  accepted  the  support  of  his  hand,  and  descended  on  the 
floor  as  light  and  as  safe  as  if  she  had  been  formed  of  gossamer. 
It  was,  indeed,  only  by  the  momentary  pressure  of  her  little 
hand,  that  the  Baron  of  Arnheim  was  finally  made  sensible  that 
he  had  to  do  with  a  being  of  flesh  and  blood. 

"  I  am  come  as  I  have  been  commanded,"  she  said,  looking 
around  her.  "  You  must  expect  a  strict  and  diligent  mistress, 
and  I  hope  for  the  credit  of  an  attentive  pupil." 

After  the  arrival  of  this  singular  and  interesting  being  in 
the  castle  of  Arnheim,  various  alterations  took  place  within 
the  interior  of  the  household.    A  lady  of  high  rank  and  small 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"3 


fortune,  the  respectable  widow  of  a  Count  of  the  empire,  who 
was  the  Baron's  blood  relation,  received  and  accepted  an  invita- 
tion to  preside  over  her  kinsman's  domestic  affairs,  and  remove, 
by  her  countenance,  any  suspicions  which  might  arise  from  the 
presence  of  Hermione,  as  the  beautiful  Persian  was  generally 
called. 

The  Countess  Waldstetten  carried  her  complaisance  so  far, 
as  to  be  present  on  almost  all  occasions,  whether  in  the 
laboratory  or  library,  when  the  Baron  of  Arnheim  received 
lessons  from,  or  pursued  studies  with,  the  young  and  lovely 
tutor  who  had  been  thus  strangely  substituted  for  the  aged 
Magus.  If  this  lady's  report  was  to  be  trust/^d,  tlieir  pursuits 
were  of  a  most  extraordinary  nature,  and  the  results  which  she 
sometimes  witnessed  were  such  as  to  create  fear  as  well  as  sur- 
prise. But  she  strongly  vindicated  them  from  practicing  unlaw- 
ful arts,  or  overstepping  the  boundaries  of  natural  science. 

A  better  judge  of  such  matters,  the  Bishop  of  Bamberg  him- 
self, made  a  visit  to  Arnheim,  on  purpose  to  witness  the  wisdom 
of  which  so  much  was  reported  through  the  whole  Rhine  country. 
He  conversed  with  Hermione,  and  found  her  deeply  impressed 
with  the  truths  of  religion,  and  so  perfectly  acquainted  with  its 
doctrines,  that  he  compared  her  to  a  doctor  of  theology  in  the 
dress  of  an  Eastern  dancing-girl.  When  asked  regarding  her 
knowledge  of  languages  and  science,  he  answered,  that  he  had 
been  attracted  to  Arnheim  by  the  most  extravagant  reports  on 
these  points,  but  that  he  must  return  confessing  "  the  half 
thereof  had  not  been  told  unto  him.'' 

In  consequence  of  this  indisputable  testimony,  the  sinister 
reports  which  had  been  occasioned  by  the  singular  appearance 
of  the  fair  stranger  were  in  a  great  measure  lulled  to  sleep, 
especially  as  her  amiable  manners  won  the  involuntary  good- 
will of  every  one  that  approached  her. 

Meantime  a  marked  alteration  began  to  take  place  in  the 
interviews  between  the  lovely  tutor  and  her  pupil.  These  were 
conducted  with  the  same  caution  as  before,  and  never,  so  far  as 
could  be  observed,  took  place  without  the  presence  of  the 
Countess  of  Waldstetten, or  some  other  third  person  of  respect- 
ability. But  the  scenes  of  these  meetings  were  no  longer  the 
scholar's  library,  or  the  chemist's  laboratory  ; — the  gardens,  the 
groves,  were  resorted  to  for  amusement,  and  parties  of  hunting 
and  jSshing,  with  evenings  spent  in  the  dance,  seemed  to 
annouwce  that  the  studies  of  wisdom  were  for  a  time  abandoned 
for  the  pursuits  of  pleasure.  It  was  not  difficult  to  guess  the 
meaning  of  this  ;  the  Baron  of  Arnheim  and  his  fair  guest, 
speaking  a  language  different  from  all  others,  could  enjoy  their 


124 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


private  conversation,  even  amid  all  the  tumult  of  gayety  around 
them  ;  and  no  one  was  surprised  to  hear  it  formally  announced, 
after  a  few  weeks  of  gayety,  that  the  fair  Persian  was  to  be 
wedded  to  the  Baron  of  Arnheim. 

The  manners  of  this  fascinating  young  person  were  so  pleas- 
ing, her  conversation  so  animated,  her  wit  so  keen,  yet  so  well 
tempered  with  good  nature  and  modesty,  that,  notwithstanding 
her  unknown  origin,  her  high  fortune  attracted  less  envy  than 
might  have  been  expected  in  a  case  so  singular.  Above  all,  her 
generosity  amazed  and  won  the  hearts  of  all  the  young  persons 
who  approached  her.  Her  wealth  seemed  to  be  measureless, 
for  the  many  rich  jewels  which  she  distributed  among  her  fair 
friends  would  otherwise  have  left  her  without  ornaments  for 
herself.  These  good  qualities,  her  liberality  above  all,  together 
with  a  simplicity  of  thought  and  character,  which  formed  a 
beautiful  contrast  to  the  depth  of  acquired  knowledge  which 
she  was  well  known  to  possess, — these,  and  her  total  want  of 
ostentation,  made  her  superiority  be  pardoned  among  her  com- 
panions. Still  there  was  notice  taken  of  some  peculiarities, 
exaggerated  perhaps  by  envy,  which  seemed  to  draw  a  mystical 
distinction  between  the  beautiful  Hermione  and  the  mere  mor- 
tals with  whom  she  lived  and  conversed. 

In  the  merry  dance  she  was  so  unrivaled  in  lightness  and 
agility,  that  her  performance  seemed  that  of  an  aerial  being. 
She  could,  without  suffering  from  her  exertion,  continue  the 
pleasure  till  she  had  tired  out  the  most  active  revelers  ;  and 
even  the  young  Duke  of  Hochspringen,  who  was  reckoned  the 
most  indefatigable  at  that  exercise  in  Germany,  having  been 
her  partner  for  half-an-hour,  was  compelled  to  break  off  the 
dance,  and  throw  himself,  totally  exhausted,  on  a  couch,  ex- 
claiming he  had  been  dancing  not  with  a  woman,  but  with  an 
ignis  fatuus. 

Other  whispers  averred,  that  while  she  played  with  her  young 
companions  in  the  labyrinth  and  mazes  of  the  Castle  gardens  at 
hide-and-seek,  or  similar  games  of  activity,  she  became  animated 
with  the  same  supernatural  alertness  which  was  supposed  to  in- 
spire her  in  the  dance.  She  appeared  amongst  her  companions, 
and  vanished  from  them,  with  a  degree  of  rapidity  which  was 
inconceivable  ;  and  hedges,  treillage,  or  such  like  obstructions 
were  surmounted  by  her  in  a  manner  which  the  most  vigilant 
eye  could  not  detect  ;  for,  after  being  observed  on  the  side  of 
the  barrier  at  one  instant,  in  another  she  was  beheld  close  be- 
side the  spectator. 

In  such  moments,  when  her  eyes  sparkled,  her  cheeks  red  " 
dened,  and  her  whole  frame  became  animated,  it  was  pretended 


AJ^NE  OP  GEIERSTEm. 


that  the  opal  clasp  amid  her  tresses,  the  ornament  which  she 
never  laid  aside,  shot  forth  the  little  spark,  or  tongue  of  flame, 
which  it  always  displayed,  with  an  increased  vivacity.  In  the 
same  manner,  if  in  the  half-darkened  hall  the  conversation  of 
Hermione  became  unusually  animated,  it  was  believed  that  the 
jewel  became  brilliant,  and  even  displayed  a  twinkling  and 
flashing  gleam  which  seemed  to  be  emitted  by  the  gem  itself, 
and  not  produced  in  the  usual  manner,  by  the  reflection  of 
some  external  light.  Her  maidens  were  also  heard  to  surmise, 
that  when  their  mistress  was  agitated  by  any  hasty  or  brief  re- 
sentment (the  only  weakness  of  temper  which  she  was  some- 
times observed  to  display),  they  could  observe  dark-red  sparks 
flash  from  the  mystic  brooch,  as  if  it  sympathized  with  the 
wearer's  emotions.  The  women  who  attended  on  her  toilet 
further  reported  that  this  gem  was  never  removed  but  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  the  Baroness's  hair  was  combed  out  ;  that  she 
was  unusually  pensive  and  silent  during  the  time  it  was  laid 
aside,  and  particularly  apprehensive  when  any  liquid  was 
brought  near  it.  Even  in  the  use  of  holy  water  at  the  door  of 
the  church,  she  was  observed  to  omit  the  sign  of  the  cross  on 
the  forehead,  for  fear,  it  was  supposed,  of  the  water  touching 
the  valued  jewel. 

These  singular  reports  did  not  prevent  the  marriage  of  the 
Baron  of  Arnheim  from  proceeding  as  had  been  arranged.  It 
was  celebrated  in  the  usual  form,  and  with  the  utmost  splendor, 
and  the  young  couple  seemed  to  commence  a  life  of  happiness 
rarely  to  be  found  on  earth.  In  the  course  of  twelve  months, 
the  lovely  Baroness  presented  her  husband  with  a  daughter, 
which  was  to  he  christened  Sybilla,  after  the  Count's  mother. 
As  the  health  of  the  child  was  excellent,  the  ceremony  was 
postponed  till  the  recovery  of  the  mother  from  her  confinement ; 
many  were  invited  to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  and  the  castle 
was  thronged  with  company. 

It  happened,  that  amongst  the  guests  was  an  old  lady,  no- 
torious for  playing  in  private  society  the  part  of  a  malicious 
fairy  in  a  minstrel's  tale.  This  was  the  Baroness  of  Steinfeldt, 
famous  in  the  neighborhood  for  her  insatiable  curiosity  and 
overweening  pride.  She  had  not  been  many  days  in  the 
castle,  ere,  by  the  aid  of  a  female  attendant,  who  acted  as  an 
intelligencer,  she  had  made  herself  mistress  of  all  that  was 
heard,  said,  or  suspected,  concerning  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Baroness  Hermione.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  christening,  while  the  whole  company  were 
assembled  in  the  hall,  and  waiting  till  the  Baroness  should 
appear,  to  pass  with  them  to  the  chapel,  that  there  arose  be- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTBTN. 


tween  the  censorious  and  haughty  dame  whom  we  have  just 
mentioned,  and  the  Countess  Waldstetten,  a  violent  discussion 
concerning  some  point  of  disputed  precedence.  It  was  referred 
to  the  Baron  von  Arnheim,  who  decided  in  favor  of  the  Coun- 
tess. Madame  de  Steinfeldt  instantly  ordered  her  palfrey  to 
be  prepared,  and  her  attendants  to  mount. 

"  I  leave  this  place,"  she  said,  which  a  good  Christian 
ought  never  to  have  entered  ;  I  leave  a  house  of  which  the 
master  is  a  sorcerer,  the  mistress  a  demon  who  dares  not  cross 
her  brow  with  holy  water,  and  their  trencher  companion  one, 
who  for  a  wretched  pittance  is  willing  to  act  as  matchmaker 
between  a  wizard  and  an  incarnate  fiend ! 

She  then  departed  with  rage  in  her  countenance,  and  spite 
in  her  heart. 

The  Baron  of  Arnheim  then  stepped  forward,  and  demanded 
of  the  knights  and  gentlemen  around,  if  there  were  any  among 
them  who  would  dare  to  make  good  with  his  sword  the  in- 
famous falsehoods  thrown  upon  himself,  his  spouse,  and  his 
kinswoman. 

There  was  a  general  answer,  utterly  refusing  to  defend  the 
Baroness  of  Steinfeldt's  words  in  so  bad  a  cause,  and  univer- 
sally testifying  the  belief  of  the  company  that  she  spoke  in  the 
spirit  of  calumny  and  falsehood. 

"  Then  let  that  lie  fall  to  the  ground,  which  no  man  of 
courage  will  hold  up,'^  said  the  Baron  of  Arnheim  ;  "  only,  all 
who  are  here  this  morning  shall  be  satisfied  whether  the 
Baroness  Hermione  doth  or  doth  not  share  the  rites  of 
Christianity.'' 

The  Countess  of  Waldstetten  made  anxious  signs  to  him 
while  he  spoke  thus ;  and  when  the  crowd  permitted  her  to 
approach  near  him,  she  was  heard  to  whisper,  O,  be  not 
rash  !  try  no  experiment !  there  is  something  mysterious  about 
that  opal  talisman  ;  be  prudent,  and  let  the  matter  pass  by." 

The  Baron,  who  was  in  a  more  towering  passion  than  well 
became  the  wisdom  to  which  he  made  pretence — although  it 
will  be  perhaps  allowed  that  an  affront  so  public,  and  in  such 
a  time  and  place,  was  enough  to  shake  the  prudence  of  the 
most  staid,  and  the  philosophy  of  the  most  wise — answered 
sternly  and  briefly,  "  Are  you,  too,  such  a  fool  ?"  and  retained 
his  purpose. 

The  Baroness  of  Arnheim  at  this  moment  entered  the  hall, 
looking  just  so  pale  from  her  late  confinement,  as  to  render 
her  lovely  countenance  more  interesting,  if  less  animated,  than 
usual.  Having  paid  her  compliments  to  the  assembled  com- 
pany, with  the  most  graceful  and  condescending  attention,  she 


ANN'S  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


was  beginning  to  inquire  why  Madame  de  Steinfeldt  was  not 
present,  when  her  husband  made  the  signal  for  the  company 
to  move  forward  to  the  chapel,  and  lent  the  Baroness  his  arm 
to  bring  up  the  rear.  The  chapel  was  nearly  filled  by  the 
splendid  company,  and  all  eyes  were  bent  on  their  host  and 
hostess,  as  they  entered  the  place  of  devotion  immediately 
after  four  young  ladies,  who  supported  the  infant  babe  in  a 
light  and  beautiful  litter. 

As  they  passed  the  threshold,  the  Baron  dipt  his  finger  in 
the  font-stone,  and  offered  holy-water  to  his  lady,  who  accepted 
it,  as  usual,  by  touching  his  finger  with  her  own.  But  then,  as 
if  to  confute  the  calumnies  of  the  malevolent  lady  of  Stein- 
feldt, with  an  air  of  sportive  familiarity  which  was  rather  un- 
warranted by  the  time  and  place,  he  flirted  on  her  beautiful 
forehead  a  drop  or  two  of  the  moisture  which  remained  on  his 
own  hand.  The  opal,  on  which  one  of  these  drops  had  lighted, 
shot  out  a  brilliant  spark  like  a  falling  star,  and  became  the 
instant  afterward  lightless  and  colorless  as  a  common  pebble, 
while  the  beautiful  Baroness  sunk  on  the  floor  of  the  chapel 
with  a  deep  sigh  of  pain.  All  crowded  around  her  in  dismay. 
The  unfortunate  Hermione  was  raised  from  the  ground,  and 
conveyed  to  her  chamber  ;  and  so  much  did  her  countenance 
and  pulse  alter,  within  the  short  time  necessary  to  do  this,  that 
those  who  looked  upon  her  pronounced  her  a  dying  woman. 
She  was  no  sooner  in  her  own  apartment  than  she  requested  to 
be  left  alone  with  her  husband.  He  remained  an  hour  in  the 
room,  and  when  he  came  out  he  locked  and  double  locked  the 
door  behind  him.  He  then  betook  himself  to  the  chapel,  and 
remained  there  for  an  hour  or  more,  prostrated  before  the 
altar. 

In  the  meantime  most  of  the  guests  had  dispersed  in  dismay  ; 
though  some  abode  out  of  courtesy  or  curiosity.  There  was  a 
general  sense  of  impropriety  in  suffering  the  door  of  the  sick 
lady's  apartment  to  remain  locked ;  but,  alarmed  at  the  whole 
circumstances  of  her  illness,  it  was  some  time  ere  any  one  dared 
disturb  the  devotions  of  the  Baron.  At  length  medical  aid 
arrived,  and  the  Countess  of  Waldstetten  took  upon  her  to 
demand  the  key.  She  spoke  more  than  once  to  a  man,  who 
seemed  incapable  of  hearing,  at  least  of  understanding  what  she 
said.  At  length  he  gave  her  the  key,  and  added  sternly,  as 
he  did  so,  that  all  aid  was  unavailing,  and  that  it  was  his 
pleasure  that  all  strangers  should  leave  the  castle.  There  were 
few  who  inclined  to  stay,  when,  upon  opening  the  door  of  the 
chamber  in  which  the  Baroness  had  been  deposited  little  more 
than  two  hours  before,  no  traces  of  her  could  be  discovered, 


128 


ANNE  OP  GETERSTEIN 


unless  that  there  was  about  a  handful  of  light  gray  ashes,  like 
such  as  might  have  been  produced  by  burning  fine  paper,  found 
on  the  bed  where  she  had  been  laid.  A  solemn  funeral  was 
nevertheless  performed,  with  masses,  and  all  other  spiritual 
rites,  for  the  soul  of  the  high  and  noble  Lady  Hermione  of 
Arnheim ;  and  it  was  exactly  on  that  same  day  three  years 
that  the  Baron  himself  was  laid  in  the  grave  of  the  same  chapel 
of  Arnheim,  with  sword,  shield,  and  helmet,  as  the  last  male  of 
his  family. 

Here  the  Swiss  paused,  for  they  were  approaching  the  bridge 
of  the  castle  of  Graffs-lust. 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

 Believe  me,  sir, 

It  carries  a  rare  form — But  'tis  a  spirit. 

The  Tempest. 

There  was  a  short  silence  after  the  Bernese  had  concluded 
his  singular  tale.  Arthur  Philipson^s  attention  had  been  gradu- 
ally and  intensely  attracted  by  a  story,  which  was  too  much  in 
unison  with  the  received  ideas  of  the  age  to  be  encountered  by 
the  unhesitating  incredulity  with  which  it  must  have  been  heard 
in  later  and  more  enlightened  times. 

He  was  also  considerably  struck  by  the  manner  in  which  it 
had  been  told  by  the  narrator,  whom  he  had  hitherto  only 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  rude  huntsman  or  soldier  ;  whereas 
he  now  allowed  Donnerhugel  credit  for  a  more  extensive 
acquaintance  with  the  general  manners  of  the  world  than  he 
had  previously  anticipated.  Tiie  Swiss  rose  in  his  opinion  as  a 
man  of  talent,  but  without  making  the  slightest  progress  in  his 
affections.  "  The  swash-buckler,"  he  said  to  himself,  has 
brains,  as  well  as  brawn  and  bones,  and  is  fitter  for  the  office 
of  commanding  others  than  I  formerly  thought  him.''  Then, 
turning  to  his  companion,  he  thanked  him  for  the  tale,  which 
had  shortened  the  way  in  so  interesting  a  manner. 

"  And  it  is  from  this  singular  marriage,"  he  continued,  that 
Anne  of  Geierstein  derives  her  origin  ?  " 

"  Her  mother,"  answered  the  Swiss,  "  was  Sybilla  of  Arn- 
heim, the  infant  at  whose  christening  the  mother  died — disap- 
peared— or  whatever  you  may  list  to  call  it.  The  barony  of 
Arnheim,  being  a  male  fief,  reverted  to  the  Emperor.  The 
castle  has  never  been  inhabited  since  the  death  of  the  last  lord} 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


129 


and  has,  as  I  have  heard,  become  in  some  sort  ruinous.  The 
occupations  of  its  ancient  proprietors,  and,  above  all,  the  catas* 
trophe  of  its  last  inhabitant,  have  been  thought  to  render  it  no 
eligible  place  of  residence/' 

"  Did  there  appear  anything  preternatural,"  said  the  English- 
man, "  about  the  young  Baroness,  who  married  the  brother  of 
the  Landamman  ? 

"  So  far  as  I  have  heard,"  replied  Rudolph,  "  there  were 
strange  stories.  It  was  said  that  the  nurses,  at  the  dead  of 
night,  have  seen  Hermione,  the  last  Baroness  of  Arnheim,  stand 
weeping  by  the  side  of  the  child's  cradle,  and  other  things  to  the 
same  purpose.  But  here  I  speak  from  less  correct  information 
than  that  from  which  I  drew  my  former  narrative." 

And  since  the  credibility  of  a  story,  not  very  probable  in 
itself,  must  needs  be  granted,  or  withheld,  according  to  the 
evidence  on  which  it  is  given,  may  I  ask  you,"  said  Arthur, 
"  to  tell  me  what  is  the  authority  on  which  you  have  so  much 
reliance  t  " 

"  Willingly,"  answered  the  Swiss.  "  Know  that  Theodore 
Donnerhugel,  the  favorite  page  of  the  last  Baron  of  Arnheim, 
was  my  father's  brother.  Upon  his  master's  death  he  retired 
to  his  native  town  of  Berne,  and  most  of  his  time  was  employed 
in  training  me  up  to  arms  and  martial  exercises,  as  well  accord- 
ing to  the  fashion  of  Germany  as  of  Switzerland,  for  he  was 
master  of  all.  He  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes,  and  heard  with 
his  own  ears,  great  part  of  the  melancholy  and  mysterious  events 
which  I  have  detailed  to  you.  Should  you  ever  visit  Berne,  you 
may  see  the  good  old  man." 

"  You  think,  then,"  said  Arthur,  "  that  the  appearance  which 
I  have  this  night  seen  is  connected  with  the  mysterious  marriage 
of  Anne  of  Geierstein's  grandfather  ?  " 

^*  Nay,"  replied  Rudolph,  think  not  that  I  can  lay  down 
any  positive  explanation  of  a  thing  so  strange.  I  can  only  say, 
that  unless  I  did  you  the  injustice  to  disbelieve  your  testimony 
respecting  the  apparition  of  this  evening,  I  know  no  way  to 
account  for  it,  except  by  remembering  that  there  is  a  portion  of 
the  young  lady's  blood  which  is  thought  not  to  be  derived  from 
the  race  of  Adam,  but  more  or  less  directly  from  one  of  those 
elementary  spirits  which  have  been  talked  of  both  in  ancient  and 
modern  times.  But  I  may  be  mistaken.  We  will  see  how  she 
bears  herself  in  the  morning,  and  whether  she  carries  in  her 
looks  the  weariness  and  paleness  of  a  midnight  watcher.  If 
she  doth  not,  we  maybe  authorized  in  thinking,  either  that  your 
eyes  have  strangely  deceived  you,  or  that  they  have  been  cheated 
by  some  spectral  appearance,  which  is  not  of  this  world." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


To  this  the  young  Englishman  attempted  no  reply,  nor  was 
there  time  for  any ;  for  they  were  immediately  afterward  chal- 
lenged by  the  sentinel  from  the  drawbridge. 

The  question,  "  Who  goes  there  ? "  was  twice  satisfactorily 
answered,  before  Sigismund  would  admit  the  patrol  to  cross  the 
drawbridge. 

Ass  and  mule  that  thou  art,"  said  Rudolph,  "  what  was  the 
meaning  of  thy  delay  ?  " 

"Ass  and  mule  thyself,  Hauptman,'*  said  the  Swiss,  in  an- 
swer to  this  objurgation.  I  have  been  surprised  by  a  goblin 
on  my  post  once  to-night  already,  and  I  have  got  so  much 
experience  upon  that  matter,  that  I  will  not  easily  be  caught  a 
second  time." 

"  What  goblin,  thou  fool,"  said  Donnerhugel,  "  would  be 
idle  enough  to  play  his  gambols  at  the  expense  of  so  very  poor 
an  animal  as  thou  art  ? " 

"  Thou  art  as  cross  as  my  father,  Hauptman,"  replied  Sigis- 
mund, "  who  cries  fool  and  blockhead  at  every  word  I  speak  ; 
and  yet  I  have  lips,  teeth,  and  tongue  to  speak  with,  just  like 
other  folk." 

"  We  will  not  contest  the  matter,  Sigismund,"  said  Rudolph. 
"  It  is  clear,  that  if  thou  dost  differ  from  other  people,  it  is  in 
a  particular  which  thou  canst  be  hardly  expected  to  find  out  or 
acknowledge.  But  what,  in  the  name  of  simplicity,  is  it  which 
hath  alarmed  thee  on  thy  post  ? " 

Marry,  thus  it  was,  Hauptman,"  returned  Sigismund  Bied- 
erman.  "  I  was  something  tired,  you  see,  with  looking  up  at 
the  broad  moon,  and  thinking  what  in  the  universe  it  could  be 
made  of,  and  how  we  came  to  see  it  just  as  well  here  as  at 
home,  this  place  being  so  many  miles  from  Geierstein.  I  was 
tired,  I  say,  of  this  and  other  perplexing  thoughts,  so  I  drew 
my  fur  cap  down  over  my  ears,  for  I  promise  you  the  wind  blew 
shrill ;  and  then  I  planted  myself  firm  on  my  feet,  with  one  of 
my  legs  a  little  advanced,  and  both  my  hands  resting  on  my 
partisan,  which  I  placed  upright  before  me  to  rest  upon  ;  and 
so  I  shut  mine  eyes." 

"  Shut  thine  eyes,  Sigismund,  and  thou  upon  thy  watch  ! " 
exclaimed  Donnerhugel. 

Care  not  thou  for  that,"  answered  Sigismund  ;  I  kept 
my  ears  open.  And  yet  it  was  to  little  purpose,  for  something 
came  upon  the  bridge  with  a  step  as  stealthy  as  that  of  a 
mouse.  I  looked  up  with  a  start  at  the  moment  it  was  opposite 
to  me,  and  when  I  looked  up — whom  think  you  I  saw  ? " 

"  Some  fool  like  thyself,"  said  Rudolph,  at  the  same  time 
pressing  Philipson's  foot  to  make  him  attend  to  the  answer ;  a 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


hint  which  was  little  necessary,  since  he  waited  for  it  in  the 
utmost  agitation.    Out  it  came  at  last. 

"  By  Saint  Mark,  it  was  our  own  Anne  of  Geierstein  I 
It  is  impossible  !    replied  the  Bernese. 

"  I  should  have  said  so  too,''  quoth  Sigismund,  for  I  had 
peeped  into  her  bedroom  before  she  went  thither,  and  it  was  so 
bedizened  that  a  queen  or  a  princess  might  have  slept  in  it ; 
and  why  should  the  wench  get  out  of  her  good  quarters,  with 
all  her  friends  about  her  to  guard  her,  and  go  out  to  wander  in 
the  forest  ?  " 

"  May  be,"  said  Rudolph,  she  only  looked  from  the  bridge 
to  see  how  the  night  waned." 

"  No,"  said  Sigismund  ;  "  she  was  returning  from  the  forest. 
I  saw  her  when  she  reached  the  end  of  the  bridge,  and  thought 
of  striking  at  her,  conceiving  it  to  be  the  devil  in  her  likeness. 
But  I  remembered  my  halberd  is  no  birch  switch  to  chastise 
boys  and  girls  with ;  and  had  I  done  Anne  any  harm,  you 
would  all  have  been  angry  with  me,  and,  to  speak  truth,  I 
should  have  been  ill  pleased  with  myself  ;  for  although  she 
doth  make  a  jest  of  me  now  and  then,  yet  it  were  a  dull  house 
ours  were  we  to  lose  Anne." 

*^  Ass,"  answered  the  Bernese,  "  didst  thou  speak  to  this 
form,  or  goblin  as  you  call  it  1 " 

"  Indeed  I  did  not.  Captain  Wiseacre.  My  father  is  ever  angry 
with  me  when  I  speak  without  thinking,  and  I  could  not  at  that 
particular  moment  think  on  anything  to  the  purpose.  Neither 
was  there  time  to  think,  for  she  passed  me  like  a  snowflake  upon 
a  whirlwind.  I  marched  into  the  castle  after  her,  however,  call- 
ing on  her  by  name  ;  so  the  sleepers  were  awakened,  and  men 
flew  to  their  arms,  and  there  was  as  much  confusion  as  if  Archi- 
bald of  Hagenbach  had  been  among  us  with  sword  and  pike. 
And  who  should  come  out  of  her  little  bedroom,  as  much  startled 
and  as  much  in  a  bustle  as  any  of  us,  but  Mrs.  Anne  herself! 
And  as  she  protested  she  had  never  left  her  room  that  night, 
why  I,  Sigismund  Biederman,  was  made  to  stand  the  whole 
blame,  as  if  I  could  prevent  people's  ghosts  from  walking.  But 
I  told  her  my  mind  when  I  saw  them  all  so  set  against  me. 
'And,  mistress  Anne,' quoth  I,  '  it's  well  known  the  kindred  you 
come  of ;  and  after  this  fair  notice,  if  you  send  any  of  your 
double-gangers  ^  to  me,  let  them  put  iron  skull-caps  on  their 
heads,  for  I  will  give  them  the  length  and  weight  of  a  Swiss 
halberd,  come  in  what  shape  they  list,'    However,  they  all 

*  Double-walkers,  a  name  in  Germany  for  those  aerial  duplicates  of 
humanity  who  represent  the  features  and  appearance  of  other  living 
|:>ersons. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


called  *  shame  on  me ! '  and  my  father  drove  me  out  again, 
with  as  little  remorse  as  if  I  had  been  the  old  house-dog,  which 
had  stolen  in  from  his  watch  to  the  fireside/' 

The  Bernese  replied,  with  an  air  of  coldness  approaching 
to  contempt,  "You  have  slept  on  your  watch,  Sigismund,  a  high 
military  offence,  and  you  have  dreamed  while  you  slept.  You 
were  in  good  luck  that  the  Landamman  did  not  suspect  your 
negligence,  or,  instead  of  being  sent  back  to  your  duty  like  a 
lazy  watch-dog,  you  might  have  been  scourged  back  like  a  faith- 
less one  to  your  kennel  at  Geierstein,  as  chanced  to  poor  Ernest 
for  a  less  matter." 

"  Ernest  has  not  yet  gone  back  though,"  said  Sigismund, 
"  and  I  think  he  may  pass  as  far  into  Burgundy  as  we  shall  do 
in  this  journey.  I  pray  you,  however,  Hauptman,  to  treat  me 
not  dog-like,  but  as  a  man,  and  send  some  one  to  relieve  me, 
instead  of  prating  here  in  the  cold  night  air.  If  there  be  any- 
thing to  do  to-morrow,  as  I  well  guess  there  may,  a  mouthful 
of  food,  and  a  minute  of  sleep,  will  be  but  a  fitting  preparative, 
and  I  have  stood  watch  here  these  two  mortal  hours." 

With  that  the  young  giant  yawned  portentously,  as  if  to 
enforce  the  reasons  of  his  appeal. 

"  A  mouthful  and  a  minute  ? "  said  Rudolph, — "  a  roasted 
ox  and  a  lethargy  like  that  of  the  Seven  Sleepers  would  scarce 
restore  you  to  the  use  of  your  refreshed  and  waking  senses. 
But  I  am  your  friend,  Sigismund,  and  you  are  secure  in  my 
favorable  report ;  you  shall  be  instantly  relieved,  that  you  may 
sleep,  if  it  be  possible,  without  disturbances  from  dreams. — - 
Pass  on,  young  men  (addressing  the  others,  who  by  this  time 
had  come  up),  "  and  go  to  your  rest ;  Arthur  of  England  and  I 
will  report  to  the  Landamman  and  the  Banneret  the  account  of 
our  patrol." 

The  patrol  accordingly  entered  the  castle,  and  were  soon 
heard  joining  their  slumbering  companions.  Rudolph  Donner- 
hugel  seized  Arthur's  arm,  and  while  they  went  toward  the 
hall,  whispered  in  his  ear, — 

"  These  are  strange  passages  ! — How  think  you  we  should 
report  them  to  the  deputation  1 " 

"  That  I  must  refer  to  yourself,"  said  Arthur;  "you  are  the 
captain  of  our  watch.  I  have  done  my  duty  in  telling  you  what 
I  saw — or  thought  I  saw — it  is  for  you  to  judge  how  far  it  is 
fitting  to  communicate  it  to  the  Landamman  ;  only,  as  it  con- 
cerns the  honor  of  his  family,  to  his  ear  alone  1  think  it  should 
be  confided." 

"  I  see  no  occasion  for  that,"  said  the  Bernese  hastily ;  "  it 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


cannot  affect  or  interest  our  general  safety.    But  I  may  take 
occasion  hereafter  to  speak  with  Anne  on  this  subject." 

This  latter  hint  gave  as  much  pain  to  Arthur,  as  the  general 
proposal  of  silence  on  an  affair  so  delicate  had  afforded  him  ^ 
satisfaction.    But  his  uneasiness  was  of  a  kind  which  he  felt  it 
necessary  to  suppress,  and  he  therefore  replied  with  as  much 
composure  as  he  could  assume  : — 

"You  will  act,  Sir  Hauptman,  as  your  sense  of  duty  and 
delicacy  shall  dictate.  For  me,  I  shall  be  silent  on  what  you 
call  the  strange  passages  of  the  night,  rendered  doubly  wonder- 
ful by  the  report  of  Sigismund  Biederman." 

And  also  on  what  you  have  seen  and  heard  concerning  our 
auxiliaries  of  Berne  1 "  said  Rudolph. 

"  On  that  I  shall  certainly  be  silent,"  said  Arthur;  "  unless 
thus  far,  that  I  mean  lo  communicate  to  my  father  the  risk 
of  his  baggage  being  liable  to  examination  and  seizure  at  La 
Ferette." 

"  It  is  needless,"  said  Rudolph  ;  I  will  answer  with  head 
and  hand  for  the  safety  of  everything  belonging  to  him." 

"I  thank  you  in  his  name,"  said  Arthur;     but  we  are^ 
peaceful  travelers,  to  whom  it  must  be  much  more  desirable  to 
avoid  a  broil,  than  to  give  occasion  for  one,  even  when  secure 
of  coming  out  of  it  triumphantly." 

"  These  are  the  sentiments  of  a  merchant,  but  not  of  a 
soldier,"  said  Rudolph,  in  a  cold  and  displeased  tone  ;  but 
the  matter  is  your  own,  and  you  must  act  in  it,  as  you  think 
best.  Only  remember,  if  you  go  to  La  Ferette  without  our 
assistance,  you  hazard  both  goods  and  life." 

They  entered,  as  he  spoke,  the  apartment  of  their  fellow- 
travelers.  The  companions  of  their  patrol  had  already  laid 
themselves  down  amongst  their  sleeping  comrades  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  room.  The  Landamman  and  the  Bannerman  of 
Berne  heard  Donnerhugel  make  a  report,  that  his  patrol,  both 
before  and  after  midnight,  had  been  made  in  safety,  and  with- 
out any  encounter  which  ^axpressed  either  danger  or  suspicion. 
The  Bernese  then  wrapped  him  in  his  cloak,  and  lying  down  on 
the  straw,  with  that  happy  indifference  to  accommodation,  and 
promptitude  to  seize  the  moment  of  repose,  which  is  acquired 
by  a  life  of  vigilance  and  hardship,  was  in  a  few  minutes  fast 
asleep. 

Arthur  remained  on  foot  but  a  little  longer,  to  dart  an 
earnest  look  on  the  door  of  Anne  of  Geierstein's  apartment,  and 
to  reflect  on  the  wonderful  occurrences  of  the  eveninsf.  But 
they  formed  a  chaotic  mystery,  for  which  he  could  see  no  clew 
and  the  necessity  of  holding  instant  communication  with  hi^ 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


father  compelled  him  forcibly  to  turn  his  thoughts  in  that 
direction.  He  was  obliged  to  observe  caution  and  secrecy  in 
accomplishing  his  purpose.  For  this  he  laid  himself  down 
beside  his  parent,  whose  couch,  with  the  hospitality  which  he 
had  experienced  from  the  beginning  of  his  intercourse  with  thi; 
kind-hearted  Swiss,  had  been  arranged  in  what  was  thought 
the  most  convenient  place  of  the  apartment,  and  somewhat 
apart  from  all  others.  He  slept  sound,  but  awoke  at  the 
touch  of  his  son,  who  whispered  to  him  in  English,  for  the 
greater  precaution,  that  he  had  important  tidings  for  his  private 
ear. 

An  attack  on  our  post  1 " — said  the  elder  Philipson  ;  "  must 
we  take  to  our  weapons  ? 

Not  now,''  said  Arthur ;  "  and  I  pray  of  you  not  to  rise 
or  make  alarm — this  matter  concerns  us  alone." 

"Tell  it  instantly,  my  son,"  replied  his  father  ;  "  you  speak 
to  one  too  much  used  to  danger  to  be  startled  at  it.*' 

"  It  is  a  case  for  your  wisdom  to  consider,"  said  Arthur. 
"  I  had  information  while  upon  the  patrol,  that  the  Governor 
of  La  Ferette  will  unquestionably  seize  upon  your  baggage  and 
merchandise,  under  pretext  of  levying  dues  claimed  by  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy.  I  have  also  been  informed  that  our  escort 
of  Swiss  youth  are  determined  to  resist  this  exaction,  and  con- 
ceive themselves  possessed  of  the  numbers  and  means  sufficient 
to  do  so  successfully." 

"  By  St.  George,^  that  must  not  be  !  "  said  the  elder  Philip- 
son  ;  "  it  would  be  an  evil  requital  to  the  true-hearted  Lan- 
damman,  to  give  the  fiery  Duke  a  pretext  for  that  war  which 
the  excellent  old  man  is  so  anxiously  desirous  to  avoid,  if  it  be 
possible.  Any  exactions,  however  unreasonable,  I  will  gladly 
pay.  But  to  have  my  papers  seized  on  were  utter  ruin.  I 
partly  feared  this,  and  it  made  me  unwilling  to  join  myself  to 
the  Landamman's  party.  We  must  now  break  off  from  it. 
This  rapacious  governor  will  not  surely  lay  hands  on  the  depu- 
tation which  seeks  his  master's  court  under  protection  of  the 
law  of  nations  ;  but  I  can  easily  see  how  he  might  make  our 
presence  with  them  a  pretext  for  quarrel,  which  will  equally 
suit  his  own  avaricious  spirit  and  the  humor  of  these  fiery 
young  men,  who  are  seeking  for  matter  of  offence.  This  shall 
not  be  taken  for  our  sake.  We  will  separate  ourselves  from 
the  deputies,  and  remain  behind  till  they  are  passed  on.  If 
this  I)e  Hagenbach  be  not  the  most  unreasonable  of  men,  I 
will  find  a  way  to  content  him  so  far  as  we  are  individually 
concerned.  Meanwhile,  I  will  instantly  wake  the  Landamman/ 
he  said,    and  acquaint  him  with  our  purpose." 


ANNE  OP  GEIERST&lN. 


13S 


This  was  immediately  done,  for  Philipson  was  not  slow  in 
the  execution  of  his  resolutions.  In  a  minute  he  was  standing 
by  the  side  of  Arnold  Biederman,  who,  raised  on  his  elbow,  was 
listening  to  his  communication,  while  over  the  shoulder  of  the 
Landamman,  rose  the  head  and  long  beard  of  the  deputy  from 
Schwytz,  his  large  clear  blue  eyes  gleaming  from  beneath  a  fur 
cap,  bent  on  the  Englishman's  face,  but  stealing  a  glance  aside 
now  and  then  to  mark  the  impression  which  what  was  said 
made  upon  his  colleague. 

"Good  friend  and  host,"  said  the  elder  Philipson,  we  have 
heard  for  a  certainty  that  our  poor  merchandise  will  be  sub- 
jected to  taxation  or  seizure  on  our  passage  through  La  Ferette, 
and  I  would  gladly  avoid  all  cause  of  quarrel,  for  your  sake  as 
well  as  our  own." 

"  You  do  not  doubt  that  we  can  and  will  protect  you,"  re- 
plied the  Landamman.  "  I  tell  you.  Englishman,  that  the 
guest  of  a  Swiss  is  as  safe  by  his  side  as  an  eaglet  under  the 
wing  of  its  dam  ;  and  to  leave  us  because  danger  approaches, 
is  but  a  poor  compliment  to  our  courage  or  constancy.  I  am 
desirous  of  peace ;  but  not  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  himself 
should  wrong  a  guest  of  mine,  so  far  as  my  power  might  pre- 
vent it." 

At  this  the  deputy  from  Schwytz  clenched  a  fist  like  a  bull's 
knuckles,  and  showed  it  above  the  shoulders  of  his  friend. 

"  It  is  even  to  avoid  this,  my  worthy  host,"  replied  Philip- 
son, "  that  I  intended  to  separate  from  your  friendly  company 
sooner  than  I  desire  or  purposed.  Bethink  you,  my  brave  and 
worthy  host,  you  are  an  ambassador  seeking  a  national  peace, 
I  a  trader  seeking  private  gain.  War,  or  quarrels  which  may 
cause  war,  are  alike  ruinous  to  your  purpose  and  mine.  I 
confess  to  you  frankly,  that  I  am  willing  and  able  to  pay  a 
large  ransom,  and  when  3^ou  are  departed  I  will  negotiate  for 
the  amount.  I  will  abide  in  the  town  of  Bale  till  I  have  made 
fair  terms  with  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  ;  and  even  if  he  is  the 
avaricious  extortioner  you  describe  him,  he  will  be  somewhat 
moderate  with  me  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  booty 
entirely,  by  my  turning  back,  or  taking  another  route." 

"  You  speak  wisely,  Sir  Englishman,"  said  the  Landamman  ; 
"  and  I  thank  you  for  recalling  my  duty  to  my  remembrance. 
But  you  must  not,  nevertheless,  be  exposed  to  danger.  So 
soon  as  we  move  forward,  the  country  will  be  again  open  to 
the  devastations  of  the  Burgundian  Riders  and  Lanz-knechts^ 
who  will  sweep  the  roads  in  every  direction.  The  people  of 
B^le  are  unhappily  too  timorous  to  protect  you  ;  they  would 
yield  you  up  upon  the  Governor's  first  hint ;  and  for  justice  of 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTElk, 


lenity,  you  might  as  well  expect  it  in  hell  as  from  Hag^^.n 
bach." 

There  are  conjurations,  it  is  said,  that  can  make  hell  itself 
tremble,"  said  Philipson ;  and  I  have  means  to  propitiate 
even  this  De  Hagenbach,  providing  I  can  get  to  private  speech 
with  him.  But,  I  own,  I  can  expect  nothing  from  his  wild 
riders,  but  to  be  put  to  death  for  the  value  of  my  cloak." 

If  that  be  the  case,"  said  the  Landamman,  "  and  if  you 
must  needs  separate  from  us,  for  which  I  deny  not  that  you 
have  alleged  wise  and  worthy  reasons,  wherefore  should  you  not 
leave  Graffs-lust  two  hours  before  us  ?  The  roads  will  be  safe, 
as  our  escort  is  expected ;  and  you  will  probably,  if  you  travel 
early,  find  De  Hagenbach  sober,  and  as  capable  as  he  ever  is 
of  hearing  reason — that  is,  of  perceiving  his  own  interest.  But, 
after  his  breakfast  is  washed  down  with  Rhine-wein,  which  he 
drinks  every  morning  before  he  hears  mass,  his  fury  blinds  even 
his  avarice." 

"  All  I  want,  in  order  to  execute  this  scheme,"  said  Philip- 
son,  "  is  the  loan  of  a  mule  to  carry  my  valise,  which  is  packed 
up  with  your  baggage." 

"  Take  this  she-mule,"  said  the  Landamman  ;  "  she  belongs 
to  my  brother  here  from  Schwytz  ;  he  will  gladly  bestow  her  on 
thee." 

"If  she  were  worth  twenty  crowns,  and  my  comrade  Arnold 
desired  me  to  do  so,"  said  the  old  whitebeard. 

"  I  will  accept  her  as  a  loan  with  gratitude,"  said  the  Eng- 
lishman. "  But  how  can  you  dispense  with  the  use  of  the 
creature  t    You  have  only  one  left." 

We  can  easily  supply  our  want  from  Bale,"  said  the  Lan- 
damman. "  Nay,  we  can  make  this  little  delay  serve  your  pur- 
pose, Sir  Englishman.  I  named  for  our  time  of  departure  the 
first  hour  after  daybreak;  we  will  postpone  it  to  the  second 
hour,  which  will  give  us  enough  of  time  to  get  a  horse  or 
mule,  and  you,  Sir  Philipson,  space  to  reach  La  Ferette,  where 
I  trust  you  will  have  achieved  your  business  with  De  Hagen- 
bach to  your  contentment,  and  will  join  company  again  with 
us  as  we  travel  through  Burgundy." 

"If  our  mutual  objects  will  permit  our  traveling  together, 
worthy  Landamman,"  answered  the  merchant,  "  I  shall  esteem 
myself  most  happy  in  becoming  the  partner  of  your  journey. — 
And  now  resume  the  repose  which  I  have  interrupted." 

"  God  bless  you,  wise  and  true-hearted  man,"  said  the  Lan- 
damman, rising  and  embracing  the  Englishman.  "  Should  we 
never  meet  again,  I  will  still  remember  the  merchant  who 
neglected  thoughts  of  gain,  that  he  might  keep  the  path  o£ 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


wisdom  and  rectitude.  I  know  not  another  who  would  not 
have  risked  the  shedding  a  lake  of  blood  to  save  five  ounces  of 
gold. — Farewell,  thou,  too,  gallant  young  man.  Thou  hast 
learned  among  us  to  keep  thy  foot  firm  while  on  the  edge  of  a 
Helvetian  crag,  but  none  can  teach  thee  so  well  as  thy  father, 
to  keep  an  upright  path  among  the  morasses  and  precipices  of 
human  life.'^ 

He  then  embraced  and  took  a  kind  farewell  of  his  friends, 
in  which,  as  usual,  he  was  imitated  by  his  friend  of  Schwytz,  who 
swept  with  his  long  beard  the  right  and  left  cheeks  of  both  the 
Englishmen,  and  again  made  them  heartily  welcome  to  the  use 
of  his  mule.  All  then  once  more  composed  themselves  to  rest, 
for  the  space  which  remained  before  the  appearance  of  the 
autumnal  dawn. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 

The  enmity  and  discord,  which  of  late 
Sprung  from  the  rancorous  outrage  of  your  Duke 
To  merchants,  our  well-dealing  countrymen, — 
Who,  wanting  guilders  to  redeem  their  lives, 
Have  seal'd  his  rigorous  statutes  with  their  bloods, 
Excludes  all  pity  from  our  threatening  looks. 

Comedy  of  Errors. 

The  dawn  had  scarce  begun  to  touch  the  distant  horizon,  when 
Arthur  Philipson  was  on  foot  to  prepare  for  his  father's  departure 
and  his  own,  which,  as  arranged  on  the  preceding  night,  was  to 
take  place  two  hours  before  the  Landamman  and  his  attendants 
proposed  to  leave  the  ruinous  castle  of  Graffs-lust.  It  was  no 
difficult  matter  for  him  to  separate  the  neatly  arranged  packages 
which  contained  his  father's  effects,  from  the  clumsy  bundles  in 
which  the  baggage  of  the  Swiss  was  deposited.  The  one  set  of 
mails  was  made  up  with  the  neatness  of  men  accustomed  to  long 
and  perilous  journeys ;  the  other,  with  the  rude  carelessness  of 
those  who  rarely  left  their  home,  and  who  were  altogether  inex- 
perienced. 

A  servant  of  the  Landamman  assisted  Arthur  in  this  task, 
and  in  placing  his  father's  baggage  on  the  mule  belonging  to 
the  bearded  deputy  ftom  Schwytz.  From  this  man  also  he 
received  instructions  concerning  the  road  from  Graffs-lust  to 
Breisach  (the  chief  citadel  of  La  Ferette),  which  was  too  plain 
and  direct  to  render  it  likely  that  they  should  incur  any  risk 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


of  losing  their  way,  as  had  befallen  them  when  traveling  on  the 
Swiss  mountains.  Everything  being  now  prepared  for  th^ir 
departure,  the  young  Englishman  awakened  his  father,  and 
acquainted  him  that  all  was  ready.  He  then  retired  toward 
the  chimney,  while  his  father,  according  to  his  daily  custom, 
repeated  the  prayer  of  St.  Julian,  the  patron  of  travelers^  and 
adjusted  his  dress  for  the  journey. 

It  will  not  be  w^ondered  at,  that,  while  the  father  went 
through  his  devotions,  and  equipped  himself  for  travel,  Arthur, 
with  his  heart  full  of  what  he  had  seen  of  Anne  of  Geierstein 
for  some  time  before,  and  his  brain  dizzy  with  the  recollection 
of  the  incidents  of  the  preceding  night,  should  have  kept  his 
eyes  riveted  on  the  door  of  the  sleeping  apartment  at  which 
he  had  last  seen  that  young  person  disappear  ;  that  is,  unless 
the  pale,  and  seemingly  fantastic  form,  which  had  twice  crossed 
him  so  strangely,  should  prove  no  wandering  spirit  of  the 
elements,  but  the  living  substance  of  the  person  whose  appear- 
ance it  bore.  So  eager  was  his  curiosity  on  this  subject,  that 
he  strained  his  eyes  to  the  utmost,  as  if  it  had  been  possible 
for  them  to  have  penetrated  through  wood  and  walls  into  the 
chamber  of  the  slumbering  maiden,  in  order  to  discover  whether 
her  eye  or  cheek  bore  any  mark  that  she  had  last  night  been  a 
watcher  or  a  wanderer. 

"  But  that  was  the  proof  to  which  Rudolph  appealed,"  he 
said,  internally,  "  and  Rudolph  alone  will  have  the  opportunity 
of  remarking  the  result.  Who  knows  what  advantage  my 
communication  may  give  him  in  his  suit  with  yonder  lovely 
creature  ?  And  what  must  she  think  of  me,  save  as  one  light 
of  thought  and  loose  of  tongue,  to  whom  nothing  extraordinary 
can  chance,  but  he  must  hasten  to  babble  it  into  the  ears  of 
those  who  are  nearest  to  him  at  the  moment  ?  I  would  my  tongue 
had  been  palsied  ere  I  said  a  syllable  to  yonder  proud,  yet  wily 
prize-fighter  !  I  shall  never  see  her  more — that  is  to  be  counted 
for  certain.  I  shall  never  know  the  true  interpretation  of  those 
mysteries  which  hang  around  her.  But  to  think  I  may  have 
prated  something  tending  to  throw  her  into  the  power  of  yonder 
ferocious  boor,  will  be  a  subject  of  remorse  to  me  while  I  live.'* 

Here  he  was  startled  out  of  his  reverie  by  the  voice  of  his 
father.  "  Why,  how  now,  boy ;  art  thou  waking,  Arthur,  or 
sleeping  on  thy  feet  from  the  fatigue  of  last  night's  service  ?  " 

Not  so,  my  father,"  answered  Arthur,  at  once  recollecting 
himself.  Somewliat  drowsy,  perhaps  ;  but  the  fresh  morning 
air  will  soon  put  that  to  flight." 

Walking  with  precaution  through  the  group  of  sleepers  who 
lay  around,  the  elder  Philipson,  when  they  had  gained  the  door 


ANNE  OF  GRIERSTEIN. 


of  the  apartment,  turned  back,  and,  looking  on  the  straw  couch 
which  the  large  form  of  the  Landamman,  and  the  silvery  beard 
of  his  constant  companion,  touched  by  the  earliest  beams  of 
light,  distinguished  as  that  of  Arnold  Biederman,  he  muttered 
between  his  lips  an  involuntary  adieu. 

"  Farewell,  mirror  of  ancient  faith  and  integrity — farewell, 
noble  Arnold — farewell,  soul  of  truth  and  candor — to  whom 
cowardice,  selfishness,  and  falsehood,  are  alike  unknown  ! 

And  farewell,  thought  his  son,  to  the  loveliest,  and  most 
candid,  yet  most  mysterious  of  maidens  ! — But  the  adieu,  as 
may  well  be  believed,  was  not,  like  that  of  his  father,  expressed 
in  words. 

They  were  soon  after  on  the  outside  of  the  gate.  The  Swiss 
domestic  was  liberally  recompensed,  and  charged  with  a  thou- 
sand kind  words  of  farewell  and  of  remembrance  to  the  Landam- 
man from  his  English  guests,  mingled  with  hopes  and  wishes 
*  that  they  might  soon  meet  again  in  the  Burgundian  territory. 
The  young  man  then  took  the  bridle  of  the  mule,  and  led  the 
animal  forward  on  their  journey  at  an  easy  pace,  his  father 
walking  by  his  side. 

After  a  silence  of  some  minutes,  the  elder  Philipson  addressed 
Arthur.  I  fear  me,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  see  the  worthy  Lan 
damman  no  more.  The  youths  who  attend  him  are  bent  upon 
taking  offence — the  Duke  of  Burgundy  will  not  fail,  I  fear,  to 
give  them  ample  occasion — and  the  peace  which  the  excellent 
man  desires  for  the  land  of  his  fathers  will  be  shipwrecked  ere 
they  reached  the  Duke's  presence  ;  though  even  were  it  other- 
wise, how  the  proudest  prince  in  Europe  will  brook  the  moody 
looks  of  burgesses  and  peasants  (so  will  Charles  of  Burgundy 
term  the  friends  we  have  parted  from),  is  a  question  too  easily 
answered.  A  war,  fatal  to  the  interests  of  all  concerned,  save 
Louis  of  France,  will  certainly  take  place  ;  and  dreadful  must 
be  the  contest  if  the  ranks  of  the  Burgundian  chivalry  shall  en- 
counter those  iron  sons,  of  the  mountains,  before  whom  so  many 
of  the  Austrian  nobility  have  been  repeatedly  prostrated. 

"  I  am  so  much  convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  you  say,  my 
father,"  replied  Arthur,  that  I  judge  even  this  day  will  not 
pass  over  without  a  breach  of  truce.  I  have  already  put  on 
my  shirt  of  mail,  in  case  we  should  meet  bad  company  betwixt 
Graffs-lust  and  Breisach  ;  and  I  would  to  Heaven  that  you 
would  observe  the  same  precaution.  It  will  not  delay  our 
journey  ;  and  I  confess  to  you,  that  I,  at  least,  will  travel  with 
much  greater  consciousness  of  safety  should  you  do  so," 

I  understand  you,  my  son,"  replied  the  elder  Philipson 
'*But  I  am  a  peaceful  traveler  in  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN 


territories,  and  must  not  willingly  suppose,  that  while  under 
the  shadow  of  his  banner,  I  must  guard  myself  against  banditti, 
as  if  I  were  in  the  wilds  of  Palestine.  As  for  the  authority  of 
his  officers,  and  the  extent  of  their  exactions,  I  need  not  tell  you 
that  they  are,  in  our  circumstances,  things  to  be  submitted  to 
without  grief  or  grudging.'^ 

Leaving  the  two  travelers  to  journey  toward  Breisach  at 
their  leisure,  I  must  transport  my  readers  to  the  eastern  gate 
of  that  small  town,  which,  situated  on  an  eminence,  had  a  com- 
manding prospect  on  every  side,  but  especially  toward  Bale. 
It  did  not  properly  make  a  part  of  the  dominions  of  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  but  had  been  placed  in  his  hands  in  pawn  or  in 
pledge,  for  the  repayment  of  the  considerable  sum  of  money,  due 
to  Charles  by  the  Emperor  Sigismund  of  Austria,  to  whom  the 
signiory  of  the  place  belonged  in  property.  But  the  town  lay 
so  conveniently  for  distressing  the  commerce  of  the  Swiss,  and 
inflicting  on  that  people,  whom  he  at  once  hated  and  despised, 
similar  marks  of  his  malevolence,  as  to  encourage  a  general 
opinion  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  implacable  and  un- 
reasonable enemy  of  these  mountaineers,  would  never  listen  to 
any  terms  of  redemption,  however  equitable  or  advantageous, 
which  might  have  the  effect  of  restoring  to  the  Emperor  an 
advanced  post,  of  such  consequence  to  the  gratification  of  his 
dislike,  as  Breisach. 

The  situation  of  the  little  tow^n  was  in  itself  strong,  but  the 
fortifications  which  surrounded  it  were  barely  sufficient  to  repel 
any  sudden  attack,  and  not  adequate  to  resist  for  any  length 
of  time  a  formal  siege.  The  morning  beams  had  shone  on  the 
spire  of  the  church  for  more  than  an  hour,  when  a  tall,  thin, 
elderly  man,  wrapped  in  a  morning  gown,  over  w^hich  was  buckled 
a  broad  belt,  supporting  on  the  left  side  a  sword,  on  the  right  a 
dagger,  approached  the  barbican  of  the  eastern  gate.  His 
bonnet  displayed  a  feather,  which,  or  the  tail  of  a  fox  in  lieu  of 
it,  was  the  emblem  of  gentle  blood  throughout  all  Germany,  and 
a  badge  highly  prized  by  those  who  had  a  right  to  wear  it. 

The  small  party  of  soldiers  who  had  kept  watch  there  during 
the  course  of  the  preceding  night,  and  supplied  sentinels  botii 
forward  and  outlook,  took  arms  on  the  appearance  of  this 
individual,  and  drew  themselves  up  in  the  form  of  a  guard, 
which  receives  with  military  reverence  an  office  of  importance. 
Archibald  de  Hagenbach's  countenance,  for  it  was  the  Governor 
himself,  expressed  that  settled  peevishness  and  ill  temper  which 
characterize  the  morning  hours  of  a  valetudinary  debauchee. 
His  head  throbbed,  his  pulse  was  feverish,  and  his  cheek  was 
pale, — symptoms  of  his  having  spent  the  last  night,  as  was  his 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


141 


Usual  custom,  amid  wine-stoups  and  flagonSc  Judging  from  the 
haste  with  which  his  soldiers  fell  into  their  ranks,  and  tjie  awe 
and  silence  which  reigned  among  them,  it  appeared  that  th'^y 
were  accustomed  to  expect  and  dread  his  ill  humor  on  :'u<  ;h 
occasions.  He  glanced  at  them,  accordingly,  an  inquisruve 
and  dissatisfied  look,  as  if  he  sought  something  on  which  to  vent 
his  peevishness,  and  then  asked  for  the    loitering  dog  Kilian." 

Kilian  presently  made  his  appearance,  a  stout  hard-favored 
man-at-arms,  a  Bavarian  by  birth,  and  by  rank  the  personal 
squire  of  the  Governor. 

What  news  of  the  Swiss  churls,  Kilian  1 "  demanded  Archi- 
bald de  Hagenbach.  "  They  should,  by  their  thrifty  habits, 
have  been  on  the  road  two  hours  since.  Have  the  peasant- 
clods  presumed  to  ape  the  manners  of  gentlemen,  and  stuck  by 
the  flask  till  cock-crow  ? 

"  By  mj  faith,  it  may  well  be,''  answered  Kilian  ;  the 
burghers  of  Bale  gave  them  full  means  of  carousal." 

How,  Kilian  ? — They  dared  not  offer  hospitality  to  the 
Swiss  drove  of  bullock,  after  the  charge  we  sent  them  to  the 
contrary  ?  " 

"  Nay,  the  Balese  received  them  not  into  the  town,"  replied 
the  squire  ;  "  but  I  learned,  by  sure  espial,  that  they  afforded 
them  means  of  quartering  at  Graffs-lust,  which  was  furnished 
with  many  a  fair  gammon  and  pasty,  to  speak  nought  of  flasks 
of  Rhine  wine,  barrels  of  beer,  and  stoups  of  strong  waters." 

"  The  Balese  shall  answer  this,  Kilian,"  said  the  Governor  ; 
"  do  they  think  I  am  for  ever  to  be  thrusting  myself  between 
the  Duke  and  his  pleasure  on  their  behalf.'^ — The  fat  porkers 
have  presumed  too  much  since  we  accepted  some  trifling  gifts 
at  their  hands,  more  for  gracing  of  them  than  for  any  advan- 
tage we  could  make  of  their  paltry  donations.  Was  it  not  the 
wine  from  Bale  which  we  were  obliged  to  drink  out  in  pint 
goblets,  lest  it  should  become  sour  before  morning  ?  " 

"  It  was  drunk  out,  and  in  pint  goblets  too,"  said  Kilian  ; 
"  so  much  I  can  well  remember." 

"  Why,  go  to,  then,"  said  the  Governor;  they  shall  know, 
these  beasts  of  Bale,  that  I  hold  myself  no  way  obliged  by  such 
donations  as  these,  and  that  my  remembrance  of  the  wines 
which  I  carouse,  rests  no  longer  than  the  headache,  which  the 
mixtures  they  drug  me  with  never  fail  of  late  years  to  leave 
behind,  for  the  next  morning's  pastime." 

"  Your  excellency,"  replied  the  Squire,  "  will  make  it,  then, 
a  quarrel  between  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  city  of  Bale, 
that  they  gave  this  indirect  degree  of  comfort  and  assistance  to 
the  Swiss  deputation  ?  " 


142 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  Ay,  marry  will  I/'  said  De  Hagenbach,  unless  there  be 
wise  men  among  them,  who  shall  show  me  good  reasons  for  pro- 
tecting  them. — Oh,  the  Balese  do  not  know  our  noble  Duke, 
nor  the  gift  he  hast  for  chastising  the  gutter-blooded  citizens  of 
a  free  town.  Thou  canst  tell  them,  Kilian,  as  well  as  any  man, 
how  he  dealt  with  the  villains  of  Liege,  when  they  would  needs 
be  pragmatical.'' 

I  will  apprise  them  of  the  matter,"  said  Kilian,  "  when 
opportunity  shall  serve,  and  I  trust  I  shall  find  them  in  a  tem- 
per disposed  to  cultivate  your  honorable  friendship." 

"  Nay,  if  it  is  the  same  to  them,  it  is  quite  indifferent  to  me, 
Kilian,"  continued  the  Governor;  "  but,  methinks,  whole  and 
sound  throats  are  worth  some  purchase,  were  it  only  to  swallow 
black-puddings  and  schwarz-beer,  to  say  nothing  of  Westphalian 
hams  and  Nierensteiner — I  say,  a  slashed  throat  is  a  useless 
thing,  Kilian." 

I  will  make  the  fat  citizens  to  understand  their  danger,  and 
the  necessity  of  making  interest,"  answered  Kilian.  Sure,  I 
am  not  now  to  learn  how  to  turn  the  ball  into  your  excellency's 
lap." 

"  You  speak  well,"  said  Sir  Archibald ;  but  how  chanced 
it  thou  hast  so  little  to  say  to  the  Switzers'  leaguer?  I  should 
have  thought  an  old  trooper  like  thee  would  have  made  their 
pinions  flutter  amidst  the  good  cheer  thou  tellest  me  of." 

"  I  might  as  well  have  annoyed  an  angry  hedgehog  with  my 
bare  finger,  said  Kilian.  I  surveyed  Graffs-lust  myself ; — 
there  were  sentinels  on  the  castle  walls,  a  sentinel  on  the  bridge, 
besides  a  regular  patrol  of  these  Swiss  fellows  who  kept  strict 
watch.  So  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  ;  otherwise, 
knowing  your  excellency's  ancient  quarrel,  I  would  have  had  a 
hit  at  them,  when  they  should  never  have  known  who  hurt 
them. — I  will  tell  you,  however,  fairly,  that  these  churls  are 
acquiring  better  knowledge  in  the  art  of  war  than  the  best 
Ritter  knight." 

"  Well,  they  will  be  the  better  worth  the  looking  after  when 
they  arrive,"  said  De  Hagenbach  ;  "  they  come  forth  in  state 
doubtless,  with  all  their  finery,  their  wives'  chains  of  silver,  their 
own  medal,  and  rings  of  lead  and  copper. — Ah,  the  base  hinds  ! 
they  are  unworthy  that  a  man  of  noble  blood  should  ease  them 
of  their  trash  !  " 

"  There  is  better  ware  among  them,  if  my  intelligence  hath 

not  deceived  me,"  replied  Kilian  ;     there  are  merchants  "  

Pshaw  !  the  pack  horses  of  Berne  and  Soleure,"  said  the 
Governor,  "  with  their  paltry  lumber! — cloth  too  coarse  to  make 
covers  for  horses  of  any  breeding,  and  linen  that  is  more  like 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


hair-cloth  than  any  composition  of  flax.  I  will  strip  them,  how- 
ever, were  it  but  to  vex  the  knaves.  What !  not  content  with 
claiming  to  be  treated  like  an  independent  people,  and  sending 
forth  deputies  and  embassies  forsooth,  they  expect,  I  warrant,  to 
make  the  indemnities  of  ambassadors  cover  the  introduction  of  a 
cargo  of  their  contraband  commodities,  and  thus  insult  the  noble 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  cheat  him  at  the  same  time  ?  But'De 
Hagenbach  is  neither  knight  nor  gentleman  if  he  allow  them  to 
pass  unchallenged.'* 

"  And  they  are  better  worth  being  stopped,*'  said  Kilian, 
"  than  your  excellency  supposes  ;  for  they  have  English  mer- 
chants along  with  them,  and  under  their  protection." 

"  English  merchants  !  *'  exclaimed  De  Hagenbach,  his  eyes 
sparkling  with  joy  ;  English  merchants,  Kilian  !  Men  talk  of 
Cathay  and  Ind,  where  there  are  mines  of  silver,  and  gold,  and 
diamonds ;  but,  on  the  faith  of  a  gentleman,  I  believe  these 
brutish  Islanders  have  the  caves  of  treasure  wholly  within  their 
own  foggy  land  !  And  then  the  variety  of  their  rich  merchan- 
dise,— Ha,  Kilian  !  is  it  a  long  train  of  mules — a  jolly  tinkling 
team  ? — By  Our  Lady's  glove  !  the  sound  of  it  is  already  jingling 
in  my  ears  more  musically  than  all  the  harps  of  all  the  minne- 
singers at  Heilbrunn  !  " 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  there  is  no  great  train,"  replied  the  squire ; 
— "  only  two  men,  as  I  am  given  to  understand,  with  scarce  so 
much  baggage  as  loads  a  mule  ;  but,  it  is  said,  of  infinite  value, 
silk  and  samite,  lace  and  furs,  pearls  and  jewelry-work — per- 
fumes from  the  East,  and  gold-work  from  Venice." 

Raptures  and  paradise  !  say  not  a  word  more,"  exclaimed 
the  rapacious  knight  of  Hagenbach ;  "  they  are  all  our  own, 
Kilian  !  Why,  these  are  the  very  men  I  have  dreamed  of  twice 
a  week  for  this  month  past — ay,  two  men  of  middle  stature,  or 
somewhat  under  it — with  smooth,  round,  fair,  comely  visages, 
having  stomachs  as  plump  as  partridges,  and  purses  as  plump 
as  their  stomachs — Ha,  what  say'st  thou  to  my  dream,  Kilian  ?  " 

"  Only,  that,  to  be  quite  soothfast,"  answered  the  squire,  "  it 
should  have  included  the  presence  of  a  score,  or  thereabouts,  of 
sturdy  young  giants  as  ever  climbed  cliff,  or  carried  bolt  to 
whistle  at  a  chamois — a  lusty  plump  of  clubs,  bills,  and  par- 
tisans, such  as  make  shields  crack  Tke  oaten  cakes  and  helmets 
ring  like  church-bells." 

"The  better,  knave,  the  better  !  "  exclaimed  the  Governor, 
rubbing  his  hands.  "  English  pedlers  to  plunder  !  Swiss  bullies 
TO  beat  into  submission  !  I  wot  well,  we  can  have  nothing  of 
the  Helvetian  swine  save  their  beastly  bristles — it  is  lucky  they 
bring  these  two  island  sheep  along  with  them.    But  we  must 


144 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN 


get  ready  our  boar-spears,  and  clear  the  clipping-pens  for  exer- 
cise of  our  craft. — Here,  Lieutenant  Schonfeldt ! 

An  officer  stepped  forth. 

"  How  many  men  are  here  on  duty  ?  " 
About  sixty,"  replied  the  officer.    "  Twenty  out  on  parties 
in  different  directions,  and  there  may  be  forty  or  fifty  in  their 
quarters.'* 

"  Order  them  all  under  arms  instantly ; — hark  ye,  not  by 
trumpet  or  bugle,  but  by  warning  them  individually  in  their 
quarters,  to  draw  to  arms  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  rendezvous 
here  at  the  eastern  gate.  Tell  the  villains  there  is  booty  to 
be  gained,  and  they  shall  have  their  share.'' 

"  On  these  terms,"  said  Schonfeldt,  "  they  will  walk  over  a 
spider's  web  without  startling  the  insect  that  wove  it.  I  will 
collect  them  without  loss  of  an  instant." 

"I  tell  thee,  Kilian,"  continued  the  exulting  commandant, 
again  speaking  apart  with  his  confidential  attendant,  "  nothing 
could  come  so  luckily  as  the  chance  of  this  onslaught.  Duke 
Charles  desires  to  affront  the  Swiss, — not,  look  you,  that  he 
cares  to  act  toward  them  by  his  own  direct  orders,  in  such 
a  manner  as  might  be  termed  a  breach  of  public  faith  toward 
a  peaceful  embassy;  but  the  gallant  follower  who  shall  save 
his  prince  the  scandal  of  such  an  affair,  and  whose  actions  may 
be  termed  a  mistake  or  misapprehension,  shall,  I  warrant  you, 
be  accounted  to  have  done  knightly  service.  Perchance  a  frown 
may  be  passed  upon  him  in  public,  but  in  private  the  Duke  will 
know  how  to  esteem  him. — Why  standest  thou  so  silent,  man, 
and  what  ails  thy  ugly  ill-looking  aspect  ?  Thou  art  not  afraid 
of  twenty  Switzer  boys,  and  we  at  the  head  of  such  a  band  of 
spears  ?  " 

"  The  Swiss,"  answered  Kilian,  "  will  give  and  take  good 
blows  ;  yet  I  have  no  fear  of  them.  But  I  like  not  that  we 
should  trust  too  much  to  Duke  Charles.  That  he  would  be,  in 
the  first  instance,  pleased  with  any  dishonor  done  the  Swiss  is 
likely  enough  ;  but  if,  as  your  excellency  hints,  he  finds  it 
afterward  convenient  to  disown  the  action,  he  is  a  prince  likely 
to  give  a  lively  color  to  his  disavowal  by  hanging  up  the  actors." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  said  the  commandant,  I  know  where  I  stand. 
Such  a  trick  were  like  enough  to  be  played  by  Louis  of  France, 
but  it  is  foreign  to  the  blunt  character  of  our  Bold  one  of 
Burgundy. — Why  the  devil  stand'st  thou  still,  man,  simpering 
like  an  ape  at  a  roasted  chestnut,  which  he  thinks  too  warm  for 
his  fingers  ? " 

"  Your  excellency  is  wise  as  well  as  warlike,"  said  the  esquire, 
"  and  it  is  not  for  me  to  contest  your  pleasure.    But  this  peace- 


AM'NE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


MS 


ful  embassy — these  English  merchants — if  Charles  goes  to  war 
with  Louis,  as  the  rumor  is  current,  what  he  should  most  of 
all  desire  is  the  neutrality  of  Switzerland,  and  the  assistance  of 
England,  whose  King  is  crossing  the  sea  with  a  great  army. 
Now  you,  Sir  Archibald  of  Hagenbach,  may  well  do  that  in  the 
course  of  this  very  morning,  which  will  put  the  Confederated 
Cantons  in  arms  against  Charles,  and  turn  the  English  from 
allies  into  enemies/' 

"  I  care  not,"  said  the  commandant ;  "  I  know  the  Duke's 
humor  well,  and  if  he,  the  master  of  so  many  provinces,  is 
willing  to  risk  them  in  a  self-willed  frolic,  what  is  it  to  Archi- 
bald de  Hagenbach,  who  has  not  a  foot  of  land  to  lose  in  the 
cause  ?  " 

"  But  you  have  life,  my  lord,"  said  the  esquire. 
Ay,  life  !  "  replied  the  knight ;  "  a  paltry  right  to  exist, 
which  I  have  been  ready  to  stake  every  day  of  my  life  for 
dollars — ay,  and  for  creutzers — and  think  you  I  will  hesitate 
to  pledge  it  for  broad-pieces,  jewels  of  the  East,  and  Goldsmith^s 
work  of  Venice  ?  No,  Kilian  ;  these  English  must  be  eased  of 
their  bales,  that  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  may  drink  a  purer 
flask  than  their  thin  moselle,  and  wear  a  brocade  doublet  in- 
stead of  greasy  velvet.  Nor  is  it  less  necessary  that  Kilian 
should  have  a  seemly  new  jerkin,  with  a  purse  of  ducats  to 
jingle  at  his  girdle." 

"  By  my  faith,"  said  Kilian,  "  that  last  argument  hath  dis- 
armed my  scruples,  and  I  give  up  the  point,  since  it  ill  befits 
me  to  dispute  with  your  excellency." 

"  To  the  work  then,"  said  his  leader.  "  But  stay — we  must 
first  take  the  Church  along  with  us.  The  priest  of  Saint  Paul's 
hath  been  moody  of  late,  and  spread  abroad  strange  things 
from  the  pulpit,  as  if  we  were  little  better  than  common 
villagers  and  robbers.  Nay,  he  hath  had  the  insolence  to  warn 
me,  as  he  termed  it,  twice,  in  strange  form.  It  were  well  to 
break  the  growling  mastiff's  bald  head  ;  but  since  that  might 
be  ill  taken  by  the  Duke,  the  next  point  of  wisdom  is  to  fling 
him  a  bone." 

"  He  may  be  a  dangerous  enemy,"  said  the  squire  dubiously; 
his  power  is  great  with  the  people." 

"  Tush  !  "  replied  Hagenbach,  "  I  know  how  to  disarm  the 
shaveling.  Send  to  him,  and  tell  him  to  come  hither  to  speak 
with  me.  Meanwhile,  have  all  our  force  under  arms;  let  the 
barbican  and  barrier  be  well  manned  with  archers  ;  station 
spearmen  in  the  houses  on  each  hand  of  the  gateway;  and  let 
the  street  be  barricaded  with  carts,  well  bound  together,  but 
placed  as  if  they  had  been  there  by  accident — place  a  body  of 


146 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTEIN. 


determined  fellows  in  these  carts,  and  behind  them.  So  soon 
as  the  merchants  and  their  mules  enter  (for  that  is  the  main 
point),  up  with  your  drawbridge,  down  with  the  portcullis, 
send  a  volley  of  arrows  among  those  who  are  without,  if  they 
make  any  scuffle ;  disarm  and  secure  those  who  have  entered, 
and  are  cooped  up  between  the  barricade  before,  and  the 

ambush  behind  and  around  them — And  theii^  Kilian  

And  then,"  said  his  esquire,  ^'  shall  we,  like  merry  Free 

Companions,  be  knuckle-deep  in  the  English  budgets  "  

And,  like  jovial  hunters,'^  replied  the  knight,  "  elbow-deep 
in  Swiss  blood." 

''The  game  will  stand  at  bay  though,"  answered  Kilian. 
"  They  are  led  by  that  Donnerhugel  whom  we  have  heard  of, 
whom  they  call  the  Young  Bear  of  Berne.  They  will  turn  to 
their  defence." 

''  The  better,  man — wouldst  thou  kill  sheep  rather  than  hunt 
wolves  ?  Besides,  our  toils  are  set,  and  the  whole  garrison  shall 
assist.  Shame  on  thee,  Kilian,  thou  wert  not  wont  to  have  so 
many  scruples  !  " 

"  Nor  have  I  now,"  said  Kilian.  '*  But  these  Swiss  bills,  and 
two-handed  swords  of  the  breadth  of  four  inches,  are  no  child's 
play. — And  then,  if  you  call  all  our  garrison  to  the  attack,  to 
whom  will  your  excellency  intrust  the  defence  of  the  othei 
gates,  and  the  circuit  of  the  walls  ? " 

"Lock,  bolt,  and  chain  up  the  gates,"  replied  the  Governor, 
"  and  bring  the  keys  hither.  There  shall  no  one  leave  the 
place  till  this  affair  is  over.  Let  some  score  of  the  citizens  take 
arms  for  the  duty  of  guarding  the  walls ;  and  look  they  dis- 
charge it  well,  or  I  will  lay  a  fine  on  them  which  they  shall 
discharge  to  purpose." 

They  will  grumble,"  said  Kilian.  *'  They  say,  that  not 
being  the  Duke's  subjects,  though  the  place  is  impledged  to 
his  Grace,  they  are  not  liable  to  military  service." 

"They  lie  !  the  cowardly  slaves,"  answered  De  Hagenbach. 
"  If  I  have  not  employed  them  much  hitherto,  it  is  because  I 
scorn  their  assistance  ;  nor  would  I  now  use  their  help,  were  it 
for  anything  save  to  keep  a  watch,  by  looking  out  straight 
before  them.  Let  them  obey,  as  they  respect  their  property, 
persons,  and  families." 

A  deep  voice  behind  them  repeated  the  emphatic  language 
of  Scripture, — "  I  have  seen  the  wicked  man  flourish  in  his 
power  even  like  unto  a  laurel,  but  I  returned  and  he  was  not— ' 
yea,  I  sought  him,  but  he  was  not  to  be  found." 

Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  turned  sternly,  and  encoun 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


tered  the  dark  and  ominous  looks  of  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paurs, 
dressed  in  the  vestments  of  his  order. 

"  We  are  busy,  father,"  said  the  Governor,  and  will  hear 
your  preachment  another  time." 

"  I  come  by  your  summons,  Sir  Governor,"  said  the  priest, 
"  or  I  had  not  intruded  myself,  where  I  well  knew  my  preach- 
ments, if  you  term  them  so,  will  do  no  good." 

"  Oh,  I  crave  your  mercy,  reverend  father,"  said  De  Hagen- 
bach.  "  Yes,  it  is  true  that  I  did  send  for  you,  to  desire  your 
prayers  and  kind  intercession  with  Our  Lady  and  Saint  Paul, 
in  some  transactions  which  are  likely  to  occur  this  morning,  and 
in  which,  as  the  Lombard  says,  I  do  espy  roha  di  guadagnoy 

"  Sir  Archibald,"  answered  the  priest  calmly,  I  well  hope 
and  trust  that  you  do  not  forget  the  nature  of  the  glorified 
Saints  so  far  as  to  ask  them  for  their  blessing  upon  such  ex- 
ploits as  you  have  been  too  oft  engaged  in  since  your  arrival 
amongst  us — an  event  which  of  itself  gave  token  of  the  Divine 
anger.  Nay,  let  me  say,  humble  as  I  am,  that  decency  to  a 
servant  of  the  altar  should  check  you  from  proposing  to  me  to 
put  up  prayers  for  the  success  of  pillage  and  robbery." 

"  I  understand  you,  father,"  said  the  rapacious  Governor-, 
"  and  you  shall  see  I  do.  While  you  are  the  Duke's  subject, 
you  must  by  your  office  put  up  your  prayers  for  his  success  in 
matters  that  are  fairly  managed. — You  acknowledge  this  with 
a  graceful  bend  of  your  reverend  head  ? — Well,  then,  I  will  be 
as  reasonable  as  you  are.  Say  we  desire  the  intercession  of  the 
good  Saints,  and  of  you,  their  pious  orator,  in  something  a  little 
out  of  the  ordinary  path,  and,  if  you  will,  somewhat  of  a  doubt- 
ful complexion, — are  we  entitled  to  ask  you  or  them  for  their 
pains  and  trouble  without  a  just  consideration?  Surely  no. 
Therefore  I  vow  and  solemnly  promise,  that  if  I  have  good 
fortune  in  this  morning's  adventure.  Saint  Paul  shall  have  an 
altar-cloth  and  a  basin  of  silver,  large  or  little,  as  my  booty  will 
permit — Our  Lady  a  web  of  satin  for  a  full  suit,  with  a  necklace 
of  pearl  for  holidays — and  thou,  priest,  some  twenty  pieces  of 
broad  English  gold,  for  acting  as  go-between  betwixt  ourselves 
and  the  blessed  Apostles,  whom  we  acknowledge  ourselves  un- 
worthy to  negotiate  with  in  our  profane  person.  And  now,  Sir 
Priest,  do  we  understand  each  other,  for  I  have  little  time  to 
lose  ?  I  know  you  have  hard  thoughts  of  me,  but  3^ou  see  the 
devil  is  not  quite  so  horrible  as  he  is  painted." 

"  Do  we  understand  each  other  ? "  answered  the  Black 
Priest  of  Saint  PauPs,  repeating  the  Governor's  question  — 
"  Alas,  no  !  and  I  fear  me  we  never  shall.  Hast  thou  never 
heard  the  words  spoken  by  the  holy  hermit,  Berchtold  of 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEm. 


Offringen,  to  the  implacable  Queen  Agnes,  who  had  revenged 
with  such  dreadful  severity  the  assassination  of  her  father,  the 
Emperor  Albert  ? " 

Not  I,"  returned  the  knight ;  "  I  have  neither  studied  the 
chronicles  of  emperors,  nor  the  legends  of  hermits ;  and,  there- 
fore, Sir  Priest,  an  you  like  not  my  proposal,  let  us  have  no 
further  words  on  the  matter.  I  am  unwont  to  press  my  favors, 
or  to  deal  with  priests  who  require  entreaty,  when  gifts  are  held 
out  to  them.'* 

"  Hear  yet  the  words  of  the  holy  man,"  said  the  priest 
"  The  time  may  come,  and  that  shortly,  when  you  would  gladly 
desire  to  hear  what  you  scornfully  reject." 

"  Speak  on,  but  be  brief,"  said  Archibald  de  Hagenbach ; 
"  and  know,  though  thou  may'st  terrify  or  cajole  the  multitude, 
thou  now  speakest  to  one  whose  resolution  is  fixed  far  beyond 
the  power  of  thy  eloquence  to  melt." 

"  Know,  then,"  said  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's,  "  that  Agnes, 
daughter  of  the  murdered  Albert,  after  shedding  oceans  of  blood 
in  avenging  his  bloody  death,  founded  at  length  the  rich  abbey 
of  Konigsfeldt  ;  and,  that  it  might  have  a  superior  claim  to 
renowned  sanctity,  made  a  pilgrimage  in  person  to  the  cell  of 
the  holy  hermit,  and  besought  of  him  to  honor  her  abbey  by 
taking  up  his  residence  there.  But  what  was  his  reply  } — 
Mark  it,  and  tremble.  *  Begone,  ruthless  woman  I  *  said  the 
holy  man  ;  *  God  will  not  be  served  with  blood-guiltiness,  and 
rejects  the  gifts  which  are  obtained  by  violence  and  robbery. 
The  Almighty  loves  mercy,  justice,  and  humanity,  and  by  the 
lovers  of  these  only  will  he  be  worshipped.' — And  now,  Archi- 
bald of  Hagenbach,  once,  twice,  thrice,  hast  thou  had  warning. 
Live  as  becomes  a  man  on  whom  sentence  is  passed,  and  who 
must  expect  execution." 

Having  spoken  these  words  with  a  menacing  tone  and  frown- 
ing aspect,  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's  turned  away  from  the 
Governor,  whose  first  impulse  was  to  command  him  to  be 
arrested.  But  when  he  recollected  the  serious  consequences 
which  attached  to  the  laying  violent  hands  on  a  priest,  he 
suffered  him  to  depart  in  peace,  conscious  that  his  own  unpop- 
ularity might  render  any  attempt  to  revenge  himself  an  act  of 
great  rashness.  He  called,  therefore,  for  a  beaker  of  Burgundy, 
in  which  he  swallowed  down  his  displeasure,  and  had  just  re^ 
turned  to  Kilian  the  cup,  which  he  had  drained  to  the  bottom, 
when  the  warden  winded  a  blast  from  the  watch-tower,  which 
betokened  the  arrival  of  strangers  at  the  gate  of  the  city. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH. 

I  wiJl  resist  such  entertainment,  till 
My  enemy  has  more  power. 

The  Tempest. 

"  That  blast  was  but  feebly  blown,"  said  De  Hagenbach^ 
ascending  to  the  ramparts,  from  which  he  could  see  what  passed 
on  the  outside  of  the  gate  ;  "  who  approaches,  Kilian  ?  " 

The  trusty  squire  was  hastening  to  meet  him  with  the  news. 
Two  men,  with  a  mule,  an  it  please  your  excellency  ;  and 
merchants  I  presume  them  to  be.'' 

"  Merchants  1  'sdeath,  villain  !  pedlers  you  mean.  Heard 
ever  man  of  English  merchants  tramping  it  on  foot,  with  no 
more  baggage  than  one  mule  can  manage  to  carry  ?  They  must 
be  beggarly  Bohemians,  or  those  whom  the  French  people  call 
Escossais.  The  knaves  !  they  shall  pay  with  the  pining  of  their 
paunches  for  the  poverty  of  their  purses." 

"  Do  not  be  too  hasty,  an  please  your  excellency,"  quoth  the 
squire  ;  "  small  budgets  hold  rich  goods.  But,  rich  or  poor, 
they  are  our  men,  at  least  they  have  all  the  marks  ;  the  elder, 
well-sized,  and  dark-visaged,  may  write  fifty-and-five  years,  a 
beard  somewhat  grizzled  ; — the  younger  some  two-and-twenty, 
taller  than  the  first,  and  a  well-favored  lad,  with  a  smooth 
chin,  and  light-brown  mustaches."' 

Let  them  be  admitted,"  said  the  Governor,  turning  back 
in  order  again  to  descend  to  the  street,  "  and  bring  them  into 
the  folter-kammer  of  the  toll-house." 

So  saying,  he  betook  himself  to  the  place  appointed,  which 
was  an  apartment  in  the  large  tower  that  protected  the  eastern 
gateway,  in  which  were  deposited  the  rack,  with  various  other 
instruments  of  torture,  which  the  cruel  and  rapacious  Governor 
was  in  the  habit  of  applying  to  such  prisoners  from  whom  he 
was  desirous  of  extorting  either  booty  or  information.  He 
entered  the  apartment,  which  was  dimly  lighted,  and  had  a 
lofty  Gothic  roof  which  could  be  but  imperfectly  seen,  while 
nooses  and  cords  hanging  down  from  thence,  announced  a 
fearful  connection  with  various  implements  of  rusted  iron  that 
hung  round  the  walls,  or  lay  scattered  on  the  floor. 

A  faint  stream  of  light,  through  one  of  the  numerous  and 
narrow  slits,  or  shot-holes,  with  which  the  walls  were  garnished. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


fell  directly  upon  the  person  and  visage  of  a  tall  swarthy  man, 
seated  in  what,  but  for  the  partial  illumination,  would  have 
been  an  obscure  corner  of  this  evil-boding  apartment.  His 
features  were  regular,  and  even  handsome,  but  of  a  character 
peculiarly  stern  and  sinister.  This  person's  dress  was  a  cloak 
of  scarlet  ;  his  head  was  bare,  and  surrounded  by  shaggy  locks 
of  black,  which  time  had  party  grizzled.  He  was  busily 
employed  in  furbishnig  and  burnishing  a  broad  two-handed 
sword,  of  a  pecuHar  shape,  and  considerably  shorter  than  the 
weapons  of  that  kind  which  we  have  described  as  used  by  the 
Swiss.  He  was  so  deeply  engaged  in  his  task,  that  he  started 
as  the  heavy  door  opened  with  a  jarring  noise,  and  the  sword, 
escaping  from  his  hold,  rolled  on  the  stone  floor  with  a  heavy 
clash. 

"  Ha!  Scharfgerichter,"  said  the  Knight,  as  he  entered  the 
folter-kammer,  "  thou  art  preparing  for  thy  duty.*^  ^* 

"  It  would  ill  become  your  excellency's  servant,"  answered 
the  man,  in  a  harsh  deep  tone,  to  be  found  idle.  But  the 
prisoner  is  not  far  off,  as  I  can  judge  by  the  fall  of  my  sword, 
which  infallibly  announces  the  presence  of  him  who  shall  feel 
its  edge.'' 

The  prisoners  are  at  hand,  Francis,"  replied  the  Governor  ; 
"  but  thy  omen  has  deceived  thee  for  once.  They  are  fellows 
for  whom  a  good  rope  will  suffice,  and  thy  sword  drinks  only 
noble  blood." 

The  worse  for  Francis  Steinernherz,"  replied  the  official  in 
scarlet ;  "  I  trusted  that  your  excellency,  who  have  ever  been 
a  bountiful  patron,  should  this  day  have  made  me  noble." 

"  Noble  !  "  said  the  Governor  ;  thou  art  mad — thou  noble  ! 
The  common  executioner  !  " 

"  And  wherefore  not.  Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  ?  I 
think  the  name  of  Francis  Steinernherz  von  Blut-acker  will  suit 
nobility,  being  fairly  and  legally  won,  as  well  as  another.  Nay, 
do  not  stare  on  me  thus.  If  one  of  my  profession  shall  do  his 
grim  office  on  nine  men  of  noble  birth,  with  the  same  weapon, 
and  with  a  single  blow  to  each  patient,  hath  he  not  a  right 
to  his  freedom  from  taxes,  and  his  nobility  by  patent  ?  " 

So  says  the  law,"  said  Sir  Archibald,  after  reflecting  for  a 
moment, — but  rather  more  in  scorn  than  seriously,  I  should 
judge,  since  no  one  was  ever  known  to  claim  the  benefit  of  it." 

"The  prouder  boast  for  him,"  said  the  functionary,  "that 
shall  be  the  first  to  demand  the  honors  due  to  a  sharp  sword 
and  a  clean  stroke.  I,  Francis  Steinernherz,  will  be  the  first 
noble  of  my  profession,  when  I  shall  have  despatched  one 
more  knight  of  the  Empire." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


"  Thou  hast  been  ever  in  my  service,  hast  thou  not  ? "  de- 
manded De  Hagenbach. 

Under  what  other  master,"  repHed  the  executioner,  could 
I  have  enjoyed  such  constant  practice  ?  I  have  executed  your 
decrees  on  condemned  sinners  since  I  could  swing  a  scourge, 
li£t  a  crow-bar,  or  wield  this  trusty  weapon  ;  and  who  can  say 
I  ever  failed  of  my  first  blow,  or  needed  to  deal  a  second  ? 
Tristrem  of  the  Hospital,  and  his  famous  assistants,  Petit 
Andre,  and  Trois  Eschelles,"^  are  novices  compared  with  me 
in  the  use  of  the  noble  and  knightly  sword.  Marry,  I  should 
be  ashamed  to  match  myself  with  them  in  the  field  practice 
with  bowstring  and  dagger  ;  these  are  no  feats  worthy  of  a 
Christian  man  who  would  rise  to  honor  and  nobility.'^ 

"  Thou  art  a  fellow  of  excellent  address,  and  I  do  not  deny 
it,"  replied  De  Hagenbach.  But  it  cannot  be — I  trust  it  can- 
not be — that  when  noble  blood  is  becoming  scarce  in  the  land, 
and  proud  churls  are  lording  it  over  knights  and  barons,  I  my- 
self should  have  caused  so  much  to  be  spilled  ?  " 

"  I  will  number  the  patients  to  your  excellency  by  name  and 
title,"  said  Francis,  drawing  out  a  scroll  of  parchment,  and  read 
ing  with  a  commentary  as  he  went  on, — There  was  Count 
William  of  Elvershoe — he  was  my  assay-piece,  a  sweet  youth, 
*and  died  most  like  a  Christian." 

"  I  remember — he  was  indeed  a  most  smart  youth,  and 
courted  my  mistress,"  said  Sir  Archibald. 

"  He  died  on  St.  Jude's,  in  the  year  of  grace  1455/'  said 
the  executioner. 

^  Go  on — but  name  no  dates,"  said  the  Governor. 

"  Sir  Miles  of  Stockenborg  "  

"  He  drove  off  my  cattle,"  observed  his  excellency. 

"  Sir  Louis  of  Riesenfeldt  " — continued  the  executioner. 
He  made  love  to  my  wife,"  commented  the  Governor. 

"  The  Three  Yung-herren  of  Lammerbourg — you  made 
their  father,  the  Count,  childless  in  one  day." 

And  he  made  me  landless,"  said  Sir  Archibald,  "  so  that 
account  is  settled. — Thou  needest  read  no  further,"  he  con- 
tinued ;  ^'  1  admit  thy  record,  though  it  is  written  in  letters  some- 
what of  the  reddest.  I  had  counted  these  three  young  gentle- 
men as  one  execution." 

"  You  did  me  the  greater  wrong,"  said  Francis  ;  "  they  cost 
three  good  separate  blows  of  this  good  sword." 

"  Be  it  so,  and  God  be  whh  their  souls,"  said  Hagenbach. 
"  But  thy  ambition  must  go  to  sleep  for  a  while,  Scharfgerichter, 
for  the  stuff  that  came  hither  to-day  is  for  dungeon  and  cord,  or 
*  [Three  well-known  characters  who  figure  in  Quentin  Durward.] 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


perhaps  a  touch  of  the  rack  or  strappado — there  is  no  honoi 

to  win  on  them/' 

"  The  worse  luck  mine/'  said  the  execuKoner.    "  I  had 

dreamed  so  surely  that  your  honor  had  made  me  noble  ! — and 

then  the  fall  of  my  sword  ? " 

Take  a  bowl  of  wine,  and  forget  your  auguries.*' 

With  your  honor's  permission,  no,"  said  the  executioner  ; 

**to  drink  before  noon  were  to  endanger  the  nicety  of  my 

hand." 

"  Be  silent,  then,  and  mind  your  duty,"  said  De  Hagen- 
bach. 

Francis  took  up  his  sheathless  sword,  wiped  the  dust  rev- 
erently from  it,  and  withdrew  into  a  corner  of  the  chamber, 
where  he  stood  leaning  with  his  hands  on  the  pommel  of  the 
fatal  weapon. 

Almost  immediately  afterward,  Kilian  entered  at  the  head 
of  five  or  six  soldiers,  conducting  the  two  Philipsons,  whose 
arms  were  tied  down  with  cords. 

"  Approach  me  a  chair,"  said  the  Governor,  and  took  his 
place  gravely  beside  a  table,  on  which  stood  writing  ma- 
terials. 

Who  are  these  men,  Kilian,  and  wherefore  are  they 
bound  ?  " 

"  So  please  your  excellency,"  said  Kilian  with  a  deep  re- 
spect of  manner  which  entirely  differed  from  the  tone,  approach- 
ing to  familiarity,  with  which  he  communicated  with  his  mas- 
ter in  private,  "  we  thought  it  well  that  these  t\\o  strangers 
should  not  appear  armed  in  your  gracious  presence  ;  and  when 
w^e  required  of  them  to  surrender  their  weapons  at  the  gates, 
as  is  the  custom  of  the  garrison,  this  young  gallant  must  needs 
offer  resistance.  I  admit  he  gave  up  his  weapon  at  his  father's 
command." 

It  is  false ! "  exclaimed  young  Philipson  ;  but  his  father 
making  a  sign  to  him  to  be  silent,  he  obeyed  instantly. 

"Noble  sir,"  said  the  elder  Philipson,  "we  are  strangers, 
and  unacquainted  with  the  rules  of  this  citadel  ;  we  are  English- 
men, and  unaccustomed  to  submit  to  personal  mishandling  ;  we 
trust  you  will  have  excuse  for  us,  when  we  found  ourselves, 
without  any  explanation  of  the  cause,  rudely  seized  on  by  we 
knew  not  whom.  My  son,  is  young  and  unthinking,  did  partly 
draw  his  weapon,  but  desisted  at  my  command,  without  having 
altogether  unsheathed  his  sword,  far  less  made  a  blow.  For 
myself,  1  am  a  merchant,  accustomed  to  submit  to  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  countries  in  which  I  traffic  ;  I  am  in  the  terri- 
tories of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  I  know  his  laws  and  cu» 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTBIN 


toms  must  be  just  and  equitable.  He  is  the  powerful  and 
faithful  ally  of  England,  and  I  fear  nothing  while  under  his 
banner." 

"  Hem  !  hem  ! "  replied  De  Hagenbach,  a  little  disconcert- 
ed by  the  Englishman's  composure,  and  perhaps  recollecting, 
that,  unless  his  passions  were  awakened  (as  in  the  case  of  the 
Swiss,  whom  he  detested),  Charles  of  Burgundy  deserved  the 
character  of  a  just  though  severe  prince — Fair  words  are  well, 
but  hardly  make  amends  for  foul  actions.  You  have  drawn 
swords  in  riot,  and  opposition  to  the  Duke's  soldiers,  when 
obeying  the  mandates  which  regulate  their  watch." 

Surely,  sir,"  answered  Philipson,  '^this  is  a  severe  con- 
struction of  a  most  natural  action.  But,  in  a  word,  if  you  are 
disposed  to  be  rigorous,  the  simple  action  of  drawing,  or  attempt- 
ing to  draw,  a  sword  in  a  garrison  town,  is  only  punishable  by 
a  pecuniary  fine,  and  such  we  must  pay,  if  it  be  your  will." 

"  Now,  here  is  a  silly  sheep,"  said  Kilian  to  the  executioner, 
beside  whom  he  had  stationed  himself,  somewhat  apart  from 
the  group,  "  who  voluntarily  offered  his  own  fleece  to  the  clip- 
per." 

"  It  will  scarcely  serve  as  a  ransom  for  his  throat.  Sir 
Squire,"  answered  Francis  Steinernherz ;  for,  look  you,  I 
dreamed  last  night  that  our  master  made  me  noble,  and  I  knew 
by  the  fall  of  my  sword  that  this  is  the  man  by  whom  I  am  to 
mount  to  gentility.  I  must  this  very  day  deal  on  him  with  my 
good  sword." 

"  Why,  thou  ambitious  fool,"  said  the  esquire,  "this  is  no 
noble,  but  an  island  pedler — a  mere  English  citizen." 

"  Thou  art  deceived,"  said  the  executioner,  and  hast  never 
looked  on  men  when  they  are  about  to  die," 

"Have  I  not.?"  said  the  squire.  "  Have  I  not  looked  on 
five  pitched  fields,  besides  skirmishes  and  ambuscades  in- 
numerable t  " 

"That  tries  not  the  courage,"  said  the  Scharfgerichter. 
"All  men  will  fight  when  pitched  against  each  other.  So  will 
Ihe  most  paltry  curs — so  will  the  dunghill  fowls.  But  he  is 
brave  and  noble  who  can  look  on  a  scaffold  and  a  block, 
a  priest  to  give  him  absolution,  and  the  headsman  and  good 
sword  which  is  to  mow  him  down  in  his  strength,  as  he  would 
look  upon  things  indifferent ;  and  such  a  man  is  that  whom  we 
now  behold." 

"Yes,"  answered  Kilian,  "but  that  man  looks  not  on  such 
an  apparatus — he  only  sees  our  illustrious  patron.  Sir  Archibald 
de  Hagenbach." 

"  And  he  who  looks  upon  Sir  Archibald,"  said  the  execu- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEW. 


tioner,  "  being,  as  yonder  man  assurdly  is,  a  person  of  sense 
and  apprehension,  looks  he  not  upon  sword  and  headsman  ? 
Assuredly  that  prisoner  apprehends  as  much,  and  being  so 
composed  as  he  is  under  such  conviction,  it  shows  him  to  be  a 
nobleman  by  blood,  or  may  I  myself  never  win  nobility  !  " 

Our  master  will  come  to  compromise  with  him,  I  judge," 
replied  Kilian  ;  "he  looks  smilingly  on  him." 

"  Never  trust  to  me  then,''  said  the  man  in  scarlet  ;  "  there 
is  a  glance  in  Sir  Archibald's  eye  which  betokens  blood,  as 
surely  as  the  dog-star  bodes  pestilence." 

While  these  dependants  of  Sir  Archibald  de  H age n bach  were 
thus  conversing  apart,  their  master  had  engaged  the  prisoners 
in  a  long  train  of  captious  interrogatories  concerning  their 
business  in  Switzerland,  their  connection  with  the  Landamman, 
and  the  cause  of  their  traveling  into  Burgundy,  to  all  which 
the  senior  Philipson  gave  direct  and  plain  answers,  excepting 
to  the  last.  He  was  going,  he  said,  into  Burgundy,  for  the 
purpose  of  his  traffic, — his  wares  were  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Governor,  who  might  detain  all,  or  any  part  of  them,  as  he 
might  be  disposed  to  make  himself  answerable  to  his  master. 
But  his  business  with  the  Duke  was  of  a  private  nature,  respect- 
ing some  particular  matters  of  commerce,  in  which  others  as 
well  as  he  himself  were  interested.  To  the  Duke  alone,  he 
declared,  would  he  communicate  the  affair  ;  and  he  pressed  it 
strongly  on  the  Governor,  that  if  he  should  sustain  any  damage 
in  his  own  person  or  that  of  his  son,  the  Duke's  severe  displeas- 
ure would  be  the  inevitable  consequence." 

De  Hagenbach  was  evidently  much  embarrassed  by  the 
steady  tone  of  his  prisoner,  and  more  than  once  held  counsel 
with  the  bottle,  his  never-failing  oracle  in  cases  of  extreme 
difficulty.  Philipson  had  readily  surrendered  to  the  Governor 
a  list  or  invoice  of  his  merchandise,  which  was  of  so  inviting  a 
character,  that  Sir  Archibald  absolutely  gloated  ever  it.  After 
remaining  in  deep  meditation  for  some  time,  he  raised  hishead^ 
and  spoke  thus  :  — 

"  You  must  be  well  aware.  Sir  Merchant,  that  it  is  the  Duke's 
pleasure  that  no  Swiss  merchandise  shall  pass  through  his  ter- 
ritories ;  and  that,  nevertheless,  you  have  been,  by  your  own 
account,  some  time  in  tliat  country,  and  having  also  accom- 
panied a  body  of  men  calling  themselves  Swiss  Deputies,  I  am 
authorized  to  believe  that  these  valuable  articles  are  rather  the 
property  of  those  persons,  than  of  a  single  individual  of  so  poor 
an  appearance  as  yourself,  and  that  should  I  demand  pecuniary 
satisfaction,  three  hundred  ]')ieces  of  gold  would  not  be  an 
extravagant  fine  for  so  bold  a  practice  ;  and  you  might  wandei 


ANNE  OF  GEiERSTElN. 


where  you  will  with  the  rest  of  your  wares,  so  you  bring  them 
not  into  Burgundy/^ 

"  "  But  it  is  to  Burgundy,  and  to  the  Duke's  presence,  that  I 
am  expressly  bound,"  said  the  Englishman.  If  I  go  not 
thither  my  journey  is  wrecked  ;  and  the  Duke's  displeasure 
is  certain  to  light  on  those  who  may  molest  me.  For  I  make 
your  excellency  aware,  that  your  gracious  Prince  already  knows 
of  my  journey,  and  will  make  strict  inquiry  where  and  by  whom 
I  have  been  intercepted." 

Again  the  Governor  was  silent,  endeavoring  to  decide  how 
he  might  best  reconcile  the  gratification  of  his  rapacity  with 
precaution  for  his  safety.  After  a  few  minutes'  consideration 
he  again  addressed  his  prisoner. 

"  Thou  art  very  positive  in  thy  tale,  my  good  friend  ;  but 
my  orders  are  equally  so  to  exclude  merchandise  coming  from 
Switzerland.  What  if  I  put  thy  mule  and  baggage  under 
arrest  t  " 

"  I  cannot  withstand  your  power,  my  lord,  to  do  what  you 
will.  I  will  in  that  case  go  to  the  Duke's  footstool,  and  do  my 
errand  there." 

"  Ay,  and  my  errand  also,"  answered  the  Governor.  "  That 
is,  thou  wilt  carry  thy  complaint  to  the  Duke  against  the  Gov- 
ernor of  La  Ferette,  for  executing  his  orders  too  strictly  ?  " 

"  On  my  life  and  honest  word,"  answered  the  Englishman, 
"I  will  make  no  complaint.  Leave  me  but  my  ready  money, 
without  which  I  can  hardly  travel  to  the  Duke's  court,  and  I 
will  look  no  more  after  these  goods  and  wares  than  the  stag 
looks  after  the  antlers  which  he  shed  last  year." 

Again  the  Governor  of  La  Ferette  looked  doubtful,  and 
shook  his  head. 

"  Men  in  such  a  case  as  yours,"  he  said,  "  cannot  be  trusted  ; 
nor,  to  say  truth,  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  they  should  be 
trustworthy. — These  same  wares,  designed  for  the  duke's 
private  hand,  in  what  do  they  consist  " 

They  are  under  seal,"  replied  the  Englishman. 

"  They  are  of  rare  value,  doubtless  ?  "  continued  the  Governor. 

"I  cannot  tell,"  answered  the  elder  Philipson  ;  I  know  the 
Duke  sets  great  store  by  them.  But  your  excellency  knows, 
that  great  princes  sometimes  place  a  high  value  on  trifles." 

Bear  you  them  about  you  "  said  the  Governor.  Take 
heed  how  you  answer — Look  around  you  on  these  engines,  which 
can  bring  a  dumb  man  to  speak,  and  consider  I  have  the  powei 
to  employ  them  !  " 

"  And  I  the  courage  to  support  their  worst  infliction,"  an- 


ANm  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


swered  Philipson,  with  the  same  impenetrable  coolness  which 
he  had  maintained  throughout  the  whole  conference. 

Remember,  also/'  said  Hagenbach,  *'that  I  can  have  your 
person  searched  as  thoroughly  as  your  mails  and  budgets." 

"  I  do  remember  that  I  am  wholly  in  thy  power  ;  and,  that 
I  may  leave  thee  no  excuse  for  employing  force  on  a  peaceful 
traveler,  I  will  own  to  you/'  said  Philipson,  "  that  I  have  the 
Duke's  packet  in  the  bosom  of  my  doublet." 

"  Bring  it  forth,"  answered  the  Governor. 
My  hands  are  tied,  both  in  honor  and  literally,"  said  the 
Englishman. 

"  Pluck  it  from  his  bosom,  Kilian,"  said  Sir  Archibald  ;  "  let 
us  see  this  gear  he  talks  of." 

"  Could  resistance  avail,"  replied  the  stout  merchant,  you 
should  pluck  forth  my  heart  first.  But  I  pray  all  who  are 
present  to  observe,  that  the  seals  are  every  one  whole  and 
unbroken  at  this  moment  when  it  is  forcibly  taken  from  my 
person." 

As  he  spoke  thus  he  looked  around  on  the  soldiers,  whose 
presence  De  Hagenbach  had  perhaps  forgotten. 

"  How,  dog  !  "said  Sir  Archibald,  giving  way  to  his  passions, 
would  you  stir  up  mutiny  among  my  men-at-arms  ? — Kilian, 
let  the  soldiers  wait  without." 

So  saying  he  hastily  placed  under  cover  of  his  own  robe  the 
small  but  remarkably  well-secured  packet,  which  Kilian  had 
taken  from  the  merchant's  person.  The  soldiers  withdrew, 
lingering,  however,  and  looking  back,  like  children  brought 
away  from  a  show  before  its  final  conclusion. 

"  So,  fellow  ! "  again  began  De  Hagenbach,  "  we  are  now 
more  private.  Wilt  thou  deal  more  on  the  level  with  me,  and 
tell  me  what  this  packet  is,  and  whence  it  comes  ?  " 

"  Could  all  your  garrison  be  crowded  into  this  room,  I  can 
only  answer  as  before. — The  contents  I  do  not  precisely  know 
—  the  person  by  whom  it  was  sent  I  am  determined  not  to 
name." 

Perhaps  your  son,"  said  the  Governor,  ^*  may  be  more 
compliant." 

He  cannot  tell  you  that  of  which  he  is  himself  ignorant," 
answered  the  merchant. 

"  Perchance  the  rack  may  make  you  both  find  your  tongues  j 
— and  we  will  try  it  on  the  young  fellow  first,  Kilian,  since 
thou  knowest  we  have  seen  men  shrink  from  beholding  the 
wrenched  joints  of  their  children,  that  would  have  committed 
their  old  sinews  to  the  stretching  with  much  endurance." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


»S7 


"  You  may  make  the  trial/'  said  Arthur,  "  and  Heaven  will 

give  me  strength  to  endure  "  

And  me  courage  to  behold/*  added  his  father. 

All  this  while  the  Governor  was  turning  and  returning  the 
little  packet  in  his  hand,  curiously  inspecting  every  fold,  and 
regretting,  doubtless,  in  secret,  that  a  few  patches  of  wax, 
placed  under  an  envelope  of  crimson  satin,  and  ligatures  of 
twisted  silk  cord,  should  prevent  his  eager  eyes  from  ascer- 
taining the  nature  of  the  treasure  which  he  doubted  not  it 
concealed.  At  length  he  again  called  in  the  soldiers,  and 
delivered  up  the  two  prisoners  to  their  charge,  commanding 
that  they  should  be  kept  safely,  and  in  separate  holds,  and 
that  the  father,  in  particular,  should  be  most  carefully  looked 
after. 

"  I  take  you  all  here  to  witness,"  exclaimed  the  elder  Philip- 
son,  despising  the  menacing  signs  of  De  Hagenbach,  that 
the  Governor  detains  from  me  a  packet,  addressed  to  his  most 
gracious  lord  and  master,  the  Duke  ot  Burgundy." 

De  Hagenbach  actually  foamed  at  the  mouth  with  passion. 

"  And  should  I  7wt  detain  it  1 "  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice 
inarticulate  with  rage.  May  there  not  be  some  foul  practice 
against  the  life  of  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  by  poison  or 
otherwise,  in  this  suspicious  packet,  brought  by  a  most  sus- 
picious bearer  1  Have  we  never  heard  of  poisons  which  do 
their  work  by  the  smell  ?  And  shall  we,  who  keep  the  gate, 
as  I  may  say,  of  his  Grace  of  Burgundy's  dominions,  give  access 
to  what  may  rob  Europe  of  its  pride  of  chivalry,  Burgundy  of 
its  prince,  and  Flanders  of  her  father  ? — No !  Away  with 
these  miscreants,  soldiers — down  to  the  lowest  dungeons  with 
them — keep  them  separate,  and  watch  them  carefully.  This 
treasonable  practice  has  been  meditated  with  the  connivance  of 
Berne  and  Soleure." 

Thus  Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  raved,  with  a  raised  voice 
and  inflamed  countenance,  lashing  himself  as  it  were  into 
passion,  until  the  steps  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  clash  of  their 
arms,  as  they  retired  with  the  prisoners,  were  no  longer  audible. 
His  complexion,  when  these  had  ceased,  waxed  paler  than  was 
natural  to  him — his  brow  was  furrowed  with  anxious  wrinkles— 
and  his  voice  became  lower  and  more  hesitating  than  ordinary, 
as,  turning  to  his  esquire,  he  said,  Kilian,  we  stand  upon  a 
slippery  plank,  with  a  raging  torrent  beneath  us — What  is  to 
be  done }  '* 

"  Marry,  to  move  forward  with  a  resolved  yet  prudent  step," 
answered  the  crafty  Kilian.  It  is  unlucky  that  all  these 
fellowa  should  have  seen  the  packet,  and  heard  the  appeal  of 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


yonder  iron-nerved  trader.  But  this  ill-luck  has  befallen  us, 
and  the  packet  having  been  in  your  excellency's  hands,  you 
will  have  all  the  credit  of  having  broken  the  seals ;  for,  though 
you  leave  them  as  entire  as  the  moment  they  were  impressed, 
it  will  only  be  supposed  they  have  been  ingeniously  replaced. 
Let  us  see  what  are  the  contents,  before  we  determine  what  is 
to  be  done  with  them.  They  must  be  of  rare  value,  since  the 
churl  merchant  was  well  contented  to  leave  behind  all  his  rich 
mule's-load  of  merchandise,  so  that  this  precious  packet  might 
pass  unexamined.'' 

"They  may  be  papers  on  some  political  matter.  Many 
such,  and  of  high  importance,  pass  secretly  between  Edward 
of  England  and  our  bold  Duke."  Such  was  the  reply  of  De 
Hagenbach. 

If  they  be  papers  of  consequence^  to  the  Duke,"  answered 
Kilian,  "  we  can  forward  them  to  Dijon. — Or  they  may  be  such 
as  Louis  of  France  would  purchase  with  their  weight  of  gold." 

"  For  shame,  Kilian,"  said  the  Knight ;  wouldst  thou  have 
me  betray  my  master's  secrets  to  the  King  of  France  Sooner 
would  I  lay  my  head  on  the  block." 

"  Indeed  1    And  yet  your  excellency  hesitates  not  to  "  

Here  the  squire  stopped,  apparently  for  fear  of  giving  offence, 
by  affixing  a  name  too  broad  and  intelligible  to  the  practice  of 
his  patron. 

To  plunder  the  Duke,  thou  wouldst  say,  thou  impudent 
slave  !  And,  saying  so,  thou  wouldst  be  as  dull  as  thou  wert 
wont  to  be,"  answered  De  Hagenbach.  "  I  partake,  indeed, 
in  the  plunder  which  the  Duke  takes  from  aliens ;  and  reason 
good.  Even  so  the  hound  and  the  hawk  have  their  share  of 
the  quarry  they  bring  down — ay,  and  the  lion's  share,  too,  un- 
less the  huntsman  or  falconer  be  all  the  nearer  to  them.  Such 
are  the  perquisites  of  my  rank  ;  and  the  Duke,  who  placed  me 
here  for  the  gratification  of  his  resentment  and  the  bettering  of 
my  fortune,  does  not  grudge  them  to  a  faithful  servant.  And,  in- 
deed, I  may  term  myself,  in  so  far  as  this  territory  of  La  Ferette 
extends,  the  Duke's  full  representative,  or,  as  it  may  be  termed, 
Alter  Ego — and,  thereupon,  I  will  open  this  packet,  which, 
being  addressed  to  him,  is  thereby  equally  addressed  to  me." 

Having  thus  in  a  manner  talked  himself  up  to  an  idea  of  his 
own  high  authority,  he  cut  the  strings  of  the  packet,  which  he 
had  all  this  while  held  in  his  hand,  and  undoing  the  outer  cover- 
ings, produced  a  very  small  case  made  of  sandal-wood. 

"  'i'he  contents,"  he  said,  "  had  need  to  be  valuable,  as  they 
lie  in  so  little  compass." 

So  saying,  he  pressed  the  spring,  and  the  casket  opening, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


displayed  a  necklace  of  diamonds,  distinguished  by  brilliancy  and 
size,  and  apparenily  of  extraordinary  value.  The  eyes  of  the 
avaricious  Governor,  and  his  no  less  rapacious  attendant,  were 
so  dazzled  with  the  unusual  splendor,  that  for  some  time  they 
could  express  nothing  save  joy  and  surprise. 

"  Ay,  marry,  sir,"  said  Kilian,  the  obstinate  old  knave  had 
reasons  for  his  hardihood.  My  own  joints  should  have  stood  a 
stain  or  two  ere  I  surrendered  such  sparklers  as  these. — And 
now,  Sir  Archibald,  may  your  trusty  follower  ask  you  how  this 
booty  is  to  be  divided  between  the  Duke  and  his  Governor,  ac- 
cording to  the  most  approved  rules  of  garrison  towns  ?  " 

"  Faith,  we  will  suppose  the  garrison  stormed,  Kilian  ;  and, 
in  a  storm,  thou  knowest,  the  first  finder  takes  all — with  due 
consideration  always  of  his  trusty  followers." 

"  As  myself,  for  example,"  said  Kilian. 
Ay,  and  myself,  for  example,"  answered  a  voice,  which 
sounded  like  the  echo  of  the  esquire's  words,  from  the  remote 
corner  of  the  ancient  apartment. 

"  'Sdeath !  we  are  overheard,"  exclaimed  the  Governor, 
starting,  and  laying  his  hand  on  his  dagger. 

"  Only  by  a  faithful  follower,  as  the  worthy  esquire  ob- 
serves," said  the  executioner,  moving  slowly  forward. 

"  Villain,  how  didst  thou  dare  watch  me  1  "  said  Sir  Archi- 
bald de  Hagenbach. 

"  Trouble  not  yourself  for  that,  sir,"  said  Kilian.  "  Hon- 
est Steinernherz  has  no  tongue  to  speak,  or  ear  to  hear,  save 
according  to  your  pleasure.  Indeed,  we  must  shortly  have  taken 
him  into  our  councils,  seeing  these  men  must  be  dealt  upon, 
and  that  speedily." 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  De  Hagenbach :  "  I  had  thought  they 
might  be  spared." 

"  To  tell  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  how  the  Governor  of  La 
Ferette  accounts  fo  his  treasurer  for  the  duties  and  forfeitures 
at  his  custom-house  ? "  demanded  Kilian. 

"  'Tis  true,"  said  the  Knight ;  "  dead  men  have  neither 
teeth  nor  tongue — they  bite  not,  and  they  tell  no  tales.  Thou 
wilt  take  order  with  them,  Scharfgerichter." 

"  I  will,  my  lord,"  answered  the  executioner,  on  condition 
that,  if  this  must  be  in  the  way  of  dungeon  execution,  which  I 
call  cellar  practice,  my  privilege  to  claim  nobility  shall  be 
saved  and  reserved  to  me,  and  the  execution  shall  be  declared 
to  be  as  effectual  to  my  claim,  as  it  might  have  been  if  the 
blow  had  been  dealt  in  broad  daylight,  and  with  my  honor- 
able blade  of  office." 

De  Hagenbach  stared  at  the  executioner,  as  not  understand* 


i6o 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


ing  what  he  meant ;  on  which  Kilian  took  occasion  to  explain, 
that  the  Scharfgerichter  was  strongly  impressed  from  the  free  and 
dauntless  conduct  of  the  elder  prisoner,  that  he  was  a  man  of 
noble  blood,  from  whose  decapitation  he  would  himself  derive  all 
the  advantages  proposed  to  the  headsman  who  should  execute 
his  function  on  nine  men  of  illustrious  extraction. 

"  He  may  be  right,"  said  Sir  Archibald,  "  for  here  is  a  slip 
of  parchment,  commending  the  bearer  of  this  carcanet  to  the 
Duke,  desiring  him  to  accept  it  as  a  true  token  from  one  well 
known  to  him,  and  to  give  the  bearer  full  credence  in  all  that 
he  should  say  on  the  part  of  those  by  whom  he  is  sent.'* 

By  whom  is  the  note  signed,  if  I  may  make  bold  to  ask  ? " 
said  Kilian. 

There  is  no  name — the  Duke  must  be  supposed  to  col- 
lect that  information  from  the  gems,  or  perhaps  the  handwrit- 
ing." 

"  On  neither  of  which  he  is  likely  to  have  a  speedy  oppor- 
tunity of  exercising  his  ingenuity,"  said  Kilian. 

De  Hagenbach  looked  at  the  diamonds,  and  smiled  darkly. 
The  Scharfgerichter,  encouraged  by  the  familiarity  into  which 
he  had  in  a  manner  forced  himself,  returned  to  his  plea  and  in- 
sisted on  the  nobility  of  the  supposed  merchant.  Such  a  trust, 
and  such  a  letter  of  unlimited  credence,  could  never,  he  con- 
tended, be  intrusted  to  a  man  meanly  born.^ 

"  Thou  art  deceived,  thou  fool,"  said  the  Knight ;  "  kings 
now  use  the  lowest  tools  to  do  their  dearest  offices.  Louis  has 
set  the  example  of  putting  his  barber,  and  the  valets  of  his 
chamber,  to  do  the  work  formerly  intrusted  to  dukes  and  peers; 
and  other  monarchs  begin  to  think  that  it  is  better,  in  choosing 
their  agents  for  important  affairs,  to  judge  rather  by  the  quality 
of  men's  brains  than  that  of  their  blood.  And  as  for  the  stately 
look  and  bold  bearing  which  distinguish  yonder  fellow  in  the 
eyes  of  cravens  like  thee,  it  belongs  to  his  country,  not  his 
rank.  Though  thinkest  it  is  in  England  as  in  Flanders,  where 
a  city-bred  burgher  of  Ghent,  Liege,  or  Ypres,  is  as  distinct  an 
animal  from  a  knight  of  Hainault,  as  a  Flanders  wagon-horse 
from  a  Spanish  jennet.  But  thou  art  deceived.  England  has 
many  a  merchant  as  haughty  of  heart,  and  as  prompt  of  hand, 
as  any  noble-born  son  of  her  rich  bosom.  But  be  not  dejected, 
thou  foolish  man  ;  do  thy  business  well  on  this  merchant,  and 
we  shall  presently  have  on  our  hands  the  Landamman  of  Unter- 
waldcn,  who,  though  a  churl  by  his  choice,  is  yet  a  nobleman 

*  Louis  XI.  was  probably  the  first  King  of  France  who  flung  aside  all 
affectation  of  choosing  his  ministers  from  among  the  nobility.  He  oftep 
placed  men  of  mean  birth  in  situations  of  the  highest  trusty 


Anne  op  geierstein. 


i6i 


by  blood,  and  shall,  by  his  well-deserved  death,  aid  thee  to  get 
rid  of  the  peasant  slough  which  thou  art  so  weary  of/' 

"  Were  not  your  excellency  better  adjourn  these  men's 
fate,"  said  Kilian,  "  till  you  hear  something  of  them  from  the 
Swiss  prisoners  whom  we  shall  presently  have  in  our  power  ? '' 

"  Be  it  as  you  will,''  said  Hagenbach,  waving  his  hand,  as 
if  putting  aside  some  disagreeable  task.  "  But  let  all  be 
finished  ere  I  hear  of  it  again." 

The  stern  satellites  bowed  obedience,  and  the  deadly  con- 
clave broke  up  ;  their  chief  carefully  securing  the  valuable  gems 
which  he  was  willing  to  purchase  at  the  expense  of  treachery  to 
the  sovereign  in  whose  employment  he  had  enlisted  himself,  as 
well  as  the  blood  of  two  innocent  men.  Yet,  with  a  weakness 
of  mind  not  uncommon  to  great  criminals,  he  shrank  from  the 
thoughts  of  his  own  baseness  and  cruelty,  and  endeavored  to 
banish  the  feeling  of  dishonor  from  his  mind,  by  devolving  the 
immediate  execution  of  his  villainy  upon  his  subordinate  agents. 


CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 

And  this  place  our  forefathers  built  for  man  ! 

Old  Play. 

The  dungeon  in  which  the  younger  Philipson  was  immured'^ 
was  one  of  those  gloomy  caverns  which  cry  shame  on  the  inhu- 
manity of  our  ancestors.  They  seem  to  have  been  almost  in- 
sensible to  the  distinction  betwixt  innocence  and  guilt,  as  the 
consequences  of  mere  accusation  must  have  been  far  more 
severe  in  those  days,  than  is  in  our  own  that  species  of  imprison- 
ment which  is  adjudged  as  an  express  punishment  for  crime. 

The  cell  of  Arthur  Philipson  was  of  considerable  length, 
but  dark  and  narrow,  and  dug  out  of  the  solid  rock  upon  which 
the  tower  was  founded.  A  small  lamp  was  allowed  him,  not, 
however,  without  some  grumbling,  but  his  arms  were  still  kept 
bound  ;  and  when  he  asked  for  a  draught  of  water,  one  of  the 
grim  satellites,  by  whom  he  was  thrust  into  this  cell,  answered 
surlily,  that  he  might  endure  his  thirst  for  all  the  time  his  life 
was  likely  to  last — a  gloomy  response,  which  augured  that  his 
privations  would  continue  as  long  as  his  life,  yet  neither  be  of 
long  duration.  By  the  dim  lamp  he  had  groped  his  way  to  a 
bench,  or  rough  seat,  cut  in  the  rock ;  and,  as  his  eyes  got 
*  Note  B.    German  dungeon. 


l62 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEIN 


gradually  accustomed  to  the  obscurity  of  the  region  in  which 
he  was  immured,  he  became  aware  of  a  ghastly  cleft  in  thj 
floor  of  his  dungeon,  somewhat  resembling  the  opening  of  a 
draw-well,  but  irregular  in  its  aperture,  and  apparently  the 
mouth  of  a  gulf  of  Nature's  conformation,  slightly  assisted  by 
the  labor  of  human  art. 

"Here  then,  is  my  death-bed,''  he  said,  and  that  gulf 
perhaps  the  grave  which  yawns  for  my  remains  !  Nay,  I  have 
heard  of  prisoners  being  plunged  into  such  horrid  abysses 
while  they  were  yet  alive,  to  die  at  leisure,  crushed  with  wounds, 
their  groans  unheard,  and  their  fate  unpitied !  " 

He  approached  his  head  to  the  dismal  cavity,  and  heard,  as 
at  a  great  depth,  the  sound  of  a  sullen,  and,  as  it  seemed,  sub- 
terranean stream.  The  sunless  waves  appeared  murmuring  for 
their  victim.  Death  is  dreadful  at  all  ages  ;  but  in  the  first 
springtide  of  youth,  with  all  the  feelings  of  enjoyment  afloat, 
and  eager  for  gratification,  to  be  snatched  forcibly  from  the 
banquet  to  which  the  individual  has  but  just  sat  down,  is  pecul- 
iarly appalling,  even  when  the  change  comes  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature.  But  to  sit,  like  young  Philipson,  on  the 
brink  of  the  subterranean  abyss,  and  ruminate  in  horrid  doubt 
concerning  the  mode  in  which  death  w^as  to  be  inflicted,  was  a 
situation  which  might  break  the  spirit  of  the  boldest ;  and  the 
unfortunate  captive  was  wholly  unable  to  suppress  the  natural 
tears  that  flowed  from  his  eyes  in  torrents,  and  which  his  bound 
arms  did  not  permit  him  to  wipe  away.  We  have  already 
noticed  that  although  a  gallant  young  man  in  aught  of  danger 
which  was  to  be  faced  and  overcome  by  active  exertion,  the 
youth  was  strongly  imaginative,  and  sensitive  to  a  powerful 
extent  to  all  those  exaggerations,  which,  in  a  situation  of  help- 
less uncertainty,  fancy  lends  to  distract  the  soul  of  him  who 
must  passively  expect  an  approaching  evil. 

Yet  the  feelings  of  Arthur  Philipson  were  not  selfish.  They 
reverted  to  his  father,  whose  just  and  noble  character  was  as 
much  formed  to  attract  veneration,  as  his  unceasing  paternal 
care  and  affection  to  excite  love  and  gratitude.  He,  too,  was 
in  the  hands  of  remorseless  villains,  who  were  determined  to 
conceal  robbery  by  secret  murder — he,  too,  undaunted  in  so 
many  dangers,  resolute  in  so  many  encounters,  lay  bound  and 
defenceless,  exposed  to  the  dagger  of  the  meanest  stabber. 
Arthur  remembered,  too,  the  giddy  peak  of  the  rock  near 
Geierstein,  and  the  grim  vulture  which  claimed  him  as  its 
prey.  Here  was  no  angel  to  burst  through  the  mist,  and 
marshal  him  on  a  path  of  safety — here  the  darkness  was  sub- 
terranean and  eternal,  saving  when  the  captive  should  behold 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
IRBANA 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


163 


the  knife  of  the  ruffian  flash  against  the  lamp,  which  lent  him 
light  to  aim  the  fatal  blow.  This  agony  of  mi^d  lasted  until 
the  feelings  of  the  unhappy  prisoner  arose  to  ecstasy.  He 
started  up,  and  struggled  so  hard  to  free  himself  of  his  bonds, 
that  it  seemed  they  should  have  fallen  from  him  as  from  the 
arms  of  the  mighty  Nazarene.  But  the  cords  were  of  too  firm 
a  texture  ;  and  after  a  violent  and  unavailing  struggle,  in  which 
the  ligatures  seemed  to  enter  his  flesh,  the  prisoner  lost  his 
balance,  and,  while  the  feeling  thrilled  through  him  that  he 
was  tumbling  backward  into  the  subterranean  abyss,  he  fell  to 
the  ground  with  great  force. 

Fortunately  he  escaped  the  danger  which  in  his  agony  he 
apprehended,  but  so  narrowly,  that  his  head  struck  against  the 
low  and  broken  fence  with  which  the  mouth  of  the  horrible  pit 
was  partly  surrounded.  Here  he  lay  stunned  and  motionless, 
and,  as  the  lamp  was  extinguished  in  his  fall,  immersed  in 
absolute  and  total  darkness.  He  was  recalled  to  sensation  by  a 
jarring  noise. 

They  come — they  come — the  murderers  !  Oh,  Lady  of 
Mercy  !  and  oh,  gracious  Heaven,  forgive  my  transgressions !  " 

He  looked  up,  and  observed,  with  dazzled  eyes,  that  a  dark 
form  approached  him,  with  a  knife  in  one  hand,  and  a  torch  in 
the  other.  He  might  well  have  seemed  the  man  who  was  to  do 
the  last  deed  upon  the  unhappy  prisoner,  if  he  had  come  alone. 
But  he  came  not  alone — his  torch  gleamed  upon  the  white  dress 
of  a  female,  which  was  so  much  illuminated  by  it,  that  Arthur 
could  discover  a  form,  and  had  even  a  glimpse  of  features,  never 
to  be  forgotten,  though  now  seen  under  circumstances  least  of 
all  to  be  expected.  The  prisoner's  unutterable  astonishment 
impressed  him  with  a  degree  of  awe  which  overcame  even  his 
personal  fear — Can  these  things  be  t "  was  his  muttered  re- 
flection ;  "  has  she  really  the  power  of  an  elementary  spirit  t  has 
she  conjured  up  this  earthlike  and  dark  demon  to  concur  with 
her  in  my  deliverance  ?  " 

It  appeared  as  if  his  guess  were  real ;  for  the  figure  in  black 
giving  the  light  to  Anne  of  Geierstein,  or  at  least  the  form 
which  bore  her  perfect  resemblance,  stooped  over  the  prisoner, 
and  cut  the  cord  that  bound  his  arms,  with  so  much  despatch, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  it  fell  from  his  person  at  a  touch.  Arthur's 
first  attempt  to  raise  was  unsuccessful,  and  a  second  time  it  was 
the  hand  of  Anne  of  Geierstein — a  living  hand,  sensible  to  touch 
as  to  sight — which  aided  to  raise  and  to  support  him,  as  it  had 
formerly  done  when  the  tormented  waters  of  the  river  thundered 
at  their  feet.  Her  touch  produced  an  effect  far  beyond  that  of 
the  slight  personal  aid  which  the  maiden's  strength  could  have 


164 


Al^ME  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


rendered.  Courage  was  restored  to  his  heart,  vigor  and  anima- 
tion to  his  benumbed  and  bruised  limbs  ;  such  influence  does 
the  human  mind,  when  excited  to  energy,  possess  over  the  in- 
firmities of  the  human  body.  He  was  about  to  address  Anne 
in  accents  of  the  deepest  gratitude.  But  the  accents  died  away 
on  his  tongue,  when  the  mysterious  female,  laying  her  finger  on 
her  lips,  made  him  a  sign  to  be  silent,  and  at  the  same  time 
beckoned  him  to  follow  her.  He  obeyed  in  a  silent  amazement. 
They  passed  the  entrance  of  the  melancholy  dungeon,  and 
through  one  or  two  short  but  intricate  passages,  which,  cut  out 
of  the  rock  in  some  places,  and  built  in  others  with  hewn  stone 
of  the  same  kind,  probably  led  to  holds  similar  to  that  in  which 
Arthur  was  so  lately  a  captive. 

The  recollection  that  his  father  might  be  immured  in  some 
such  horrid  cell  as  he  himself  had  just  quitted,  induced  Arthur 
to  pause  as  they  reached  the  bottom  of  a  small  winding  stair- 
case, which  conducted  apparently  from  this  region  of  the  build- 
ing. 

Come,"  he  said,  "  dearest  Anne,  lead  me  to  his  deliverance  ! 
I  must  not  leave  my  father.'* 

She  shook  her  head  impatiently,  and  beckoned  him  on. 

"  If  your  power  extends  not  to  save  my  father's  life,  I  will 
remain  and  save  him  or  die  ! — Anne,  dearest  Anne  "  

The  answered  not,  but  her  companion  replied,  in  a  deep 
voice,  not  unsuitable  to  his  appearance,  Speak  young  man,  to 
those  who  are  permitted  to  answer  you  ;  or  rather,  be  silent, 
and  listen  to  my  instructions,  which  direct  to  the  only  course 
which  can  bring  thy  father  to  freedom  and  safety." 

They  ascended  the  stair,  Anne  of  Geierstein  going  first; 
while  Arthur,  who  followed  close  behind,  could  not  help  think- 
ing that  her  form  gave  existence  to  a  part  of  the  light  which 
her  garment  reflected  from  the  torch.  This  was  probably  the 
effect  of  the  superstitious  belief  impressed  on  his  mind  by  Ru- 
dolph's tale  respecting  her  mother,  and  which  was  confirmed  by 
her  sudden  appearance  in  a  place  and  situation  where  she  was 
so  little  to  have  been  expected.  He  had  not  much  time,  how- 
ever, to  speculate  upon  her  appearance  or  demeanor,  for, 
mounting  the  stair  with  a  lighter  pace  than  he  was  able  at  the 
time  to  follow  closely,  she  was  no  longer  to  be  seen  when  he 
reached  the  landing-place.  But  whether  she  had  melted  into 
air,  or  turned  aside  into  some  other  passage,  he  was  not  per- 
mitted a  moment's  leisure  to  examine. 

**  Here  lies  your  way,"  said  his  sable  guide  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  dashino;  out  the  light,  and  seizing  Philipson  by  the  arm, 
he  led  him  along  a  dark  gallery  of  considerable  length.  The 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN  IN  TH*?  DUNGEON. 

•  Speak,  young  man,  to  those  who  are  permittp-^  *o  answer  you ;  or  rather,  be 
iiieut,  and  listen  to  my  instruction." 


mimm  of  illsnois 

URBAHA 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


young  man  was  not  without  some  momentary  misgivings  while 
he  recollected  the  ominous  looks  of  his  conductor,  and  that  he 
was  armed  with  a  dagger,  or  knife,  which  he  could  plunge  of 
a  sudden  into  his  bosom.  But  he  could  not  bring  himself  to 
dread  treachery  from  any  one  whom  he  had  seen  in  company 
with  Anne  of  Geierstein  ;  and  in  his  heart  he  demanded  her 
pardon  for  the  fear  which  had  flashed  across  him,  and  resigned 
himself  to  the  guidance  of  his  companion,  who  advanced  with 
hasty  but  light  footsteps,  and  cautioned  him  by  a  whisper  to  do 
the  same. 

"  Our  journey,"  he  at  length  said,  "  ends  here." 

As  he  spoke,  a  door  gave  way  and  admitted  them  into  a 
gloomy  Gothic  apartment,  furnished,  with  large  oaken  presses, 
apparently  filled  with  books  and  manuscripts.  As  Arthur  look- 
ed round,  with  eyes  dazzled  with  the  sudden  gleam  of  daylight 
from  which  he  had  been  for  some  time  excluded,  the  door  by 
which  they  had  entered  disappeared.  This,  however,  did  not 
greatly  surprise  him,  who  judged  that,  being  formed  in  appear- 
ance to  correspond  with  the  presses  around  the  entrance  which 
they  had  used,  it  could  not  when  shut  be  distinguished  from 
them  ;  a  device  sometimes  then  practiced,  an  indeed  it  often  is 
at  the  present  day.  He  had  now  a  full  view  of  his  deliverer, 
who,  when  seen  by  daylight,  showed  only  the  vestments  and 
features  of  a  clergyman,  without  any  of  that  expression  of  super- 
natural horror,  which  the  partial  light  and  the  melancholy 
appearance  of  all  in  the  dungeon  had  combined  to  impress  on 
him. 

Young  Philipson  once  more  breathed  with  freedom,  as  one 
awakened  from  a  hideous  dream  ;  and  the  supernatural  qualities 
with  which  his  imagination  had  invested  Anne  of  Geierstein 
having  begun  to  vanish,  he  addressed  his  deliverer  thus  : — 
*'  That  I  may  testify  my  thanks,  holy  father,  where  they  are  so 
especially  due,  let  me  inquire  of  you,  if  Anne  of  Geierstein"  

"  Speak  of  that  which  pertains  to  your  house  and  family," 
answered  the  priest,  as  briefly  as  before.  "  Hast  thou  so  soon 
forgot  thy  father's  danger  ?  " 

"  By  heavens,  no ! "  replied  the  youth  ;  "  tell  me  but  how  to 
act  for  his  deliverance,  and  thou  shalt  see  how  a  son  can  fight 
for  a  parent !  " 

"  It  is  well,  for  it  is  needful,"  said  the  priest.  "  Don  thou 
this  vestment  and  follow  me." 

The  vestment  presented  was  the  gown  and  hood  of  a  nov- 
ice. 

Draw  the  cowl  over  thy  face,"  said  the  priest,  and  re- 
turn no  answer  to  any  man  who  meets  here.    I  will  say  thou  art 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


under  a  vow. — May  Heaven  forgive  the  unworthy  tyrant  who 
imposes  on  us  the  necessity  of  such  profane  dissimulation  ! 
Follow  me  close  and  near — beware  that  you  speak  not/' 

The  business  of  disguise  was  soon  accomplished,  and  the 
Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  for  such  he  was,  moving  on,  Arthur  follow- 
ed him  a  pace  or  two  behind,  assuming  as  well  as  he  could  the 
modest  step  and  humble  demeanor  of  a  spiritual  novice.  On 
leaving  the  library,  or  study,  and  descending  a  short  stair,  he 
found  himself  in  the  street  of  Breisach.  Irresistibly  tempted 
to  look  back,  he  had  only  time,  however,  to  see  that  the  house 
he  had  left  was  a  very  small  building  of  a  Gothic  character, 
on  the  one  side  of  which  rose  the  church  of  St.  PauFs,  and  on 
the  other  the  stern  black  gate-house  or  entrance-tower. 

Follow  me,  Melchior,''  said  the  deep  voice  of  the  priest ; 
and  his  keen  eyes  were  at  the  same  time  fixed  upon  the  sup- 
posed novice,  with  a  look  which  instantly  recalled  Arthur  to  a 
sense  of  his  situation. 

They  passed  along,  nobody  noticing  them,  unless  to  greet 
the  priest  with  a  silent  obeisance,  or  muttered  phrase  of  salu- 
tation, until,  having  nearly  gained  the  middle  of  the  village,  the 
guide  turned  abruptly  off  from  the  street,  and  moving  north- 
ward by  a  short  lane,  reached  a  flight  of  steps,  which,  as  usual 
in  fortified  towns,  led  to  the  banquette,  or  walk  behmd  the 
parapet,  which  was  of  the  old  Gothic  fashion,  flanked  with 
towers  from  space  to  space,  of  different  forms  and  various 
heights  at  different  angles. 

There  were  sentinels  on  the  walls ;  but  the  watch,  as  it 
seemed,  was  kept  not  by  regular  soldiers,  but  by  burghers,  with 
spears,  or  swords,  in  their  hands.  The  first  whom  they  passed 
said  to  the  priest,  in  a  half  whispered  tone,  "  Holds  our  pur- 
pose 

"  It  holds,"  replied  the  priest  of  St.  Paul's—"  Benedicite  !  " 

''''Deo  Gratias  !  "  replied  the  armed  citizen,  and  continued 
his  walk  upon  the  battlements. 

The  other  sentinels  seemed  to  avoid  them  ;  for  they  disap- 
peared when  they  came  near,  or  passed  them  without  looking, 
or  seeming  to  observe  them.  At  last  their  walk  brought  them 
to  an  ancient  turret,  which  raised  its  head  above  the  wall,  and 
in  which  there  was  a  small  door  opening  from  the  battlement. 
It  was  in  a  corner,  distinct  from  and  uncommanded  by  any  of 
the  angles  of  the  fortification.  In  a  well-guarded  fortress,  such 
a  point  ought  to  have  had  a  sentinel  for  its  special  protection, 
but  no  one  was  there  upon  duty. 

Now  mark  mc,"  said  the  priest,  "  for  your  father's  life,  and, 
it  may  be,  that  of  many  a  man  besides,  depends  upon  your 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


167 


attention,  and  no  less  upon  your  despatch. — You  can  run 

You  can  leap  ? 

"  I  feel  no  weariness,  father,  since  you  freed  me,'*  answered 
Arthur  ;  and  the  dun  deer  that  I  have  often  chased  shall  not 
beat  me  in  such  a  wager." 

Observe,  then,*'  replied  the  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  "this 
turret  contains  a  staircase,  which  descends  to  a  small  sallyport. 
I  will  give  you  entrance  to  it — The  sallyport  is  barred  on  the 
inside,  but  not  locked.  It  will  give  you  access  to  the  moat, 
which  is  almost  entirely  dry.  On  crossing  it,  you  will  find  your- 
self in  the  circuit  of  the  outer  barriers.  You  may  see  sentinels, 
but  they  will  not  see  you — speak  not  to  them,  but  make  your 
way  over  the  palisade  as  you  can.  I  trust  you  can  climb  over 
an  undefended  rampart  ? '' 

"  I  have  surmounted  a  defended  one,''  said  Arthur.  What 
is  my  next  charge  ? — All  this  is  easy." 

"  You  will  see  a  species  of  thicket,  or  stretch  of  low  bushes 
— make  for  it  with  all  speed.  When  you  are  there,  turn  to  the 
eastward  ;  but  beware,  while  holding  that  course,  that  you  are 
not  seen  by  the  Burgundian  Free  Companions,  who  are  on  watch 
on  that  part  of  the  walls.  A  volley  of  arrows,  and  the  sally  of  a 
body  of  cavalry  in  pursuit,  will  be  the  consequence,  if  they  get 
sight  of  you  ;  and  their  eyes  are  those  of  the  eagle,  that  spy  the 
carnage  afar  off." 

I  will  be  heedful,"  said  the  young  Englishman. 

"  You  will  find,"  continued  the  priest,  "  upon  the  outer  side 
of  the  thicket  a  path,  or  rather  a  sheep-track,  which,  sweeping 
at  some  distance  from  the  walls,  will  conduct  you  at  last  into 
the  road  leading  from  Breisach  to  Bale.  Hasten  forward  to 
meet  the  Swiss  who  are  advancing.  Tell  them  your  father's 
hours  are  counted,  and  that  they  must  press  on  if  they  would 
save  him  ;  and  say  to  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  in  especial,  that 
the  Black  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's  waits  to  bestow  upon  him  his 
blessing  at  the  northern  sallyport.  Dost  thou  understand 
xne  ? " 

Perfectly,"  answered  the  young  man. 

The  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's  then  pushed  open  the  low-browed 
gate  of  the  turret,  and  Arthur  was  about  to  precipitate  himself 
down  the  stair  which  opened  before  him. 

"  Stay  yet  a  moment,"  said  the  Priest,  and  doff  the  novice's 
habit,  which  can  only  encumber  thee." 

Arthur  in  a  trice  threw  it  from  him,  and  was  again  about  to 
start. 

"  Stay  yet  a  monent  longer,"  continued  the  Black  Psiest- 


1 68 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  This  gown  may  be  a  tell-tale — Stay,  therefore,  and  help  me  to 
pull  off  my  upper  garment." 

Inwardly  glowing  with  impatience,  Arthur  yet  saw  the 
necessity  of  obeying  his  guide  ;  and  when  he  had  pulled  the 
long  and  loose  upper  vestment  from  the  old  man,  he  stood  before 
him  in  a  cassock  of  black  serge,  befitting  his  order  and  profes- 
sion, but  begirt,  not  with  a  suitable  sash  such  as  clergymen  wear, 
but  with  a  most  uncanonical  buff-belt,  supporting  a  short  two- 
edged  sword  calculated  alike  to  stab  and  to  smite. 

"  Give  me  now  the  novice's  habit,"  said  the  venerable  father, 
"  and  over  that  I  will  put  the  priestly  vestment.  Since  for  the 
present  I  have  some  tokens  of  the  laity  about  me,  it  is  fitting 
it  should  be  covered  with  a  double  portion  of  the  clerical  habit." 

As  he  spoke  thus  he  smiled  grimly;  and  his  smile  had 
something  more  frightful  and  withering  than  the  stern  frown, 
which  suited  better  with  his  features,  and  was  their  usual 
expression. 

And  now,"  said  he,  "  what  does  the  fool  tarry  for,  when 
life  and  death  are  in  his  speed  ?  " 

The  young  messenger  waited  not  a  second  hint,  but  at  once 
descended  the  stairs,  as  if  it  had  been  by  a  single  step,  found 
the  portal,  as  the  priest  had  said,  only  secured  by  bars  on  the 
inside,  offering  little  resistance  save  from  their  rusted  state, 
which  made  it  difficult  to  draw  them.  Arthur  succeeded, 
however,  and  found  himself  at  the  side  of  the  moat,  which 
presented  a  green  and  marshy  appearance.  Without  stopping 
to  examine  whether  it  was  deep  or  shallow,  and  almost  without 
being  sensible  of  the  tenacity  of  the  morass,  the  young  English- 
man forced  his  way  through  it  and  attained  the  opposite  side 
without  attracting  the  attention  of  two  worthy  burghers  of 
Breisach,  who  were  the  guardians  of  the  barriers.  One  of  them 
indeed  was  deeply  employed  in  the  perusal  of  some  profane 
chronicle  or  religious  legend;  the  other  was  as  anxiously 
engaged  in  examining  the  margin  of  the  moat,  in  search  of 
eels,  perhaps,  or  frogs,  for  he  wore  over  his  shoulder  a  script  for 
securing  some  such  amphibious  booty. 

Seeing  that,  as  the  priest  foretold,  he  had  nothing  to  appre- 
hend from  the  vigilance  of  the  sentinels,  Arthur  dashed  at  the 
palisade,  in  hope  to  catch  hold  of  the  top  of  the  stockade,  and 
so  to  clear  it  by  one  bold  leap.  He  overrated  his  powers  of 
activity,  however,  or  they  were  diminished  by  his  recent  bonds 
and  imprisonment.  He  fell  lightly  backward  on  the  ground, 
and  as  he  got  to  his  feet,  became  aware  of  the  presence  of  a 
soldier,  in  yellow  and  blue,  the  livery  of  De  Magenbach,  who 
came  running  toward  him,  crying  to  the  slothful  and  unob- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


169 


servant  sentinels,  "  Alarm  ! — alarm  ! — you  lazy  swine  !  Stop 
the  dog,  or  you  are  both  dead  men." 

The  fisherman,  who  was  on  the  further  side,  laid  down  his 
eel-spear,  drew  his  sword,  and  flourishing  it  over  his  head, 
advanced  toward  Philipson  with  very  moderate  haste.  The 
student  was  yet  more  unfortunate,  for,  in  his  hurry  to  fold  up 
his  book  and  attend  to  his  duty,  he  contrived  to  throw  himself 
(inadvertently,  doubtless)  full  in  the  soldier's  way.  The  latter, 
who  was  running  at  top  speed,  encountered  the  burgher  with  a 
severe  shock,  which  threw  both  down ;  but  the  citizen,  being  a 
solid  and  substantial  man,  lay  still  where  he  fell,  while  the  other, 
less  weighty,  and  probably  less  prepared  for  the  collision,  lost  his 
balance  and  the  command  of  his  limbs  at  once,  and,  rolling 
over  the  edge  of  the  moat,  was  immersed  in  the  mud  and  marsh. 
The  fisher  and  the  student  went  with  deliberate  speed  to  assist 
the  unexpected  and  unwelcome  partner  of  their  watch  ;  while 
Arthur,  stimulated  by  the  imminent  sense  of  danger  sprung  at 
the  barrier  with  more  address  and  vigor  than  before,  and,  suc- 
ceeding in  his  leap,  made,  as  he  had  been  directed,  with  his 
utmost  speed  for  the  covert  of  the  adjacent  bushes.  He 
reached  them  without  hearing  any  alarm  from  the  walls.  But 
he  was  conscious  that  his  situation  had  become  extremely  pre- 
carious, since  his  escape  from  the  town  was  known  to  one  man 
at  least,  who  would  not  fail  to  give  the  alarm  in  case  he  was 
able  to  extricate  himself  from  the  marsh, — a  feat,  however,  in 
which  it  seemed  to  Arthur  that  the  armed  citizens  were  likely 
to  prove  rather  his  apparent  than  actual  assistants.  While  such 
thoughts  shot  across  his  mind,  they  served  to  augment  his 
natural  speed  of  foot,  so  that  in  less  space  than  could  have 
been  thought  possible,  he  reached  the  thinner  extremity  of  the 
thicket,  whence,  as  intimated  by  the  Black  Priest,  he  could 
see  the  eastern  tower  and  the  adjoining  battlements  of  the 
town, — 

With  hostile  faces  thronged,  and  fiery  arms." 

It  required,  at  the  same  time,  some  address  on  the  part  of 
the  fugitive,  to  keep  so  much  under  shelter  as  to  prevent  him- 
self from  being  seen  in  his  turn  by  those  whom  he  saw  so 
plainly.  He  therefore  expected  every  moment  to  hear  a  bugle 
wind,  or  to  behold  that  bustle  and  commotion  among  the  de- 
fenders, which  might  prognosticate  a  sally.  Neither,  however, 
took  place,  and  needfully  observing  the  footpath,  or  track,  which 
the  priest  had  pointed  out  to  him,  young  Philipson  wheeled  his 
course  out  of  sight  of  the  guarded  towers,  and  soon  falling  into 
the  public  and  frequented  road,  by  which  his  father  and  he  had 


170 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


approached  the  town  in  the  morning,  he  had  the  happiness,  bj 
the  dust  and  flash  of  arms,  to  see  a  small  body  of  armed  men 
advancing  toward  Breisach,  whom  he  justly  concluded  to  be  the 
van  of  the  Swiss  deputation. 

He  soon  met  the  party,  which  consisted  of  about  ten  men, 
with  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  at  their  head.  The  figure  of  Philip- 
son,  covered  with  mud,  and  some  places  stained  with  blood 
(for  his  fall  in  the  dungeon  had  cost  him  a  slight  wound),  at- 
tracted the  wonder  of  every  one.  who  crowded  around  to  hear 
the  news.  Rudolph  alone  appeared  unmoved.  Like  the  visage 
on  the  ancient  statues  of  Hercules,  the  physiognomy  of  the 
bulky  Bernese  was  large  and  massive,  having  an  air  of  indif- 
ferent and  almost  sullen  composure,  which  did  not  change  but 
in  moments  of  the  fiercest  agitation. 

He  listened  without  emotion  to  the  breathless  tale  of 
Arthur  Philipson,  that  his  father  was  in  prison,  and  ad- 
judged to  death. 

And  what  else  did  you  expect  ?  said  the  Bernese  coldly, 
"  Were  you  not  warned  ?  It  had  been  easy  to  have  foreseen 
the  misfortune,  but  it  may  be  impossible  to  prevent  it." 

"  I  own — I  own,'*  said  Arthur,  wringing  his  hands,  "  that 
you  were  wise,  and  that  we  were  foolish. — But  oh !  do  not 
think  of  our  folly,  in  the  moment  of  our  extremity !  Be  the 
gallant  and  generous  champion  which  your  Cantons  proclaim 
you — give  us  your  aid  in  this  deadly  strait ! 

"  But  how,  or  in  what  manner  ? "  said  Rudolph,  still  hesi- 
tating. "  We  have  dismissed  the  Balese,  who  were  willing  to 
have  given  assistance,  so  much  did  your  dutiful  example  weigh 
with  us.  We  are  now  scarce  above  a  score  of  men — how  can 
you  ask  us  to  attack  a  garrison  town,  secured  by  fortifications, 
and  where  there  are  six  times  our  number  ?  " 

"  You  have  friends  within  the  fortifications,"  replied  Arthur 
— "  I  am  sure  you  have.  Hark  in  your  ear — The  Black  Priest 
sent  to  you — to  you,  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  of  Berne — that  he 
waits  to  give  you  his  blessing  at  the  northern  sallyport." 

Ay,  doubtless,''  said  Rudolph,  shaking  himself  free  of 
Arthur's  attempt  to  engage  him  in  private  conference,  and 
speaking  so  that  all  around  might  hear  him,  "  there  is  little 
doubt  on't ;  I  will  find  a  priest  at  the  northern  sallyport  to 
confess  and  absolve  me,  and  a  block,  axe,  and  headsman,  to 
strike  my  throat  asunder  when  he  has  done.  But  1  will  scarce 
put  the  neck  of  my  father's  son  into  such  risk.  If  they  assas- 
sinate an  English  pedler,  who  has  never  offended  them,  what 
will  they  do  with  the  Bear  of  Berne,  whose  fangs  and  talons 
Archibald  de  Hagenbach  has  felt  ere  now?" 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


171 


Young  Philipson  at  these  words  clasped  his  hands  together, 
and  held  them  up  to  Heaven,  as  one  who  abandons  hope,  ex- 
cepting from  thence.  The  tears  started  to  his  eyes,  and, 
clenching  his  hands  and  setting  his  teeth,  he  turned  his  back 
abruptly  upon  the  Swiss. 

"  What  means  this  passion  ?  "  said  Rudolph.  "  Whither 
would  you  now 

"  To  rescue  my  father,  or  perish  with  him,^'  said  Arthur ; 
and  was  about  to  run  wildly  back  to  La  Ferette,  when  a  strong 
but  kindly  grasp  detained  him. 

Tarry  a  little  till  I  tie  my  garter,"  said  Sigismund  Bieder- 
man,  "  and  1  will  go  with  you.  King  Arthur." 

"You,  oaf?"  exclaimed  Rudolph,  ^*  you  —  and  without 
orders  ?  " 

"  Why,  look  you,  cousin  Rudolph,"  said  the  youth,  continu- 
ing, with  great  composure,  to  fasten  his  garter,  which,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  time,  was  somewhat  intricately  secured  — "you 
are  always  telling  us  that  we  are  Swiss  and  freemen ;  and  what 
is  the  advantage  of  being  a  freeman,  if  one  is  not  at  liberty  to 
do  what  he  has  a  mind  1  You  are  my  Hauptman,  look  you,  so 
long  as  it  pleases  me,  and  no  longer." 

"  And  why  shouldst  thou  desert  me  now,  thou  fool  Why 
at  this  minute,  of  all  other  minutes  in  the  year.'*"  demanded 
the  Bernese. 

"  Look  you,"  replied  the  insubordinate  follower,  "  I  have 
hunted  with  Arthur  for  this  month  past,  and  I  love  him — he 
never  called  me  fool  or  idiot,  because  my  thoughts  came 
slower,  may  be,  and  something  duller,  than  those  of  other  folk. 
And  I  love  his  father — the  old  man  gave  me  this  baldric  and 
this  horn,  which  I  warrant  cost  many  a  kreutzer.  He  told  me, 
too,  not  to  be  discouraged,  for  that  it  was  better  to  think  justly 
than  to  think  fast,  and  that  I  had  sense  enough  for  the  one  if 
not  for  the  other.  And  the  kind  old  man  is  now  in  Hagen- 
bach's  butcher-shambles ! — But  we  will  free  him,  Arthur,  if  two 
men  may.  Thou  shalt  see  me  fight,  while  steel  blade  and 
ashen  shaft  will  hold  together." 

^  So  saying,  he  shook  in  the  air  his  enormous  partisan,  which 
quivered  in  his  grasp  like  a  slip  of  willow.  Indeed,  if  Iniquity 
was  to  be  struck  down  like  an  ox,  there  was  not  one  in  that 
chosen  band  more  likely  to  perform  the  feat  than  Sigismund ; 
for  though  somewhat  shorter  in  stature  than  his  brethren,  and 
of  a  less  animated  spirit,  yet  his  breadth  of  shoulders  and 
strength  of  muscles  were  enormous,  and  if  thoroughly  aroused 
and  disposed  for  the  contest,  which  was  very  rarely  the  case, 


172 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


perhaps  Rudolph  himself  might,  as  far  as  sheer  force  went, 
have  had  difficulty  in  matching  hini. 

Truth  of  sentiment  and  energy  of  expression  always  produce 
an  effect  on  natural  and  generous  characters.  Several  of  the 
youths  around  began  to  exclaim  that  Sigismund  said  well  ;  that 
if  the  old  man  had  put  himself  in  danger,  it  was  because  he 
thought  more  of  the  success  of  their  negotiation  than  of  his 
own  safety,  and  had  taken  himself  from  under  their  protection, 
rather  than  involve  them  in  quarrels  on  his  account.  "  We  are 
the  more  bound,"  they  said,  *'to  see  him  unscathed;  and  we 
will  do  so." 

"  Peace  !  all  you  wiseacres,"  said  Rudolph,  looking  round  with 
an  air  of  superiority  ;  "  and  you,  Arthur  of  England,  pass  on  to 
the  Landamman,  who  is  close  behind  ;  you  know  he  is  our  chief 
commander,  he  is  no  less  your  father's  sincere  friend,  and  what- 
ever he  may  determine  in  your  father's  favor,  you  will  find  most 
ready  executors  of  his  pleasure  in  all  of  us." 

His  companions  appeared  to  concur  in  this  advice,  and 
young  Philipson  saw  that  his  own  compliance  with  the  recom- 
mendation was  indispensable.  Indeed,  although  he  still  sus- 
pected that  the  Bernese,  by  his  various  intrigues,  as  well  with 
the  Swiss  youth  as  with  those  of  Bale,  and,  as  might  be  inferred 
from  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's,  by  communication,  even  within 
the  town  of  La  Ferette,  possessed  the  greater  power  of  assisting 
him  at  such  a  conjuncture  ;  yet  he  trusted  far  more  in  the  sim- 
ple candor  and  perfect  faith  of  Arnold  Biederman,  and  pressed 
forward  to  tell  to  him  his  mournful  tale,  and  crave  his  assist- 
ance. 

From  the  top  of  a  bank  which  he  reached  in  a  few  minutes 
after  he  parted  from  Rudolph  and  the  advanced  guard,  he  saw 
beneath  him  the  venerable  Landamman  and  his  associates, 
accompanied  by  a  few  of  the  youths  who  no  longer  were  dis- 
persed upon  the  flanks  of  the  party,  but  attended  on  them 
closely  and  in  military  array,  as  men  prepared  to  repel  any 
sudden  attack. 

Behind  came  a  mule  or  two  with  baggage,  together  with  the 
animals  which,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  their  march,  supported 
Anne  of  Geierstein  and  her  attendant.  Both  were  occupied  by 
female  figures  as  usual,  and  to  the  best  of  Arthur's  ken,  the 
foremost  had  the  well-known  dress  of  Anne,  from  the  gray 
mantle  to  a  small  heron's  plume,  which,  since  entering  Germany, 
she  had  worn  in  compliance  with  the  custom  of  the  country, 
and  in  evidence  of  her  rank  as  a  maiden  of  birth  and  distinc- 
tion. Yet,  if  the  youth's  eyes  brought  him  true  tidings  at  ])rcs 
ent,  what  was  the  character  of  their  former  information,  when*' 


ANI^E  OP  GEIERSTEIN. 


scarce  more  than  half-an-hour  since,  they  had  beheld,  in  the 
subterranean  dungeon  of  Breisach,  the  same  form  which  they 
now  rested  upon,  in  circumstances  so  very  different!  The 
feeling  excited  by  this  thought  was  powerful,  but  it  was  momen- 
tary, like  the  lightning  which  blazes  through  a  midnight  sky, 
which  is  but  just  seen  ere  it  vanishes  into  darkness.  Or  rather, 
the  wonder  excited  by  this  marvelous  incident  only  maintained 
its  ground  in  his  thoughts,  by  allaying  itself  with  the  anxiety 
for  his  father's  safety,  which  was  their  predominant  occupation. 

If  there  be  indeed  a  spirit,''  he  said,  "  which  wears  that 
beautiful  form,  it  must  be  beneficent  as  well  as  lovely,  and  will 
extend  to  my  far  more  deserving  father  the  protection  which 
his  son  has  twice  experienced. 

But  ere  he  had  time  to  prosecute  such  a  thought  further,  he 
had  met  the  Landamman  and  his  party.  Here  his  appearance 
and  his  condition  excited  the  same  surprise  as  they  had  formerly 
occasioned  to  Rudolph  and  the  vanguard.  To  the  repeated  in- 
terrogatories of  the  Landamman,  he  gave  a  brief  account  of  his 
own  imprisonment,  and  of  his  escape,  of  which  he  suffered  the 
whole  glory  to  rest  with  the  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  without 
mentioning  one  word  of  the  more  interesting  female  apparition 
by  which  he  had  been  attended  and  assisted  in  his  charitable 
task.  On  another  point  also  Arthur  was  silent.  He  saw  no 
propriety  in  communicating  to  Arnold  Biederman  the  message 
which  the  priest  had  addressed  to  Rudolph's  ear  alone. 
Whether  good  should  come  of  it  or  no,  he  held  sacred  the  obli- 
gation of  silence  imposed  upon  him  by  a  man  from  whom  he 
had  just  received  the  most  important  assistance. 

The  Landamman  was  struck  dumb  for  a  moment,  with  sor- 
row and  surprise,  at  the  news  which  he  heard.  The  elder 
Philipson  had  gained  his  respect,  as  well  by  the  purity  and 
steadiness  of  the  principles  which  he  expressed,  as  by  the  ex- 
tent and  depth  of  his  information,  which  was  peculiarly  valuable 
and  interesting  to  the  Switzer,  who  felt  his  admirable  judgment 
considerably  fettered  for  want  of  that  knowledge  of  countries, 
times,  and  manners,  with  which  his  English  friend  often  sup- 
plied him. 

"  Let  us  press  forward,"  he  said  to  the  Banneret  of  Berne 
and  the  other  deputies  ;  let  us  offer  our  mediation  betwixt 
the  tyrant  De  Hagenbach  and  our  friend,  whose  life  is  in  dan- 
ger. He  must  listen  to  us,  for  I  know  his  master  expects  to 
see  this  Philipson  at  his  court.  The  old  man  hinted  to  me  so 
much.  As  we  are  possessed  of  such  a  secret,  Archibald  de 
Hagenbach  will  not  dare  to  brave  our  vengeance,  since  we 
might  easily  send  to  Duke  Charles  information  how  the  Gov- 


^74 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


ernor  of  La  Ferette  abuses  his  power,  in  matters  where  noi 
only  the  Swiss,  but  where  the  Duke  himself  is  concerned/' 

Under  your  reverend  favor,  my  worthy  sir,"  answered  the 
Banneret  of  Berne,  "  we  are  Swiss  Deputies,  and  go  to  repre- 
sent the  injuries  of  Switzerland  alone.  If  we  embroil  ourselves 
wtth  the  quarrels  of  strangers,  we  shall  find  it  more  difficult  to 
settle  advantageously  those  of  our  own  country ;  and  if  the  Duke 
should,  by  this  villany  done  upon  English  merchants,  bring  upon 
him  the  resentment  of  the  English  monarch,  such  breach  will 
only  render  it  more  a  matter  of  peremptory  necessity  for  him  to 
make  a  treaty  advantageous  to  the  Swiss  Cantons." 

There  was  so  much  worldly  policy  in  this  advice,  that  Adam 
Zimmerman  of  Soleure  instantly  expressed  his  assent,  with  the 
additional  argument,  that  their  brother  Biederman  had  told  them 
scarce  two  hours  before,  how  these  English  merchants  had,  by 
his  advice  and  their  own  free  desire,  parted  company  with  them 
that  morning,  on  purpose  that  they  might  not  involve  the  Depu- 
ties in  the  quarrels  which  might  be  raised  by  the  Governor's  ex- 
actions on  his  merchandise. 

"  Now  what  advantage,"  he  said,  "  shall  we  derive  from  this 
same  parting  of  company,  supposing,  as  my  brother  seems  to 
urge,  we  are  still  to  consider  this  Englishman's  interest  as  if  he 
were  our  fellow-traveler,  and  under  our  especial  protection  ? " 

This  personal  reasoning  pinched  the  Landamman  somewhat 
closely,  for  he  had  but  a  short  while  before  descanted  on  the 
generosity  of  the  elder  Philipson,  who  had  freely  exposed  him- 
self to  danger,  rather  than  that  he  should  embarrass  their  nego- 
tiation by  remaining  one  of  their  company ;  and  it  completely 
shook  the  fealty  of  the  white-bearded  Nicholas  Bonstetten, 
whose  eyes  wandered  from  the  face  of  Zimmerman,  which  ex- 
pressed triumphant  confidence  in  his  argument,  to  that  of  his 
friend  the  Landamman,  which  was  rather  more  embarrassed  than 
usual. 

"  Brethren,"  said  Arnold  at  length,  with  firmness  and  anima- 
tion, "  1  erred  in  priding  myself  upon  the  worldly  policy  which 
I  taught  to  you  this  morning.  This  man  is  not  of  our  country, 
doubtless,  but  he  is  of  our  blood — a  copy  of  the  common  Crea- 
tor's image — and  the  more  worthy  of  being  called  so,  as  he  is  a 
man  of  integrity  and  worth.  We  might  not,  without  grievous 
sin,  pass  such  a  person,  being  in  danger,  without  affording  him 
relief,  even  if  he  lay  accidentally  by  the  side  of  our  path  ;  much 
less  should  we  abandon  him  if  the  danger  has  been  incurred  in 
our  own  cause,  and  that  we  might  escape  the  net  in  which  he  is 
himself  caught.  Be  not,  tliercfore  downcast — We  do  God's  will 
in  succoring  an  oppressed  man.    If  we  succeed  by  mild  means, 


ANl^E  OP  GEIERSTEIM. 


175 


as  I  trust  we  shall,  we  do  a  good  action  at  a  cheap  rate  ; — if  not, 
God  can  assert  the  cause  of  humanity  by  the  hands  of  a  few  as 
well  as  of  many." 

^'  If  such  is  your  opinion,"  said  the  Bannerman  of  Berne, 
"  not  a  man  here  will  shrink  from  you.  For  me,  I  pleaded 
against  my  own  inclinations  when  I  advised  you  to  avoid  a 
breach  with  the  Burgundian.  But  as  a  soldier,  I  must  needs 
say  I  would  rather  fight  the  garrison,  were  they  double  the 
number  they  talk  of,  in  a  fair  field,  than  undertake  to  storm 
their  defences." 

"  Nay,"  said  the  Landamman,  "  I  sincerely  hope  we  shall 
both  enter  and  depart  from  the  town  of  Breisach,  without  devi- 
ating from  the  pacific  character  with  which  our  mission  from 
the  Diet  invests  us." 


CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH. 

For  Somerset,  off  with  his  guilty  head. 

Third  Part  of  Henry  VI. 

The  Governor  of  La  Ferette  stood  on  the  battlements  of 
the  eastern  entrance-tower  of  his  fortress,  and  looked  out  on 
the  road  to  Bale,  when  first  the  vanguard  of  the  Swiss  mission, 
then  the  centre  and  rear,  appeared  in  the  distance.  At  the 
same  moment  the  van  halting,  the  main  body  closed  with  it, 
while  the  females  and  baggage,  and  mules  in  the  rear,  moved  in 
their  turn  up  to  the  main  body,  and  the  whole  were  united  in 
one  group. 

A  messenger  then  stepped  forth,  and  winded  one  of  those 
tremendous  horns,  the  spoils  of  the  wild  bulls  so  numerous  in 
the  Canton  of  Uri,  that  they  are  supposed  to  have  given  rise  to 
its  name. 

"They  demanded  admittance,"  said  the  esquire. 

"  They  shall  have  it,"  answered  Sir  Archibald  de  Hagen* 
bach.  "  Marry,  how  they  may  pass  out  again,  is  another  and 
a  deeper  question." 

Think  yet  a  moment,  noble  sir,"  continued  the  esquire. 
Bethink  you,  these  Switzers  are  very  fiends  in  fight,  and  have, 
besides,  no  booty  to  repay  the  conquest — some  paltry  chain  of 
good  copper,  perchance,  or  adulterated  silver.  You  have 
knocked  out  the  marrow — do  not  damage  your  teeth  by  trying 
to  grind  the  bone." 


ANME  OP"  CElERSTRm. 


"Thou  art  a  fool,  Kilian/'  answered  De  Hagenbach,  "and 
it  may  be  a  coward  besides.  The  approach  of  some  score,  or 
at  most  some  score  and  a  half  of  Swiss  partisans,  makes  thee 
draw  in  thy  horns  like  a  snail  at  a  child's  finger  !  Mine  are 
strong  and  inflexible  as  those  of  the  Urus,  of  whom  they  talk  so 
much,  and  on  which  they  blow  so  boldly.  Keep  in  mind,  thou 
timid  creature,  that  if  the  Swiss  Deputies,  as  they  presume  to 
call  themselves,  are  permitted  to  pass  free,  they  carry  to  the 
Duke  stories  of  merchants  bound  to  his  court,  and  fraught  with 
precious  commodities,  specially  addressed  to  his  Grace  ! 
Charles  has  then  at  once  to  endure  the  presence  of  the 
*imbassadors,  whom  he  contemns  and  hates,  and  learns  by  them 
that  the  Governor  of  La  Ferette,  permitting  such  to  pass,  has 
nevertheless  presumed  to  stop  those  whom  he  would  full 
gladly  see  ;  for  what  prince  would  not  blithely  welcome  such  a 
casket  as  that  which  we  have  taken  from  yonder  strolling 
English  pedler  ?  " 

"  I  see  not  how  the  assault  on  these  ambassadors  will  mend 
your  excellency's  plea  for  despoiling  the  Englishmen,"  said 
Kilian. 

"  Because  thou  art  a  blind  mole,  Kilian,"  answered  his  chief. 
"  If  Burgundy  hears  of  a  ruffle  between  my  garrison  and  the 
mountain  churls,  whom  he  scorns  and  yet  hates,  it  will  drown 
all  notice  of  the  two  pedlers  who  have  perished  in  the  fray.  If 
after  inquiry  should  come,  an  hour's  ride  transports  me  with 
my  confidants  into  the  Imperial  dominions,  where,  though  the 
Emperor  be  a  spiritless  fool,  the  rich  prize  I  have  found  on  these 
islanders  will  ensure  me  a  good  reception." 

"  I  will  stick  by  your  excellency  to  the  last,"  returned  the 
esquire  ;  "  and  you  shall  yourself  witness,  that  if  a  fool,  I  am 
at  least  no  coward." 

"  I  never  thought  thee  such  when  it  came  to  hand  blows," 
said  Da  Hagenbach  ;  "  but  in  policy  thou  art  timid  and  irres- 
olute. Hand  me  mine  armor,  Kilian,  and  beware  thou  brace 
it  well.    The  Swiss  pikes  and  swords  are  no  wasp-stings." 

"  May  your  excellency  wear  it  with  honor  and  profit,"  said 
Kilian  •  and,  according  to  the  duty  of  his  office,  he  buckled  upon 
his  principal  the  complete  panoply  of  a  knight  of  the  empire. 
"  Your  purpose  of  assaulting  the  Swiss  then  holds  firm  ?  "  said 
Kilian.    "  But  what  pretext  will  your  excellency  assign  ?  " 

"  Let  me  alone,"  said  Archibald  de  Hagenbach,  "  to  take 
one,  or  to  make  one.  Do  you  only  have  Schonfeldt  and  the 
soldiers  on  their  stations.  And  remember  the  words  are — • 
*  Burgundy  to  the  Rescue.'  When  these  words  are  first  spoken, 
let  the  soldiers  show  themselves — when  repeated,  let  them  fall 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


177 


on.  And  now  that  I  am  accoutred,  away  to  the  churls  and 
admit  them." 

Kilian  bowed,  and  withdrew. 

The  bugle  of  the  Switzers  had  repeatedly  emitted  its  angry 
roar,  exasperated  by  the  delay  of  nearly  half-an-hour,  without 
an  answer  from  the  guarded  gate  of  Breisach  ;  and  every  blast 
declared,  by  the  prolonged  echoes  which  it  awakened,  the  in- 
creased impatience  of  those  who  summoned  the  town.  At 
length  the  portcullis  arose,  the  gate  opened,  the  drawbridge  fell, 
and  Kilian,  in  the  equipage  of  a  man-at-arms  arrayed  for  fight, 
rode  forth  on  an  ambling  palfrey. 

"  What  bold  men  are  ye,  sirs,  who  are  here  in  arms  before 
the  fortress  of  Breisach,  appertaining  in  right  and  seignorie  to 
the  thrice  noble  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  Lorraine,  and  garrisoned 
for  his  cause  and  interest  by  the  excellent  Sir  Archibald,  Lord 
of  Hagenbach,  Knight  of  the  most  Holy  Roman  Empire  ?  " 

"  So  please  you,  Sir  Esquire,"  said  the  Landamman,  "  for 
such  I  conjecture  you  to  be  by  the  feather  in  your  bonnet,  we 
are  here  with  no  hostile  intentions  ;  though  armed,  as  you  see, 
to  defend  us  in  a  perilous  journey,  where  we  are  something 
unsafe  by  da)^,  and  cannot  always  repose  by  night  in  places  of 
security*  But  our  arms  have  no  offensive  purpose  ;  if  they  had 
such,  our  numbers  had  not  been  so  few  as  you  see  them." 

"  What  then  is  your  character  and  purpose  ?  "  said  Kilian, 
who  had  learned  to  use,  in  his  master's  absence,  the  lordly  and 
insolent  tone  of  the  Governor  himself. 

We  are  Delegates,"  answered  the  Landamman,  in  a  calm 
and  even  tone  of  voice,  without  appearing  to  take  offence  at,  or 
to  observe,  the  insolent  demeanor  of  the  Esquire,  from  the 
Free  and  Confederated  Cantons  of  the  Swiss  States  and  prov- 
inces, and  from  the  good  town  of  Soleure,  who  are  accredited 
from  our  Diet  of  Legislature  to  travel  to  the  presence  of  his 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  on  an  errand  of  high  importance 
to  both  countries,  and  with  a  hope  of  establishing  with  your 
master's  lord — I  mean  with  the  noble  Duke  of  Burgundy — a 
sure  and  steadfast  peace,  upon  such  terms  as  shall  be  to  the 
mutual  honor  and  advantage  of  both  countries,  and  to  avert 
disputes,  and  the  eflusion  of  Christian  blood,  which  may  other* 
wise  be  shed  for  want  of  timely  and  good  understanding.'* 

"  Show  me  your  letters  of  credence,"  said  the  esquire. 

"  Under  your  forgiveness.  Sir  Esquire,"  replied  the  Lan 
damman,  "  it  will  be  time  enough  to  exhibit  these  when  we  are 
admitted  to  the  presence  of  your  master  the  Governor." 

"  That  is  as  much  as  to  say,  wilful  will  to  it.  It  is  well,  my 
TPasterj  and  yet  you  may  take  thi3  advice  from  Kilian  of 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Kersberg.  It  is  sometimes  better  to  reel  backward  than  to 
run  forward. — My  master,  and  my  master's  master,  are  more 
ticklish  persons  than  the  dealers  of  Bale,  to  whom  you  sell  your 
cheeses.  Home,  honest  men,  home  !  your  way  lies  before  you, 
and  you  are  fairly  warned." 

"  We  thank  thee  for  thy  counsel,'*  said  the  Landamman, 
interrupting  the  Banneret  of  Berne,  who  had  commenced  an 
angry  reply,  "  supposing  it  kindly  meant ;  if  not,  an  uncivil  jest 
is  like  an  overcharged  gun,  which  recoils  on  the  cannonier.  Our 
road  lies  onward  through  Breisach,  and  onward  we  propose  to  go, 
and  take  such  hap  as  that  which  we  may  find  before  us.'' 

Go  onward  then,  in  the  devil's  name,*'  said  the  squire,  who 
had  entertained  some  hope  of  deterring  them  from  pursuing 
their  journey,  but  found  himself  effectually  foiled. 

The  Switzers  entered  the  town,  and  stopped  by  the  barricade 
of  cars  which  the  Governor  had  formed  across  the  streets,  at 
about  twenty  yards  from  the  gate,  they  drew  themselves  up  in 
military  order,  with  their  little  body  formed  into  three  lines, 
the  two  females  and  the  fathers  of  the  deputation  being  in  the 
centre.  The  little  phalanx  presented  a  double  front,  one  to 
each  side  of  the  street,  while  the  centre  line  faced  so  as  to 
move  forward,  and  only  waited  for  the  removal  of  the  barricade 
in  order  to  do  so.  But  while  they  stood  thus  inactive,  a  knight 
in  complete  armor  appeared  from  a  side  door  of  the  great  tower, 
under  the  arch  of  which  they  had  entered  into  the  town.  His 
visor  was  raised,  and  he  walked  along  the  front  of  the  little  line 
formed  by  the  Swiss,  with  a  stern  frowning  aspect. 

"  Who  are  you,"  he  said,  "  who  have  thus  far  intruded  your- 
selves in  arms  into  a  Burgundian  garrison  ?  " 

"  With  your  excellency's  leave,"  said  the  Landamman,  we 
are  men  who  come  on  a  peaceful  errand,  though  we  carry  arms 
for  our  own  defence.  Deputies  we  are  from  the  towns  of  Berne 
and  Soleure,  the  Cantons  of  Uri,  Schwytz,  and  Unterwalden, 
come  to  adjust  matters  of  importance  with  the  gracious  Duke  of 
Burgundy  and  Lorraine." 

"  What  towns,  what  cantons  ?  "  said  the  Governor  of  La 
Ferette.  "  I  have  heard  no  such  names  among  the  Free 
Cities  of  Germany. — Berne,  truly !  when  became  Berne  a 
Free  State  t " 

Since  the  twenty-first  day  of  June,"  said  Arnold  Biederman, 
"  in  the  year  of  grace  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine,  on  which  day  the  battle  of  Laupen  was  fought." 

"Away,  vain  old  man,"  said  the  Knight;  "  thinkest  thou 
that  such  idle  boasts  can  avail  thee  here  ?  We  have  heard, 
indeed,  of  some  insurgent  villages  and  communities  among  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


179 


Alps,  and  how  they  rebelled  against  the  Emperor,  and  by  the 
advantage  of  fastnesses,  ambuscades,  and  lurking-places,  how 
they  have  murdered  some  knights  and  gentlemen  sent  against 
them  by  the  Duke  of  Austria ;  but  we  little  thought  that  such 
paltry  townships  and  insignificant  bands  of  mutineers  had  the 
insolence  to  term  themselves  Free  States,  and  propose  to  enter 
into  negotiations  as  such  with  a  mighty  prince  like  Charles  of 
Burgundy." 

"  May  it  please  your  excellency,'*  replied  the  Landamman, 
with  perfect  temper,  "  your  own  laws  of  chivalry  declare,  that 
if  the  stronger  wrong  the  weaker,  or  the  noble  does  injury  to 
the  less  gentle,  the  very  act  levels  distinctions  between  them, 
and  the  doer  of  an  injury  becomes  bound  to  give  condign  satis- 
faction, of  such  kind  as  the  wronged  party  shall  demand." 

"  Hence  to  thy  hills,  churl  !  "  exclaimed  the  haughty  Knight ; 
"  there  comb  thy  beard  and  roast  thy  chestnuts.  What  ! 
because  a  few  rats  and  mice  find  retr.eat  among  the  walls  and 
wainscoting  of  our  dwelling-houses,  shall  we  therefore  allow 
them  to  intrude  their  disgusting  presence,  and  their  airs  of  free- 
dom and  independence,  into  our  personal  presence  ?  No,  we 
will  rather  crush  them  beneath  the  heel  of  our  ironshod  boots." 

We  are  not  men  to  be  trodden  on,"  said  Arnold  Bieder- 
man,  calmly  ;  "  those  who  have  attempted  it  have  found  us 
stumbling-blocks.  La}^  Sir  Knight,  lay  aside  for  an  instant 
this  haughty  language,  which  can  only  lead  to  warfare,  and 
listen  to  the  words  of  peace.  Dismiss  our  comrade,  the  English 
merchant  Philipson,  on  whom  you  have  this  morning  laid  un- 
lawful hands  ;  let  him  pay  a  moderate  sum  for  his  ransom,  and 
we,  who  are  bound  instantly  to  the  Duke's  presence,  will  bear 
a  fair  report  to  him  of  his  Governor  of  La  Ferette." 

"  You  will  be  so  generous,  will  you  !  "  said  Sir_Archibald,  in 
atone  of  ridicule.  *'And  what  pledge  shall  I  have  that  you 
will  favor  me  so  kindly  as  you  propose  ?" 

"  The  word  of  a  man  who  never  broke  his  promise,"  answered 
the  stoical  Landamman. 

Insolent  hind  !  "  replied  the  Knight,  "  dost  thou  stipulate  ? 
thou  offer  thy  paltry  word  as  a  pledge  betwixt  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  and  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  t  Know  that  ye  go 
not  to  Burgundy  at  all,  or  you  go  thither  with  fetters  on  your 
hands  and  halters  round  your  necks. — So  ho,  Burgundy  to  the 
Rescue  ! " 

Instantly,  as  he  spoke,  the  soldiers  showed  themselves  before, 
behind,  and  around  the  narrow  space  where  the  Swiss  had 
drawn  themselves  up.  The  battlements  of  the  town  were  lined 
with  men,  others  presented  themselves  at  the  doors  of  each 


i8o 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


house  in  the  street,  prepared  to  sally,  and,  at  the  windows, 
prepared  to  shoot,  as  well  with  guns  as  with  bows  and  crossbows. 
The  soldiers  who  defended  the  barricade  also  started  up,  and 
seemed  ready  to  dispute  the  passage  in  front.  The  little  band, 
encompassed  and  over-matched,  but  neither  startled  nor  dis- 
heartened, stood  to  their  arms.  The  centre  rank  under  the 
Landamman  prepared  to  force  their  way  over  the  barricade. 
The  two  fronts  stood  back  to  back,  ready  to  dispute  the  street 
with  those  that  should  issue  from  the  houses.  It  could  not  fail 
to  prove  a  work  of  no  small  blood  and  toil  to  subdue  this 
handful  of  determined  men,  even  with  five  times  their  number. 
Some  sense  of  this,  perhaps,  made  Sir  Archibald  delay  giving 
the  signal  for  onset,  when  suddenly  behind  arose  a  cry  of 
"  Treason,  treason  ! 

A  soldier  covered  with  mud  rushed  before  the  Governor, 
and  said,  in  hurried  accents,  that,  as  he  endeavored  to  stop  a 
prisoner  who  had  made  his  escape  some  short  time  since,  he 
had  been  seized  by  the*  burghers  of  the  town,  and  well-nigh 
drowned  in  the  moat.  He  added,  that  the  citizens  weie  even 
now  admitting  the  enemy  into  the  place. 

^'Kilian,'^  said  the  Knight,  "take  two  score  of  men — hasten 
to  the  northern  sallyport ;  stab,  cut  down,  or  throw  from  the 
battlements,  whomsoever  you  meet  in  arms,  townsmen  or 
strangers.  Leave  me  to  settle  with  these  peasants  by  fair  means 
or  foul.^^ 

But  ere  Kilian  could  obey  his  master's  commands,  a  shout 
arose  in  the  rear,  where  they  cried,  Bale !  Bale  ! — Freedom  1 
freedom  ! — The  day  is  our  own  !  " 

Onward  came  the  youth  of  Bale,  who  had  not  been  at  such 
a  distance  but  that  Rudolph  had  contrived  to  recall  them — 
onward  came  many  Swiss  who  had  hovered  around  the  embassy, 
holding  themselves  in  readiness  for  such  a  piece  of  service  ; 
and  onward  came  the  armed  citizens  of  La  Ferette,  who,  com- 
pelled to  take  arms  and  mount  guard  by  the  tyranny  of  De 
Hagenbach,  had  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  admit 
the  Balese,  at  the  sallyport  through  which  Philipson  had  lately 
made  his  escape. 

The  garrison,  somewhat  discouraged  before  by  the  firm  aspect 
of  the  Swiss  who  had  held  their  numbers  at  defiance,  were 
totally  disconcerted  by  this  new  and  unexpected  insurrection. 
Most  of  them  prepared  rather  to  fly  than  to  fight,  and  they 
threw  themselves  in  numbers  from  the  walls,  as  the  best  chance 
of  escaping.  Kilian  and  some  others,  whom  pride  prevented 
from  flying,  and  despair  from  asking  quarter,  fought  with  fury, 
and  were  killed  on  the  spot.    In  the  midst  of  this  confusion 


AK^NE  OF  GElERSTEm. 


the  Landamman  kept  his  own  bands  unmoved,  permitting  them 
to  take  no  share  in  the  action,  save  to  repel  such  violence  as 
was  offered  to  them. 

Stand  fast  all !  "  sounded  the  deep  voice  of  Arnold  Bieder- 
man  along  their  little  body.  "  Where  is  Rudolph  t — Save  lives, 
but  take  none. — Why,  how  now,  Arthur  Philipson  !  stand  fast, 
I  say." 

I  cannot  stand  fast,"  said  Arthur,  who  was  in  the  act  of 
leaving  the  ranks.  I  must  seek  my  farther  in  the  dungeons  ; 
they  may  be  slaying  him  in  this  confusion  while  I  stand  idle 
here." 

By  our  Lady  of  Einsiedlen,  you  say  well,"  answered  the 
Landamman  ;  that  I  should  have  forgot  my  noble  guest !  I 
will  help  thee  to  search  for  him,  Arthur — the  affray  seems  well- 
nigh  ended. — Ho,  there.  Sir  Banneret,  worthy  Adam  Zimmer- 
man, my  good  friend  Nicholas  Bonstetten,  keep  our  men  standing 
firm. — Have  nothing  to  do  with  this  affray,  but  leave  the  men 
of  Bale  to  answer  their  own  deeds.    I  return  in  a  few  minutes." 

So  saying,  he  hurried  after  Arthur  Philipson,  whose  recollec- 
tion conducted  him,  with  sufficient  accuracy,  to  the  head  of  the 
dungeon  stairs.  There  they  met  an  ill-looking  man  clad  in  a 
buff  jerkin,  who  bore  at  his  girdle  a  bunch  of  rusted  keys,  which 
intimated  the  nature  of  his  calling. 

"  Show  me  the  prison  of  the  English  merchant,  "  said  Arthur 
Philipson,  "or  thou  diest  by  my  hand  !  " 

Which  of  them  desire  you  to  see  ?  "  answered  the  official : — 
"  the  old  man,  or  the  young  one  ?  " 

"  The  old,"  said  young  Philipson.  "  His  son  has  escaped 
thee." 

"  Enter  here  then,  gentlemen,"  said  the  jailer,  undoing  the 
spring-bolt  of  a  heavy  door. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  apartment  lay  the  man  they  came  to 
seek  for,  who  was  instantly  raised  from  the  ground,  and  loaded 
with  their  embraces. 

"  My  dear  father  !  " — My  worthy  guest !  "  said  his  son  and 
friend  at  the  same  moment,  "  how  fares  it  with  you  t " 

"  Well,"  answered  the  elder  Philipson,  "  if  you,  my  friend, 
and  son,  come,  as  I  judge  from  your  arms  and  countenance,  as 
conquerors,  and  at  liberty — ill,  if  you  come  to  share  my  prison- 
house." 

"  Have  no  fear  of  that,"  said  the  Landamman  ;  "  we  have 
been  in  danger,  but  are  remarkably  delivered. — Your  evil  lair 
has  benumbed  you.  Lean  on  me,  my  noble  guest,  and  let  me 
assist  you  to  better  quarters." 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  a  heavy  clash,  as  it  seemed,  oi 


l82 


AM^E  6P  OEIERSTEm. 


iron,  and  differing  from  the  distant  roar  of  the  popular  tumult, 
which  they  still  heard  from  the  open  street,  as  men  hear  the 

deep  voice  of  a  remote  and  tempestuous  ocean. 

By  Saint  Peter  of  the  fetters  ! said  Arthur,  who  instantly 
discovered  the  cause  of  the  sound,  the  jailer  has  cast  the 
door  to  the  staple,  or  it  has  escaped  his  grasp.  The  spring- 
lock  has  closed  upon  us,  and  we  cannot  be  liberated  saving 
from  the  outside. — Ho,  jailer  dog  !  villain  !  open  the  door,  oi 
thou  diest !  " 

He  is  probably  out  of  hearing  of  your  threats,"  said  the 
elder  Philipson,  and  your  cries  avail  you  nothing.  But  are 
you  sure  the  Swiss  are  in  possession  of  the  town  ?  " 

^'  We  are  peaceful  occupants  of  it,''  answered  the  Landam- 
man,  "though  without  a  blow  given  on  our  side." 

"Why  then,"  said  the  Englishman,  "your  followers  will 
soon  find  you  out.  Arthur  and  I  are  paltry  ciphers,  and  our 
absence  might  easily  pass  over  unobserved ;  but  you  are  too 
important  a  figure  not  to  be  missed  and  looked  after,  when  the 
sum  of  your  number  is  taken." 

"  I  well  hope  it  will  prove  so,"  said  the  Landamman, 
"  though  methinks  I  show  but  scurvily,  shut  up  here  like  a  cat 
in  a  cupboard,  when  he  has  been  stealing  cream — Arthur,  my 
brave  boy,  dost  thou  see  no  means  of  shooting  back  the  bolt  ?  " 

Arthur,  who  had  been  minutely  examining  the  lock,  replied 
in  the  negative  ;  and  added,  that  they  must  take  patience 
perforce,  and  arm  themselves  to  wait  calmly  their  deliverance, 
which  they  could  do  nothing  to  accelerate. 

Arnold  Beiderman,  however,  felt  somewhat  severely  the 
neglect  of  his  sons  and  companions. 

"  All  my  youths,  uncertain  whether  I  am  alive  or  dead,  are 
taking  the  opportunity  of  my  absence,  doubtless,  for  pillage  and 
license — and  the  politic  Rudolph,  I  presume,  cares  not  if  I 
should  never  reappear  on  the  stage — the  Banneret,  and  the 
white-bearded  fool  Bonstetten,  who  calls  me  his  friend — every 
neighbor  has  deserted  me — and  yet  they  know  that  I  am 
anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  most  insignificant  of  them  all,  as 
dearer  to  me  than  my  own.  By  heaven  !  it  looks  like  strata- 
gem ;  and  shows  as  if  the  rash  young  men  desired  to  get  rid  of 
a  rule  too  regular  and  peaceful  to  be  pleasing  to  those  who  are 
eager  for  war  and  conquest." 

The  Landamman,  fretted  out  of  his  usual  serenity  of  temper, 
and  afraid  of  the  misbehavior  of  his  countrymen  in  his  absence, 
thus  reHected  upon  his  friends  and  companions,  while  the 
distant  noise  soon  died  away  into  the  most  absolute  and  total 
silence. 


AI^NE  OF  GEIERSTEIN'. 


"What  is  to  do  now  said  Arthur  Philipson.  "  I  trust 
they  will  take  the  opportunity  of  quiet  to  go  through  the  roll- 
call,  and  inquire  then  who  are  amissing/' 

It  seemed  as  if  the  young  man's  wish  had  some  efficacy,  for 
he  had  scarce  uttered  it  before  the  lock  was  turned,  and  the 
door  set  ajar  by  some  one  who  escaped  upstairs  from  behind  it, 
before  those  who  were  set  at  liberty  could  obtain  a  glance  of 
their  deliverer. 

"  It  is  the  jailer,  doubtless,^'  said  the  Landamman,  "  who 
may  be  apprehensive,  as  he  has  some  reason,  that  we  might 
prove  more  incensed  at  our  detention  in  the  dungeon,  than 
grateful  for  our  deliverance.'^ 

As  they  spoke  thus,  they  ascended  the  narrow  stairs,  and 
issued  from  the  door  of  the  Gate-house  tower,  where  a  singular 
spectacle  awaited  them.  The  Swiss  Deputies,  and  their  escort, 
still  remained  standing  fast  and  firm  on  the  very  spot  where 
Hagenbach  had  proposed  to  assail  them.  A  few  of  the  late 
Governor's  soldiers,  disarmed,  and  cowering  from  the  rage  of  a 
multitude  of  the  citizens,  who  now  filled  the  streets,  stood  with 
downcast  looks  behind  the  phalanx  of  the  mountaineers,  as 
their  safest  place  of  retreat.    But  this  was  not  all. 

The  cars,  so  lately  placed  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the 
street,  were  now  joined  together,  and  served  to  support  a  plat- 
form, or  scaffold,  which  had  been  hastily  constructed  of  planks. 
On  this  was  placed  a  chair,  in  which  sat  a  tall  man  with  his 
head,  neck,  and  shoulders  bare,  the  rest  of  his  body  clothed  in 
bright  armor.  His  countenance  was  as  pale  as  death,  yet  young 
Philipson  recognized  the  hard-hearted  Governor,  Sir  Archibald 
de  Hagenbach.  He  appeared  to  be  bound  to  the  chair.  On 
his  right,  and  close  beside  him,  stood  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's, 
muttering  prayers,  with  his  breviary  in  his  hand  ;  while,  on  his 
left,  and  somewhat  behind  the  captive,  appeared  a  tall  man, 
attired  in  red,  and  leaning  with  both  hands  on  the  naked  sword, 
which  has  been  described  on  a  former  occasion.  The  instant  that 
Arnold  Biederman  appeared,  and  before  the  Landamman  could 
open  his  lips  to  demand  the  meaning  of  what  he  saw,  the  priest 
drew  back,  the  executioner  stepped  forward  the  sword  was  brand 
ished,  the  blow  was  struck,  and  the  victim's  head  rolled  on  the 
scaffold.  A  general  acclamation  and  clapping  of  hands,  like  that 
by  which  a  crowded  theatre  approves  of  some  well-graced  per- 
former, followed  this  feat  of  dexterit)^  While  the  headless 
corpse  shot  streams  from  the  arteries,  which  were  drunk 
up  by  the  sawdust  that  strewed  the  scaffold,  the  executioner 
gracefully  presented  himself  alternately  at  the  four  corners  of  the 


184 


ANNB  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


stage,  modestly  bowing,  as  the  multitude  him  greeted  with  cheers 
of  approbation. 

"  Nobles,  knights,  gentlemen  of  freeborn  blood,  and  good 
citizens,'*  he  said, who  have  assisted  at  this  act  of  high  justice, 
I  pray  you  to  bear  me  witness  that  this  judgment  hath  been 
executed  after  the  form  of  the  sentence,  at  one  blow,  and  with- 
out stroke  missed  or  repeated." 
'    The  acclamations  were  reiterated. 

"  Long  live  our  Scharfgerichter  Steinernherz,  and  many  a 
tyrant  may  he  do  his  duty  on  ! 

"  Noble  friends,'^  said  the  executioner,  with  the  deepest  obei- 
sance, "  I  have  yet  another  word  to  say,  and  it  must  be  a  proud 
one. — God  be  gracious  to  the  soul  of  this  good  and  noble  knight, 
Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach.  He  was  the  patron  of  my  youth, 
and  my  guide  to  the  path  of  honor.  Eight  steps  have  I  made 
toward  freedom  and  nobility  on  the  heads  of  freely  born 
knights  and  nobles,  who  have  fallen  by  his  authority  and 
command  ;  and  the  ninth,  by  which  I  have  attained  it,  is  upon 
his  own,  in  grateful  memory  of  which  I  will  expend  this  purse 
of  gold,  which  but  an  hour  since  he  bestowed  on  me,  in  masses 
for  his  soul.  Gentlemen,  noble  friends,  and  now  my  equals,  La 
Ferette  has  lost  a  nobleman,  and  gained  one.  Our  Lady  be 
gracious  to  the  departed  knight.  Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach, 
and  bless  and  prosper  the  progress  of  Stephen  Steinernherz 
von  Blut-sacker,  now  free  and  noble  of  right !  "  ^ 

With  that  he  took  the  feather  out  of  the  cap  of  the  deceased, 
which,  soiled  with  the  blood  of  the  wearer,  lay  near  his  body 
upon  the  scaffold,  and,  putting  it  into  his  own  official  bonnet, 
received  the  homage  of  the  crowd  in  loud  huzzas,  which  were 
partly  in  earnest,  partly  in  ridicule  of  such  an  unusual  trans- 
formation. 

Arnold  Biederman  at  length  found  breath,  which  the  ex- 
tremity of  surprise  had  at  first  denied  him.  Indeed,  the  whole 
execution  had  passed  much  too  rapidly  for  the  possibility  of  his 
interference. 

"  Who  has  dared  to  act  this  tragedy  t  "  he  said  indignantly  ; 
"  and  by  what  right  has  it  taken  place  ?  " 

A  cavalier,  richly  dressed  in  blue,  replied  to  the  question — • 
"The  free  citizens  of  Bale  have  acted  for  themselves,  as  the 
fathers  of  Swiss  liberty  set  them  an  example  ;  and  the  tyrant, 
De  Hagenbach,  has  fallen  by  the  same  right  which  put  to  death 
the  tyrant  Geysler.  We  bore  with  him  till  his  cup  was  brim- 
ming over,  and  then  we  bore  no  longer." 


*  Note  C.    Public  exccutigncr. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


"  I  said  not  but  that  he  deserved  death,'^  replied  the  Landam- 
man  ; "  but  for  your  own  sake  and  for  ours,  you  should  have 
forborne  him  till  the  Duke's  pleasure  was  known." 

"  What  tell  you  us  of  the  Duke  ?  "  answered  Laurenz  Neip- 
perg,  the  same  blue  cavalier  whom  Arthur  had  seen  at  the 
secret  rendezvous  of  the  Balese  youth,  in  company  with 
Rudolph, — "  Why  talk  you  of  Burgundy  to  us,  who  are  none 
of  his  subjects  ?  The  Emperor,  our  only  rightful  lord,  had  no 
title  to  pawn  the  town  and  fortifications  of  La  Ferette,  being 
as  it  is  a  dependency  of  Bale,  to  the  prejudice  of  our  free  ciiy 
He  might  have  pledged  the  revenue  indeed  ;  and  supposing 
him  to  have  done  so  the  debt  has  been  paid  twice  over  by 
the  exactions  levied  by  yonder  oppressor,  who  has  now  received 
his  due.  But  pass  on,  Landamman  of  Unterwalden.  If  our 
actions  displease  you,  abjure  them  at  the  footstool  of  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy  ;  but,  in  doing  so,  abjure  the  memory  of  William 
Tell  and  Stauffacher,  of  Furst  and  Melchtal,  the  fathers  of 
Swiss  freedom.'^ 

"You  speak  truth,  "  said  the  Landamman  ;  "but  it  is  in  an 
ill-chosen  and  unhappy  time.  Patience  would  have  remedied 
your  evils,  which  none  felt  more  deeply,  or  would  have  re 
dressed  more  willingly,  than  L  But  oh,  imprudent  young  man 
you  have  thrown  aside  the  modesty  of  your  age,  and  the  sub- 
jecrion  you  owe  to  your  elders.  William  Tell  and  his  brethren 
were  men  of  years  and  judgment,  husbands  and  fathers,  having 
a  right  to  be  heard  in  council,  and  to  be  foremost  in  action. 
Enough — I  leave  it  wdth  the  fathers  and  senators  of  your  own 
city,  to  acknowledge  or  to  reprove  your  actions. — But  you,  my 
friends — you,  Banneret  of  Berne — you,  Rudolph — above  all, 
you,  Nicholas  Bonstetten,  my  comrade  and  my  friend,  why  did 
you  not  take  this  miserable  man  under  your  protection  ?  The 
action  would  have  shown  Burgundy  that  we  were  slandered 
by  those  who  have  declared  us  desirous  of  seeking  a  quarrel 
with  him,  or  of  inciting  his  subjects  to  revolt.  Now,  all  these 
prejudices  will  be  confirmed  in  the  minds  of  men  naturally 
more  tenacious  of  evil  impressions  than  of  those  which  are 
favorable." 

"As  I  live  by  bread,  good  gossip  and  neighbor,  "  answered 
Nicholas  Bonstetten,  "I  thought  to  obey  your  injunctions  to  a 
tittle  ;  so  much  so,  that  I  once  thought  of  breaking  in  and  pro- 
tecting the  man,  when  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  reminded  me  that 
your  last  orders  were,  to  stand  firm,  and  let  the  men  of  Bale 
answer  for  their  own  actions ;  and  surely,  said  I  to  myself,  my 
gossip  Arnold  knows  better  than  all  of  us  what  is  fitting  to  be 
done." 


i86 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Ah,  Rudolph,  Rudolph,'*  said  the  Landamman,  looking  on 
him  with  a  displeased  countenance,  "  wert  thou  not  ashamed 
thus  to  deceive  an  old  man  ? 

To  say  I  deceived  him  is  a  hard  charge  ;  but  from  you, 
Landamman,"  answered  the  Bernese,  with  his  usual  deference, 
"  I  can  bear  anything.  I  will  only  say,,  that,  being  a  member 
of  this  embassy,  I  am  obliged  to  think,  and  to  give  my  opinion 
as  such,  especially  when  he  is  not  present  who  is  wise  enough  to 
lead  and  direct  us  all/' 

"  Thy  words  are  always  fair,  Rudolph,"  replied  Arnold  Bieder- 
man,  "  and  I  trust  so  is  thy  meaning.  Yet  there  are  times 
when  I  somewhat  doubt  it. — But  let  disputes  pass,  and  let  me 
have  your  advice,  my  friends  ;  and  for  that  purpose  go  we  where 
it  may  best  profit  us,  even  to  the  Church,  where  we  will  first 
return  our  thanks  for  our  deliverance  from  assassination,  and  then 
hold  counsel  what  next  is  to  be  done.  " 

The  Landamman  led  the  way,  accordingly,  to  the  church  of 
St.  Paul's,  while  his  companions  and  associates  followed  in  their 
order.  This  gave  Rudolph,  who,  as  youngest,  suffered  the  others 
to  precede  him,  an  opportunity  to  beckon  to  him  the  Landam- 
man's  eldest  son,  Rudiger,  and  whispered  to  him  to  get  rid  of  the 
two  English  merchants. 

Away  with  them,  my  dear  Rudiger,  by  fair  means,  if  pos- 
sible ;  but  away  with  them  directly.  Thy  father  is  besotted  with 
these  two  English  pedlers,  and  will  listen  to  no  other  counsel  ; 
and  thou  and  I  know,  dearest  Rudiger,  that  such  men  as  these 
are  unfit  to  give  laws  to  free-born  Switzers.  Get  the  trumpery 
they  have  been  robbed  of,  or  as  much  of  it  as  is  extant,  together 
as  fast  as  thou  canst,  and  send  them  a-traveling  in  Heaven's 
name." 

Rudiger  nodded  intelligently,  and  went  to  offer  his  services  to 
expedite  the  departure  of  the  elder  Philipson.  He  found  the 
sagacious  merchant  as  desirous  to  escape  from  the  scene  of  con- 
fusion now  presented  in  the  town,  as  the  young  Swiss  could  be 
to  urge  his  departure.  He  only  waited  to  recover  the  casket  of 
which  De  Hagenbach  had  possessed  himself,  and  Rudiger  Bied- 
erman  set  on  foot  a  strict  search  after  it,  which  was  the  more 
likely  to  be  successful,  that  the  simplicity  of  the  Swiss  prevented 
them  from  setting  the  true  value  upon  its  contents.  A  strict 
and  hasty  search  was  immediately  instituted,  both  on  the  person 
of  the  dead  De  Hagenbach,  on  which  the  precious  packet  was 
not  to  be  found,  and  on  all  who  had  approached  him  at  his  exe- 
cution, or  were  supposed  to  enjoy  his  confidence. 

Young  Arthur  Philipson  would  gladly  have  availed  himself 
of  a  few  moments  to  bid  farewell  to  Anne  of  Geierstein.  But 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


187 


the  grey  wimple  was  no  longer  seen  in  the  ranks  of  the  Switzers, 
and  it  was  reasonable  to  think,  that,  in  the  confusion  which 
followed  the  execution  of  De  Hagenbach,  and  the  retreat  of  the 
leaders  of  the  little  battalion,  she  had  made  her  escape  into 
some  of  the  adjacent  houses,  while  the  soldiers  around  her,  no 
longer  restrained  by  the  presence  of  their  chiefs,  had  dispersed, 
some  to  search  for  the  goods  of  which  the  Englishmen  had  been 
despoiled,  others  doubtless  to  mingle  with  and  join  in  the  re- 
joicings of  the  victorious  youth  of  Bale,  and  of  those  burghers 
of  La  Ferette  by  whom  the  fortifications  of  the  town  had  been 
so  gently  surrendered. 

The  cry  amongst  them  was  universal,  that  Breisach,  so  long 
considered  as  the  curb  of  the  Swiss  confederates,  and  the  bar- 
rier against  their  commerce,  should  henceforth  be  garrisoned, 
as  their  protection  against  the  encroachments  and  exactions  of 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  his  officers.  The  whole  town  was 
in  a  wild  but  joyful  jubilee,  while  the  citizens  vied  with  each 
other  in  offering  to  the  Swiss  every  species  of  refreshment,  and 
the  youths  who  attended  upon  the  mission  hurried  gayly,  and  in 
triumph,  to  profit  by  the  circumstances,  which  had  so  unexpect- 
edly converted  the  ambuscade  so  treacherously  laid  for  them, 
into  a  genial  and  joyous  reception. 

Amid  this  scene  of  confusion,  it  was  impossible  for  Arthur 
to  quit  his  father,  even  to  satisfy  the  feelings  which  induced 
him  to  wish  for  a  few  moments  at  his  own  disposal.  Sad, 
thoughtful,  and  sorrowful,  amid  the  general  joy,  he  remained 
with  the  parent  whom  he  had  so  much  reason  to  love  and 
honor,  to  assist  him  in  securing  and  placing  on  their  mule  the 
various  packages  and  bales  which  the  honest  Switzers  had  re- 
covered after  the  death  of  De  Hagenbach,  and  which  they 
emulated  each  other  in  bringing  to  their  rightful  owner  ;  while 
they  were  with  difficulty  prevailed  on  to  accept  the  guerdon 
which  the  Englishman,  from  the  means  which  he  had  still  left 
upon  his  person,  was  disposed  not  merely  to  offer,  but  to  force 
upon  the  restorers  of  his  property,  and  which,  in  their  rude  and 
simple  ideas,  seemed  greatly  to  exceed  the  value  of  what  they 
had  recovered  for  him. 

This  scene  had  scarcely  lasted  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  when 
Rudolph  Donnerhugel  approached  the  elder  Philipson,  and  in 
a  tone  of  great  courtesy  invited  him  to  join  the  council  of  the 
Chiefs  of  the  Embassy  of  the  Swiss  Cantons,  who,  he  said,  were 
desirous  of  having  the  advantage  of  his  experience  upon  some 
important  questions  respecting  their  conduct  on  these  unexpect- 
ed occurrences. 

See  to  our  affairs,  Arthur,  and  stir  not  from  the  spot 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


on  which  I  leave  you,"  said  Philipson  to  his  son*  "  Look  espe- 
cially after  the  sealed  packet  of  which  I  was  so  infamously  and 
illegally  robbed ;  its  recovery  is  of  the  utmost  consequence." 

So  speaking,  he  instantly  prepared  himself  to  attend  the 
Bernese,  who,  in  confidential  manner,  whispered,  as  he  went 
arm-and-arm  with  him  toward  the  Church  of  St.  Paulas — 

"  I  think  a  man  of  your  wisdom  will  scarce  advise  us  to  trust 
ourselves  to  the  mood  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  when  he  has 
received  such  an  injury  as  the  loss  of  this  fortress,  and  the 
execution  of  his  officer.  You,  at  least,  would  be  too  judicious 
to  afford  us  any  further  the  advantage  of  your  company  and 
society,  since  to  do  so  would  be  wilfully  to  engage  in  our  ship- 
wreck." 

"  I  will  give  my  best  advice,"  answered  Philipson,  when  I 
shall  be  more  particularly  acquainted  with  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  is  asked  of  me." 

Rudolph  muttered  an  oath,  or  angry  exclamation,  and  led 
Philipson  to  the  church  without  further  argument. 

In  a  small  chapel  adjoining  to  the  church,  and  dedicated  to 
St.  Magnus  the  Martyr,  the  four  deputies  w^ere  assembled  in 
close  conclave  around  the  shrine  in  which  the  sainted  hero  stood, 
armed  as  when  he  lived.  The  Priest  of  St.  Paul's  was  also 
present,  and  seemed  to  interest  himself  deeply  in  the  debate 
which  was  taking  place.  When  Philipson  entered,  all  were  for 
a  moment  silent,  until  the  Landamman  addressed  him  thus  : — 
"  Seignor  Philipson,  we  esteem  you  a  man  far  traveled,  well 
versed  in  the  manners  of  foreign  lands,  and  acquainted  with 
the  conditions  of  this  Duke  Charles  of  Burgundy  ;  you  are  there- 
fore fit  to  advise  us  in  a  matter  of  great  weight.  You  know 
with  what  anxiety  we  go  on  this  mission  for  peace  with  the 
Duke  ;  you  also  know  what  has  this  day  happened,  which  may 
probably  be  represented  to  Charles  in  the  worst  colors ; — 
would  you  advise  us,  in  such  a  case,  to  proceed  to  the  Duke's 
presence,  with  the  odium  of  this  action  attached  to  ws ;  or 
should  we  do  better  to  return  home,  and  prepare  for  war  with 
Burgundy  ? " 

"  How  do  your  own  opinions  stand  on  the  subject  ?  "  said 
the  cautious  Englishman. 

We  are  divided,"  answered  the  Banneret  of  Berne. — "  1 
have  borne  the  banner  of  Berne  against  her  foes  for  thirty  years  ; 
I  am  more  willing  to  carry  it  against  the  lances  of  the  knights 
of  Hainault  and  Lorraine,  than  to  undergo  the  rude  treatment 
which  we  must  look  to  meet  at  the  footstool  of  the  Duke." 

"  We  put  our  heads  in  the  lion's  mouth  if  we  go  forward/' 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


189 


said  Zimmerman  of  Soleure  : — "  my  opinion  is,  that  we  draw 
back." 

"  I  would  not  advise  retreat/'  said  Rudolph  Donnerhugel, 
**  were  my  life  alone  concerned :  but  the  Landamman  of  Unter- 
walden  is  the  father  of  the  United  Cantons,  and  it  would  be 
parricide  if  I  consented  to  put  his  life  in  peril.  My  advice  is, 
that  we  return,  and  that  the  Confederacy  stand  on  their 
defence." 

"  My  opinion  is  different,"  said  Arnold  Biederman ;  "  nor 
will  I  forgive  any  man,  who,  whether  in  sincere  or  feigned 
friendship,  places  my  poor  life  in  the  scale  with  the  advantage 
of  the  Cantons.  If  we  go  forward,  we  risk  our  heads — be  it 
so.  But  if  we  turn  back  we  involve  our  country  in  war  with  a 
power  of  the  first  magnitude  in  Europe.  Worthy  citizens !  you 
are  brave  in  fight, — show  your  fortitude  as  boldly  now  ;  and 
let  us  not  hesitate  to  incur  such  personal  danger  as  may  attend 
ourselves,  if  by  doing  so  we  can  gain  a  chance  of  peace  for  our 
country." 

"  I  think  and  vote  with  my  neighbor  and  gossip,  Arnold 
Beiderman,"  said  the  laconic  deputy  from  Schwytz. 

You  hear  how  we  are  divided  in  opinion,"  said  the  Lan- 
damman to  Philipson  ;  "  What  is  your  opinion  ?  " 

"  I  would  first  ask  of  you,"  said  the  Englishman,  what  has 
been  your  part  in  the  storming  of  a  town  occupied  by  the 
Duke's  forces,  and  putting  to  death  his  Governor?" 

So  help  me,  Heaven  !  "  said  the  Landamman,  "  as  I  knew 
not  of  any  purpose  of  storming  the  town  until  it  unexpectedly 
took  place." 

"And  for  the  execution  of  De  Hagenbach,"  said  the  Black 
Priest,  "  I  swear  to  you,  stranger,  by  my  holy  order,  that  it  took 
place  under  the  direction  of  a  competent  court,  whose  sentence 
Charles  of  Burgundy  himself  is  bound  to  respect,  and  whose 
proceedings  the  Deputies  of  the  Swiss  mission  could  neither 
have  advanced  nor  retarded." 

If  such  be  the  case,  and  if  you  can  really  prove  yourselves 
free  of  these  proceedings,"  answered  Philipson,  "  which  must 
needs  be  highly  resented  by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  I  would 
advise  you  by  all  means  to  proceed  upon  your  journey ;  with 
the  certainty  that  you  will  obtain  from  that  prince  a  just  and 
impartial  hearing,  and  it  may  be  a  favorable  answer.  I  know 
Charles  of  Burgundy  ;  I  may  even  say  that,  our  different  ranks 
and  walks  of  life  considered,  I  know  him  well.  He  will  be 
deeply  incensed  by  the  first  tidings  of  what  has  here  chanced, 
which  he  will  no  doubt  Interpret  to  your  disfavor.  But  if,  in 
the  course  of  investigation,  you  are  able  to  clear  yourselves  of 


tgo 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


these  foul  imputations,  a  sense  of  his  own  injustice  may  per- 
haps turn  the  balance  in  your  favor  ;  and  in  that  case,  he  will 
rush  from  the  excess  of  censure  into  that  of  indulgence.  But 
your  cause  must  be  firmly  stated  to  the  Duke,  by  some  tongue 
better  acquainted  wdth  the  language  of  courts  than  yours ;  and 
such  a  friendly  interpreter  might  I  have  proved  to  you,  had  I 
not  been  plundered  of  the  valuable  packet  which  I  bore  with 
me  in  order  to  present  to  the  Duke,  and  in  testimony  of  my 
commission  to  him." 

"  A  paltry  fetch,''  whispered  Donnerhugel  to  the  Banneret, 
"  that  the  trader  may  obtain  from  us  satisfaction  for  the  goods 
of  which  he  has  been  plundered." 

The  Landamman  himself  was  perhaps  for  a  moment  of  the 
same  opinion. 

"  Merchant,"  he  said,  we  hold  ourselves  bound  to  make 
good  to  you, — that  is,  if  our  substance  can  effect  it, — whatever 
loss  you  may  have  sustained,  trusting  to  our  protection." 

"Ay,  that  we  will,"  said  the  old  man  of  Schwytz,  should 
it  cost  us  twenty  zechins  to  make  it  good." 

"  To  your  guarantee  of  immunity  I  can  have  no  claim,*' 
said  Philipson,  "  seeing  I  parted  company  with  you  before  I 
sustained  any  loss.  And  I  regret  the  loss,  not  so  much  for  its 
value,  although  that  is  greater  than  you  may  fancy ;  but  chiefly 
because,  that  the  contents  of  the  casket  I  bore  being  a  token 
betwixt  a  person  of  considerable  importance  and  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  I  shall  not,  I  fear,  now  that  I  am  deprived  of  them, 
receive  from  his  grace  that  credence  which  I  desire,  both  for 
my  own  sake  and  yours.  Without  them,  and  speaking  only  in 
the  person  of  a  private  traveler,  I  may  not  take  upon  me  as  I 
might  have  done,  when  using  the  names  of  the  persons  whose 
mandates  1  carried." 

"This  important  packet,"  said  the  Landamman,  "shall  be 
most  rigorously  sought  for,  and  carefully  re-delivered  to  thee. 
For  ourselves,  not  a  Swiss  of  us  knows  the  value  of  its  con- 
tents ;  so  that,  if  they  are  in  the  hands  of  any  of  our  men,  they 
will  be  returned  of  course  as  baubles,  upon  which  they  set  no 
value."  ^ 

As  he  spoke,  there  was  a  knocking  at  the  door  of  the 
chapel.  Rudolph,  who  stood  nearest  to  it,  having  held  some 
communication  with  those  without,  observed  with  a  smile, 
which  he  instantly  repressed,  lest  it  had  given  offence  to  Ar- 
nold Biederman, — "  It  is  Sigismund,  the  good  youth — Shall  I 
admit  him  to  our  council  ?  " — 

"  To  what  purpose,  poor  simple  lad  t  "  said  his  father,  with  a 
sorrowful  smile. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  Yet  let  me  undo  the  door,"  said  Philipson  ;  "  he  is  anxious 
to  ^nter,  and  perhaps  he  brings  news.  I  have  observed,  Lan- 
darnman,  that  the  young  man,  though  with  slowness  of  ideas 
and  expression,  is  strong  in  his  principles,  and  sometimes 
happy  in  his  conceptions." 

He  admitted  Sigismund  accordingly ;  while  Arnold  Bieder- 
nian  felt,  on  the  one  hand,  the  soothing  compliment  which 
Philipson  had  paid  to  a  boy,  certainly  the  dullest  of  his  family, 
and,  on  the  other,  feared  some  public  display  of  his  son's  in- 
firmity, or  lack  of  understanding.  Sigismund,  however,  seemed 
all  confidence  ;  and  he  certainly  had  reason  to  be  so,  since,  as 
the  shortest  mode  of  explanation,  he  presented  to  Philipson 
the  necklace  of  diamonds,  with  the  casket  in  which  it  had  been 
deposited. 

"  This  pretty  thing  is  yours,''  he  said.  "  I  understand  so 
much  from  your  son  Arthur,  who  tells  me  you  would  be  glad  to 
have  it  again." 

Most  cordially  do  I  thank  you,"  said  the  merchant.  "The 
necklace  is  certainly  mine  ;  that  is,  the  packet  of  which  it 
formed  the  contents  was  under  my  charge  ;  and  it  is  at  this 
moment  of  greater  additional  value  to  me  than  even  its  actual 
worth,  since  it  serves  as  my  pledge  and  token  for  the  perform- 
ance of  an  important  mission. — And  how,  my  young  friend,"  he 
continued,  addressing  Sigismund,  "  have  you  been  so  fortunate 
as  to  recover  what  we  have  sought  for  hitherto  in  vain  t  Let 
me  return  my  best  acknowledgments  ;  and  do  not  think  me  over 
curious  if  I  ask  how  it  reached  you  ?  " 

For  that  matter,"  said  Sigismund,  "  the  story  is  soon  told. 
I  had  planted  myself  as  near  the  scaffold  as  I  could,  having 
never  beheld  an  execution  before  ;  and  I  observed  the  exe- 
cutioner, who  I  thought  did  his  duty  very  cleverly,  just  in  the 
moment  that  he  spread  a  cloth  over  the  body  of  De  Hagenbach, 
snatch  something  from  the  dead  man's  bosom,  and  huddle  it 
hastily  into  his  own  ;  so,  when  the  rumor  arose,  that  an  article 
of  value  was  amissing,  I  hurried  in  quest  of  the  fellow.  I  found 
he  had  bespoke  masses  to  the  extent  of  a  hundred  crowns  at  the 
high  altar  of  St.  Paul's  ;  and  I  traced  him  to  the  tavern  of  the 
village,  where  some  ill-looking  men  were  joyously  drinking  to 
him  as  a  free  citizen  and  a  nobleman.  So  I  stepped  in  amongst 
them  with  my  partisan,  and  demanded  of  his  lordship  either  to 
surrender  to  me  what  he  had  thus  possessed  himself  of,  or  to 
try  the  weight  of  the  weapon  I  carried.  His  lordship,  my  Lord 
Hangman,  hesitated,  and  was  about  to  make  a  brawl.  But  I 
was  something  peremptory,  and  so  he  judged  it  best  to  give 
me  the  parcel,  which  I  trust  you,  Seignor  Philipson,  will  find 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


safe  and  entire  as  it  was  taken  from  you.  And — and — I  left 
them  to  conclude  their  festivities — and  that  is  the  whole  of  the 
story." 

"  Thou  art  a  brave  lad,"  said  Philipson ;  "  and  with  a  heart 
always  right,  the  head  can  seldom  be  far  wrong.  But  the 
Church  shall  not  lose  its  dues  ;  and  I  take  it  on  myself,  ere  I 
leave  La  Ferette,  to  pay  for  the  masses  which  the  man  had 
ordered  for  the  safe  of  De  Hagenbach's  soul,  snatched  from 
the  world  so  unexpectedly." 

Sigismund  was  about  to  reply;  but  Philipson,  feared  he 
might  bring  out  some  foolery  to  diminish  the  sense  which  his 
father  had  so  joyously  entertained  of  his  late  conduct,  imme- 
diately added,  "  Hie  away,  my  good  youth,  and  give  to  my  son 
Arthur  this  precious  casket." 

With  simple  exultation  at  receiving  applause  to  which  he  was 
little  accustomed,  Sigismund  took  his  leave,  and  the  council 
were  once  more  left  to  their  own  privacy. 

There  was  a  moment's  silence  ;  for  the  Landamman  could 
not  overcome  the  feeling  of  exquisite  pleasure  at  the  sagacity 
which  poor  Sigismund^  whose  general  conduct  warranted  no  such 
expectations,  had  displayed  on  the  present  occasion.  It  was 
not,  however,  a  feeling  to  which  circumstances  permitted  him 
to  give  vent,  and  he  reserved  it  for  his  own  secret  enjoyment, 
as  a  solace  to  the  anxiety  which  he  had  hitherto  entertained 
concerning  the  limited  intellect  of  this  simple-minded  young 
man.  When  he  spoke,  it  was  to  Philipson,  with  the  usual 
candor  and  manliness  of  his  character. 

Seignor  Philipson,"  he  said,  "  we  will  hold  you  bound  by 
no  offer  which  you  made  while  these  glittering  matters  were 
out  of  your  possession ;  because  a  man  may  often  think,  that 
if  he  were  in  such  and  such  a  situation,  he  would  be  able  to 
achieve  certain  ends,  which,  that  position  being  attained,  he 
may  find  himself  unable  to  accomplish.  But  I  now  ask  you, 
whether,  having  thus  fortunately  and  unexpectedly  regained 
possession  of  what  you  say  will  give  you  certain  credence  with 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  you  conceive  yourself  entitled  to  me- 
diate with  him  on  our  behalf,  as  you  formerly  proposed  " 

All  bent  forward  to  hear  the  merchant's  answer. 
Landamman,"  he  replied,  "  I  never  spoke  the  word  in 
difficulty  which  I  was  not  ready  to  redeem  when  that  difficulty 
was  removed.  You  say,  and  I  believe,  that  you  had  no  concern 
with  this  storming  of  La  Ferette.  You  say  also,  that  the  life 
of  De  Hagenbach  was  taken  by  a  judicature  over  which  you 
had  no  control,  and  exercised  none — let  a  protocol  be  drawn 
up,  averring  these  circumstances,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  prov- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


ing  them.  Intrust  it  to  me, — under  seal  if  you  will, — and  if 
such  points  be  established,  I  will  pledge  my  word  as  a — as  a 
— as  an  honest  man  and  a  true-born  Englishman,  that  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  will  neither  detain  nor  offer  you  any  per- 
sonal injury.  I  also  hope  to  show  to  Charles  strong  and 
weighty  reasons  why  a  league  of  friendship  betwixt  Burgundy 
and  the  United  Cantons  of  Helvetia  is,  on  his  grace^s  part,  a 
wise  and  generous  measure.  But  it  is  possible  I  may  fail  in 
this  last  point ;  and  if  I  do,  I  shall  deeply  grieve  for  it.  In 
warranting  your  safe  passage  to  the  Duke's  court,  and  your 
safe  return  from  it  to  your  own  country,  I  think  I  cannot  fail. 
If  I  do,  my  own  life,  and  that  of  my  beloved  and  only  child, 
shall  pay  the  ransom  for  my  excess  of  confidence  in  the  Duke's 
justice  and  honor.'* 

The  other  deputies  stood  silent,  and  looked  on  the  Landam- 
man  ;  but  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  spoke. 

"Are  we  then  to  trust  our  own  lives,  and,  what  is  still 
dearer  to  us,  that  of  our  honored  associate,  Arnold  Biederman, 
on  the  simple  word  of  a  foreign  trader?  We  all  know  the 
temper  of  the  Duke,  and  how  vindictively  and  relentlessly  he 
has  ever  felt  toward  our  country  and  its  interests.  Methinks 
this  English  merchant  should  express  the  nature  of  his  interest 
at  the  court  of  Burgundy  more  plainly,  if  he  expects  us  to  place 
such  implicit  reliance  in  it." 

*'That,  Seignor  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,"  replied  the  mer- 
chant, "  I  find  myself  not  at  liberty  to  do.  I  pry  not  into  your 
secrets,  whether  they  belong  to  you  as  a  body  or  as  individuals. 
My  own  are  sacred.  If  I  consulted  my  own  safety  merely,  I 
should  act  most  wisely  to  part  company  with  you  here.  But 
the  object  of  your  mission  is  peace ;  and  your  sudden  return, 
after  what  has  chanced  at  La  Ferette,  will  make  war  inevitable. 
I  think  I  can  assure  you  of  a  safe  and  free  audience  from  the 
Duke,  and  I  am  willing,  for  the  chance  of  securing  the  peace 
of  Christendom,  to  encounter  any  personal  peril  which  may 
attach  to  myself." 

"  Say  no  more,  worthy  Philipson,"  said  the  Landamman ; 
"  thy  good  faith  is  undoubted  on  our  part,  and  ill  luck  is  his 
who  cannot  read  it  written  on  thy  manly  forehead.  We  go 
forward,  then,  prepared  to  risk  our  own  safety  at  the  hand  of  a 
despotic  prince,  rather  than  leave  undischarged  the  mission 
which  our  country  has  intrusted  us  with.  He  is  but  half  a 
brave  man  who  will  risk  his  life  only  in  the  field  of  battle. 
There  are  other  dangers,  to  front  which  is  equally  honorable  ; 
and  since  the  weal  of  Switzerland  demands  that  we  should  en- 
counter them,  not  one  of  us  will  hesitate  to  take  the  risk." 


194 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


The  other  members  of  the  mission  bowed  in  assent,  and  the 
conclave  broke  up  to  prepare  for  their  further  entrance  into 
Burgundy. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH. 

Upon  the  mountain's  heathery  side, 

The  day's  last  lustre  shone, 
And  rich  with  many  a  radiant  hue, 

Gleam'd  gayly  on  the  Rhone. 

SOUTHKY. 

The  English  merchant  was  now  much  consulted  by  the  Swiss 
Commissioners  in  all  their  motions.  He  exhorted  them  to  pro- 
ceed with  all  despatch  on  their  journey,  so  as  to  carry  to  the 
Duke  their  own  account  of  the  affair  of  Breisach,  and  thus 
anticipate  all  rumors  less  favorable  to  their  conduct  on  the 
occasion.  For  this  purpose  Philipson  recommended  that  the 
Deputies,  dismissing  their  escort,  whose  arms  and  numbers 
might  give  umbrage  and  suspicion,  while  they  were  too  few  for 
defence,  should  themselves  proceed  by  rapid  journeys  on  horse- 
back toward  Dijon,  or  wherever  the  Duke  might  chance  to  be 
for  the  time. 

This  proposal  was,  however,  formally  resisted  by  the  very 
person  who  had  hitherto  been  the  most  ductile  of  the  party, 
and  the  willing  echo  of  the  Landamman's  pleasure.  On  the 
present  occasion,  notwithstanding  that  Arnold  Biederman  de- 
clared the  advice  of  Philipson  excellent,  Nicholas  Bonstetten 
stood  in  absolute  and  insurmountable  opposition ;  because, 
having  hitherto  trusted  to  his  own  limbs  for  transporting  him- 
self to  and  fro  on  all  occasions,  he  could  by  no  means  be  per- 
suaded to  commit  himself  to  the  discretion  of  a  horse.  As  he 
was  found  obstinately  positive  on  this  subject,  it  was  finally 
determined  that  the  two  Englishmen  should  press  forward  on 
their  journey,  with  such  speed  as  they  might,  and  that  the  elder 
of  them  should  make  the  Duke  acquainted  with  so  much  as  to 
the  capture  of  La  Ferette,  as  he  had  himself  witnessed  of  the 
matter.  The  particulars  which  had  attended  the  death  of  De 
Hagenbach,  the  Landamman  assured  him,  would  be  sent  to 
the  Duke  by  a  person  of  confidence,  whose  attestation  on  the 
subject  could  not  be  doubted. 

This  course  was  adopted,  as  Philipson  expressed  his  confi- 
dence of  getting  an  early  and  private  audience  with  his  grace 
of  Burgundy. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


I9S 


**  My  best  intercession,"  he  said,  "  you  have  a  good  right  to 
reckon  upon ;  and  no  one  can  bear  more  direct  testimony  than 
I  can,  to  the  ungovernable  cruelty  and  rapacity  of  De  Hagen- 
bach,  of  which  I  had  so  nearly  been  the  victim.  But  of  his 
trial  and  execution,  I  neither  know  nor  can  tell  anything ;  and 
as  Duke  Charles  is  sure  to  demand  why  execution  was  done 
upon  his  officer  without  an  appeal  to  his  own  tribunal,  it  will  be 
well  that  you  either  provide  me  with  such  facts  as  you  have  to 
state,  or  send  forward,  at  least,  as  speedily  as  possible,  the 
evidence  which  you  have  to  lay  before  him  on  that  most  weighty 
branch  of  the  subject." 

The  proposal  of  the  merchant  created  some  visible  embar- 
rassment on  the  countenance  of  the  Swiss,  and  it  was  with 
obvious  hesitation  that  Arnold  Biederman,  having  led  him 
aside,  addressed  him  in  a  whisper — 

"My  good  friend,"  he  said,  "  mysteries  are  in  general  like 
the  hateful  mists  which  disfigure  the  noblest  features  of  nature  ; 
yet,  like  mists,  they  will  sometimes  intervene  when  we  most 
desire  their  absence — when  we  most  desire  to  be  plain  and 
explicit.  The  manner  of  De  Hagenbach's  death,  you  saw — we 
will  take  care  that  the  Duke  is  informed  of  the  authority  by 
which  it  was  inflicted.  This  is  all  that  I  can  at  present  tell 
you  on  the  subject ;  and  let  me  add,  that  the  less  you  speak  of 
it  with  any  one,  you  will  be  the  more  likely  to  escape  incon- 
venience." 

"  Worthy  Landamman,"  said  the  Englishman,  I  am  also 
by  nature,  and  from  the  habits  of  my  country,  a  hater  of 
mysteries.  Yet,  such  is  my  firm  confidence  in  your  truth  and 
honor,  that  you  shall  be  my  guide  in  these  dark  and  secret 
transactions,  even  as  amongst  the  mists  and  precipices  of  your 
native  land,  and  I  rest  contented  in  either  case  to  place  un- 
limited confidence  in  your  sagacity.  Let  me  only  recommend 
that  your  explanation  with  Charles  be  instant,  as  well  as  clear 
and  candid.  Such  being  the  case,  I  trust  my  poor  interest  with 
the  Duke  may  be  reckoned  for  something  in  your  favor.  Here 
then  we  part,  but,  as  I  trust,  soon  to  meet  again." 

The  elder  Philipson  now  rejoined  his  son,  whom  he  directed 
to  hire  horses,  together  with  a  guide,  to  conduct  them  with  all 
speed  to  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  By  various 
inquiries  in  the  town,  and  especially  among  the  soldiers  of  the 
slain  De  Hagenbach,  they  at  length  learned  that  Charles  had 
been  of  late  occupied  in  taking  possession  of  Lorraine,  and, 
being  now  suspicious  of  unfriendly  dispositions  on  the  part  of 
the  Emperor  of  Germany,  as  well  as  of  Sigismund,  Duke  of 
Austria,  had  drawn  a  considerable  part  of  his  army  together 


196 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


near  Strassburg,  in  order  to  be  prepared  against  any  attempt 
of  these  princes,  or  of  the  Free  Imperial  Cities,  which  might 
interfere  with  his  course  of  conquest.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
at  this  period,  well  deserved  his  peculiar  epithet  of  the  Bold, 
since,  surrounded  by  enemies,  like  one  of  the  nobler  animals  of 
the  chase,  he  yet  astounded,  by  his  stern  and  daring  counte- 
nance, not  only  the  princes  and  states  we  have  mentioned,  but 
even  the  King  of  France,  equally  powerful,  and  far  more  politic 
than  himself. 

To  his  camp,  therefore,  the  English  travelers  bent  their  way, 
each  full  of  such  deep  and  melancholy  reflection,  as,  perhaps, 
prevented  his  bestowing  much  attention  on  the  other's  state 
of  mind.  They  rode  as  men  deeply  immersed  in  their  own 
thoughts,  and  with  less  intercourse  than  had  been  usual  betwixt 
them  on  their  former  journeys.  The  nobleness  of  the  elder 
Philipson's  nature,  and  his  respect  for  the  Landamman's  probity, 
joined  with  gratitude  for  his  hospitality,  had  prevented  him  from 
separating  his  cause  from  that  of  the  Swiss  Deputies,  nor  did 
he  now  repent  this  generosity  in  adhering  to  them.  But  when 
he  recollected  the  nature  and  importance  of  the  personal  affairs 
which  he  himself  had  to  despatch  with  a  proud,  imperious,  and 
irritable  prince,  he  could  not  but  regret  the  circumstances  which 
had  involved  his  own  particular  mission,  of  so  much  consequence 
to  himself  and  his  friends,  with  that  of  persons  likely  to  be  so 
highly  obnoxious  to  the  Duke  as  Arnold  Biederman  and  his 
companions;  and,  however  grateful  for  the  hospitality  of  Geier- 
stein,  he  regretted,  nevertheless,  the  circumstances  which  had 
obliged  him  to  accept  of  it. 

The  thoughts  of  Arthur  were  no  less  anxious.  He  found 
himself  anew  separated  from  the  object  to  which  his  thoughts 
were,  almost  against  his  own  will,  constantly  returning.  And 
this  second  separation  had  taked  place  after  he  had  incurred  an 
additional  load  of  gratitude,  and  found  new,  as  well  as  more 
mysterious  food  for  his  ardent  imagination.  How  was  he  to  rec- 
oncile the  character  and  attributes  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  whom 
he  had  known  so  gentle,  candid,  pure,  and  simple,  with  those  of 
the  daughter  of  a  sage,  and  of  an  elementary  spirit,  to  whom 
night  was  as  day,  and  an  impervious  dungeon  the  same  as  the 
open  portico  of  a  temple  ?  Could  they  be  identified  as  the  same 
being  ?  or,  while  strictly  alike  in  shape  and  lineament,  was  the 
one  a  tenant  of  the  earth,  the  other  only  a  phantom,  permitted 
to  show  itself  among  those  of  a  nature  in  which  she  did  not 
partake  ?  Above  all,  must  he  never  see  her  more,  or  receive 
from  her  own  lips  an  explanation  of  the  mysteries  which  were 
so  awfully  entwined  with  his  recollections  of  her      Such  were 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


197 


the  questions  which  occupied  the  mind  of  the  younger  traveler, 
and  prevented  him  from  interrupting,  or  even  observing,  the 
reverie  in  which  his  father  was  plunged. 

Had  either  of  the  travelers  been  disposed  to  derive  amuse-* 
ment  from  the  country  through  which  their  road  lay,  the  vicinity 
of  the  Rhine  was  well  qualified  to  afford  it.  The  ground  on  the 
left  bank  of  that  noble  river  is  indeed  rather  flat  and  tame  ;  and 
the  mountains  of  Alsace,  a  ridge  of  which  sweeps  along  its 
course,  do  not  approach  so  near  as  greatly  to  vary  the  level  sur- 
face of  the  valley  which  divides  them  from  its  shores.  But  the 
broad  stream  itself,  hurrying  forward  with  dizzy  rapidity,  and 
rushing  around  the  islets  by  which  its  course  is  interrupted,  is 
one  of  the  most  majestic  spectacles  in  nature.  The  right  bank 
is  dignified  at  once,  and  adorned,  by  the  numerous  eminences 
covered  with  wood,  and  interspersed  with  valleys,  which  consti- 
tute the  district  so  well  known  by  the  name  of  the  Black  Forest, 
to  which  superstition  attached  so  many  terrors,  and  credulity 
such  a  variety  of  legends.  Terrors,  indeed,  it  had,  of  a  real  and 
existing  character.  The  old  castles,  seen  from  time  to  time  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  itself,  or  on  the  ravines  and  large  brooks 
which  flow  into  it,  were  then  no  picturesque  ruins,  rendered  in- 
teresting by  the  stories  which  were  told  about  their  former  in- 
habitants, but  constituted  the  real  and  apparently  impregnable 
strongholds  of  that  Robber-chivalry  whom  we  have  already  fre- 
quently mentioned,  and  of  whom,  since  Goethe,  an  author  born 
to  arouse  the  slumbering  fame  of  his  country,  has  dramatized 
the  story  of  Goetz  of  Berlichingen,"*  we  have  had  so  many  spirit- 
stirring  tales.  The  danger  attending  the  vicinity  of  these  fort- 
resses was  only  known  on  the  right,  or  German  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  for  the  breadth  and  depth  of  that  noble  stream  effectu- 
ally prevented  any  foray  of  their  inhabitants  from  reaching 
Alsace.  The  former  was  in  possession  of  the  Cities  or  Free 
towns  of  the  Empire,  and  thus  the  feudal  tyranny  of  the  German 
lords  was  chiefly  exerted  at  the  expense  of  their  own  country- 
men, who,  irritated  and  exhausted  with  their  rapine  and  oppres- 
sion,  were  compelled  to  erect  barriers  against  it,  of  a  nature  as 
interesting  and  extraordinary,  as  were  the  wrongs  from  which 
they  endeavored  to  protect  themselves. 

But  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  over  great  part  of  which 
Charles  of  Burgundy  exercised  his  authority,  under  various 
characters,  was  under  the  regular  protection  of  the  ordinary 
magistrates,  who  were  supported  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty 
by  large  bands  of  mercenary  soldiers.    These  were  maintained 

*  [This  Drama,  by  Goethe,  was  translated  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  was 
one  of  his  earliest  publications.] 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


by  Charles  out  of  his  private  revenue  ;  he,  as  well  as  his  rival 
Louis,  and  other  princes  of  the  period,  having  discovered  that 
the  feudal  system  gave  an  inconvenient  degree  of  independence 
to  their  vassals,  and  thinking,  of  course,  that  it  was  better  to 
substitute  in  its  place  a  standing  army,  consisting  of  free  com- 
panies, or  soldiers  by  profession.  Italy  furnished  most  of  these 
bands,  which  composed  the  strength  of  Charles's  army,  at  least 
the  part  of  it  in  which  he  most  trusted. 

Our  travelers,  therefore,  pursued  their  way  by  the  banks  of 
the  river,  in  as  great  a  degree  of  security  as  could  well  be 
enjoyed  in  that  violent  and  distracted  time,  until  at  length 
the  father,  after  having  eyed  for  some  time  the  person  whom 
Arthur  had  hired  to  be  their  guide,  suddenly  asked  of  his  son 
who  or  what  the  man  was.  Arthur  replied  that  he  had  been 
too  eager  to  get  a  person  who  knew  the  road,  and  was  willing 
to  show  it,  to  be  very  particular  in  inquiring  into  his  station 
or  occupation  ;  but  that  he  thought,  from  the  man's  appearance, 
he  must  be  one  of  those  itinerant  ecclesiastics,  who  travel 
through  the  country  with  relics,  pardons,  and  other  religious 
trinkets,  and  were  in  general  but  slightly  respected,  excepting 
by  the  lower  orders,  on  whom  these  vendors  of  superstitious 
wares  were  often  accused  of  practicing  gross  deceptions. 

The  man's  appearance  was  rather  that  of  a  lay  devotee,  or 
palmer,  bound  on  his  pilgrimage  to  different  shrines,  than  of  a 
mendicant  friar,  or  questionary.  He  wore  the  hat,  scrip,  staff, 
and  coarse  dalmatic,  somewhat  like  the  military  cloak  of  the 
modern  hussar,  which  were  used  by  such  persons  on  their 
religious  peregrinations.  Saint  Peter's  keys,  rudely  shaped  out 
of  some  scarlet  rag  of  cloth,  appeared  on  the  back  of  his  mantle, 
placed,  as  heralds  say,  saltire-wise.  This  devotee  seemed  a 
man  of  fifty  and  upward,  well  made,  and  stout,  for  his  age, 
with  a  cast  of  countenance  which,  though  not  positively  ugly, 
was  far  from  being  well-favored.  There  was  shrewdness,  and 
an  alert  expression  in  his  eye  and  actions,  which  made  some 
occasional  contrast  with  the  sanctimonious  demeanor  of  the 
character  he  now  bore.  This  difference  betwixt  his  dress  and 
physiognomy  was  by  no  means  uncommon  among  persons  of  his 
description,  many  of  whom  embraced  this  mode  of  life,  rather 
to  indulge  roving  and  idle  habits,  than  from  any  religious  call. 

Who  art  thou,  good  fellow  ?  "  said  the  elder  Philipson ; 
"and  by  what  name  am  I  to  call  thee  while  we  are  fellow- 
travelers  ?  " 

"  Bartholomew,  sir,"  said  the  man  ;  "  Brother  Bartholomew 
—I   might   say  Bartholomaeus,  but   it  does  not  become  a 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN  19^ 

poor  lay  brother  like  me  to  aspire  to  the  honor  of  a  learned 
termination." 

And  whither  does  thy  journey  tend,  good  Brother  Bar- 
tholomew ?  " 

In  whichever  direction  your  worship  chooses  to  travel,  and 
to  require  my  services  as  guide, answered  the  Palmer ;  "  al- 
ways premising,  you  allow  me  leisure  for  my  devotions  at  such 
holy  stations  as  we  pass  on  our  route." 

That  is,  thine  own  journey  hath  no  professed  or  pressing 
object  or  end?  "  said  the  Englishman. 

None,  as  your  worship  says,  peculiar,"  said  the  itinerant ; 
or  I  might  rather  say,  that  my  journey,  good  sir,  embraces 
so  many  objects,  that  it  is  matter  of  indifference  to  me  which 
of  them  I  accomplish  first.  My  vow  binds  me  for  four  years 
to  travel  from  one  shrine,  or  holy  place,  to  another ;  but  I  am 
not  directly  tied  to  visit  them  by  any  precise  rule  of  rotation." 

"  That  is  to  say,  thy  vow  of  pilgrimage  does  not  prevent 
thee  from  hiring  thyself  to  wait  upon  travelers  as  their  guide," 
replied  Philipson. 

"  If  I  can  unite  the  devotion  I  owe  to  the  blessed  saints 
whose  shrines  I  visit,  with  a  service  rendered  to  a  wandering 
fellow-creature  who  desires  to  be  directed  upon  his  journey,  I 
do  maintain,"  replied  Bartholomew,  that  the  objects  are 
easily  to  be  reconciled  to  each  other." 

Especially  as  a  little  worldly  profit  may  tend  to  cement  the 
two  duties  together,  if  otherwise  incompatible,"  said  Philipson. 

"  It  pleases  your  honor  to  say  so,"  replied  the  pilgrim  ;  "  but 
you  yourself  may,  if  you  will,  derive  from  my  good  company 
something  more  than  the  mere  knowledge  of  the  road  in  which 
you  propose  to  travel.  I  can  make  your  journey  more  edifying 
by  legends  of  the  blessed  saints  whose  holy  relics  I  have  visited, 
and  pleasing,  by  the  story  of  the  wonderful  things  which 
I  have  seen  and  heard  in  my  travels.  I  can  impart  to  you  an 
opportunity  of  providing  yourself  with  his  Holiness's  pardon, 
not  only  for  the  sins  which  you  have  committed,  but  also 
granting  you  indulgence  for  future  errors." 

"  These  things  are  highly  available  doubtless,"  replied  the 
merchant ;  "  but,  good  Bartholomew,  when  I  desire  to  speak 
of  them,  I  apply  to  my  father  confessor,  to  whom  I  have  been 
uniformly  regular  in  committing  the  charge  of  my  conscience^ 
and  who  must  be,  therefore,  well  acquainted  with  my  state  of 
mind,  and  best  accustomed  to  prescribe  what  its  case  may 
require." 

"  Nevertheless,  "  said  Bartholomew,  "  I  trust  your  worship 
is  too  religious  a  man  and  too  sound  a  Catholic,  to  pass  any 


200 


Anne  of  geiersteiN, 


hallowed  station  without  endeavoring  to  obtain  some  share  of 
the  benefits  which  it  is  the  means  of  dispensing  to  those  who 
are  ready  and  willing  to  deserve  them.  More  especially  as  all 
men,  of  whatever  trade  and  degree,  hold  respect  to  the  holy  saint 
who  patroniseth  his  own  mystery ;  so  I  hope  you,  being  a  mer- 
chant, will  not  pass  the  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Ferry  with* 
out  making  some  fitting  orison/' 

Friend  Bartholomew,''  said  Philipson,  "  I  have  not  heard 
of  the  shrine  which  you  recommend  to  me ;  and,  as  my  business 
is  pressing,  it  were  better  worth  my  while  to  make  a  pilgrimage 
hither  on  purpose  to  make  mine  homage  at  a  fitter  season,  than 
to  delay  my  journey  at  present.  This,  God  willing,  I  will  not 
fail  to  do,  so  that  I  may  be  held  excused  for  delaying  my  rev- 
erence till  I  can  pay  it  more  respectfully,  and  at  greater 
leisure." 

"  May  it  please  you  not  to  be  wToth,''  said  the  guide,  "  if  I 
say  that  your  behavior  in  this  matter  is  like  that  of  a  fool, 
who,  finding  a  treasure  by  the  road-side,  omits  to  put  it  in  his 
bosom  and  carry  it  along  with  him,  proposing  to  return  from  a 
distance  on  a  future  day,  of  express  purpose  to  fetch  it." 

Philipson,  something  astonished  at  the  man's  pertinacity, 
was  about  to  answer  hastily  and  angrily,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  arrival  of  three  strangers,  who  rode  hastily  up  from  behind 
them. 

The  foremost  of  these  was  a  young  female,  most  elegantly 
attired,  and  mounted  upon  a  Spanish  jennet,  which  she  reined 
with  singular  grace  and  dexterity.  She  wore  on  her  right  hand 
such  a  glove  as  that  which  was  used  to  carry  hawks,  and  had  a 
merlin  perched  upon  it.  Her  head  was  covered  with  a  montero 
cap,  and,  as  was  frequently  the  custom  at  the  period,  she  wore 
on  her  face  a  kind  of  black  silk  visard,  which  effectually  con- 
cealed her  features.  Notwithstanding  this  disguise,  Arthur 
Philipson's  heart  sprung  high  at  the  appearance  of  these  stran- 
gers, for  he  was  at  once  certain  he  recognized  the  matchless 
form  of  the  Swiss  maiden,  by  whom  his  mind  was  so  anxiously 
occupied.  Her  attendants  were  a  falconer  with  his  hunting- 
pole,  and  a  female,  both  apparently  her  domestics.  The  elder 
Philipson,  who  had  no  such  accuracy  of  recollection  as  his  son 
manifested  upon  the  occasion,  saw  in  the  fair  stranger  only 
some  dame  or  damsel  of  eminence  engaged  in  the  amusement 
of  hawking,  and,  in  return  to  a  brief  salutation,  merely  asked 
her,  with  suitable  courtesy,  as  the  case  demanded,  whether  she 
had  spent  the  morning  in  good  sport. 

"Indifferent,  good  friend,"  said  the  lady.  "  I  dare  not  fly 
my  hawk  so  near  the  broad  river,  lest  he  should  soar  to  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


^01 


Other  side,  and  so  I  might  lose  my  companion.  But  I  reckon 
on  finding  better  game  when  I  have  crossed  to  the  other  side 
of  the  ferry,  which  we  are  now  approaching." 

"  Then  your  ladyship/'  said  Bartholomew,  "  will  hear  mass 
in  Hans'  Chapel,  and  pray  for  your  success  '' 

"  I  were  a  heathen  to  pass  the  holy  place  without  doing  so,'' 
replied  the  damsel. 

"  That,  noble  damsel,  touches  the  point  we  were  but  now 
talking  of,"  said  the  guide  Bartholomew;  **for  know,  fair  mis- 
tress, that  I  cannot  persuade  this  worthy  gentleman  how  deeply 
the  success  of  his  enterprise  is  dependent  upon  his  obtaining 
the  blessing  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Ferry." 

"The  good  man,"  said  the  young  maiden,  seriously,  and 
even  severely,  "  must  know  little  of  the  Rhine.  I  will  explain 
to  the  gentleman  the  propriety  of  following  your  advice." 

She  then  rode  close  to  young  Philipson,  and  spoke  in  Swiss, 
for  she  had  hitherto  used  the  German  language,  "  Do  not  start, 
but  hear  me  !  "  and  the  voice  was  that  of  Anne  of  Geierstein, 
"  Do  not,  I  say,  be  surprised — or  at  least  show  not  your  wonder 
— you  are  beset  by  dangers.  On  this  road,  especially,  your 
business  is  known — your  lives  are  laid  in  wait  for.  Cross  over 
the  river  at  the  Ferry  of  the  Chapel,  or  Hans'  Ferry,  as  it  is 
usually  termed." 

Here  the  guide  drew  so  near  to  them  that  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  continue  the  conversation  without  being  overheard. 
At  that  same  moment  a  woodcock  sprung  from  some  bushes, 
and  the  young  lady  threw  off  her  merlin  in  pursuit. 

"  Sa  ho — sa  ho — wo  ha  !  "  hollowed  the  falconer,  in  a  note 
which  made  the  thicket  ring  again ;  and  away  he  rode  in  pur- 
suit. The  elder  Philipson  and  the  guide  himself  followed  the 
chase  eagerly  with  their  eyes,  so  attractive  was  the  love  of  that 
brave  sport  to  men  of  all  ranks.  But  the  voice  of  the  maiden 
was  a  lure,  which  would  have  summoned  Arthur's  attention 
from  matters  more  deeply  interesting. 

"  Cross  the  Rhine,"  she  again  repeated,  "  at  the  Ferry  to 
Kirch-hoff,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Take  your  lodgings 
at  the  Golden  Fleece,  where  you  will  find  a  guide  to  Strassburg, 
I  must  stay  here  no  longer." 

So  saying,  the  damsel  raised  herself  in  her  saddle,  struck 
her  horse  lightly  with  the  loose  reins,  and  the  mettled  animal, 
already  impatient  at  her  delay,  and  the  eager  burst  of  its  com- 
panions flew  forward  at  such  a  pace,  as  if  he  had  meant  to 
emulate  the  flight  of  the  hawk,  and  of  the  prey  he  pursued. 
The  lady  and  her  attendants  soon  vanished  from  the  sight  of 
the  travelers. 


202 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


A  deep  silence  for  some  time  ensued,  during  which  Arthul 
studied  how  to  communicate  the  warning  he  had  received,  with« 
out  awakening  the  suspicions  of  their  guide. 

But  the  old  man  broke  silence  himself,  saying  to  Bartholo- 
mew, "  put  your  horse  into  more  motion,  I  pray  you,  and  ride 
onward  a  few  yards  ;  I  would  have  some  private  conference 
wdth  my  son." 

The  guide  obeyed,  and,  as  if  with  the  purpose  of  showing  a 
mind  too  profoundly  occupied  by  heavenly  matters  to  admit  a 
thougnt  concerning  those  of  this  transitory  world,  he  thundered 
forth  a  hymn  in  praise  of  Saint  Wendelin  the  Shepherd,  in  a 
strain  so  discordant,  as  startled  every  bird  from  every  bush 
by  which  they  passed.  There  was  never  a  more  unmelodious 
melody,  whether  sacred  or  profane,  than  that  under  protection 
of  which  the  elder  Philipson  thus  conferred  with  his  son. 

"  Arthur,"  he  said,  "  I  am  much  convinced  that  this  howling 
hypocritical  vagrant  has  some  plot  upon  us  ;  and  I  had  well-nigh 
determined,  that  the  best  mode  to  baffle  it  would  be  to  consult 
my  own  opinion,  and  not  his,  as  to  our  places  of  repose,  and  the 
direction  of  our  journey." 

"  Your  judgement  is  correct,  as  usual,"  said  his  son.  "  I  am 
well  convinced  of  yonder  man's  treachery  from  a  whisper  in 
which  that  maiden  informed  me  that  we  ought  to  take  the  road  to 
Strassburg  by  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  and  for  that  purpose 
cross  over  to  a  place  called  Kirch-hoff,  on  the  opposite  bank." 

"  Do  you  advise  this,  Arthur  ?  "  replied  his  father. 
I  will  pledge  my  life  for  the  faith  of  this  young  person," 
replied  his  son. 

"  What !  "  said  his  father,  "  because  she  sits  her  palfrey  fairly, 
and  shows  a  faultless  shape  t  Such  is  the  reasoning  of  a  boy — 
and  yet  my  own  old  and  cautious  heart  feels  inclined  to  trust 
her.  If  our  secret  is  known  in  this  land,  there  are  doubtless 
many  who  may  be  disposed  to  think  they  have  an  interest  in 
barring  my  access  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  even  by  the  most 
violent  means  ;  and  well  you  know  that  I  should  on  my  side 
hold  my  life  equally  cheap,  could  I  discharge  mine  errand  at 
the  price  of  laying  it  down.  I  tell  thee,  Arthur,  that  my  mind 
reproaches  me  for  taking  hitherto  over  little  care  of  ensuring  the 
discharge  of  my  commission,  owing  to  the  natural  desire  I  had 
to  keep  thee  in  my  company.  There  now  lie  before  us  two 
ways,  both  perilous  and  uncertain,  by  which  we  may  reach  the 
Duke's  Court.  We  may  follow  this  guide,  and  take  the  chance 
of  his  fidelity,  or  we  may  adopt  the  hint  of  yonder  damsel-errant, 
and  cross  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine,  and  again  repass 
the  river  at  Strassburg.  Both  roads  are  perhaps  equally  perilous, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


203 


1  feel  it  my  duty  to  diminish  the  risk  of  the  miscarriage  of  my 
commission  by  sending  thee  across  to  the  right  bank,  while  I 
pursue  my  proposed  course  upon  the  left.  Thus,  if  one  of  us  be 
intercepted,  the  other  may  escape,  and  the  important  commis- 
sion which  he  bears  may  be  duly  executed." 

"Alas  my  father  !"  said  Arthur,  "How  is  it  possible  forme 
to  obey  you,  when  by  doing  so  I  must  leave  you  alone,  to  incur 
so  many  dangers,  to  struggle  with  so  many  difficulties,  in  which 
my  aid  might  be  at  least  willing,  though  it  could  be  only  weak  ? 
Whatever  befall  us  in  these  delicate  and  dangerous  circum- 
stances, let  us  at  least  meet  it  in  company." 

"Arthur,  my  beloved  son,"  said  his  father,  "  in  parting  from 
thee  I  am  splitting  mine  own  heart  in  twain  ;  but  the  same 
duty  which  commands  us  to  expose  our  bodies  to  death,  as 
peremptorily  orders  us  not  to  spare  our  most  tender  affections. 
We  must  part." 

"  Oh,  then,"  replied  his  son  eagerly,  "  let  me  at  least  prevail 
in  one  point.  Do  thou,  my  father,  cross  the  Rhine,  and  let  me 
prosecute  the  journey  by  the  route  originally  proposed." 

"And  why,  I  pray  you,"  answered  the- merchant,  "should  I 
go  one  of  these  roads  in  preference  to  the  other  ?" 

"  Because,"  said  Arthur  eagerly,  "  I  would  warrant  yonder 
maiden's  faith  with  my  life." 

"  Again,  young  man  ?  "  said  his  father  ;  "  and  wherefore  so 
confidant  in  that  young  maiden's  faith  ?  Is  it  merely  from  the 
confidence  which  youth  reposes  in  that  which  is  fair  and  pleas- 
ing, or  have  you  had  further  acquaintance  with  her  than  the  late 
brief  conversation  with  her  admitted  ? " 

"  Can  I  give  you  an  answer  ?  " — replied  his  son.  "  We 
have  been  long  absent  from  lands  of  knights  and  ladies,  and  is 
it  not  natural  that  we  should  give  to  those  who  remind  us  of 
the  honored  ties  of  chivalry  and  gentle  blood,  the  instinctive 
credence  which  we  refuse  to  such  a  poor  wretch  as  this  itiner- 
ant mountebank,  who  gains  his  existence  by  cheating,  with 
false  relics  and  forged  legends,  the  poor  peasants  amongst 
whom  he  travels  ? " 

"  It  is  a  vain  imagination,  Arthur,"  said  his  father ;  "  not 
unbefitting,  indeed,  an  aspirant  to  the  honors  of  chivalry,  who 
draws  his  ideas  of  life  and  its  occurrences  from  the  romances 
of  the  minstrels,  but  too  visionary  for  a  youth  who  has  seen,  as 
thou  hast,  how  the  business  of  this  w^orld  is  conducted.  I  tell 
thee,  and  thou  wilt  learn  to  know  I  say  truth,  that  around  the 
homely  board  of  our  host  the  Landamman,  w^ere  ranged 
truer  tongues,  and  more  faithful  hearts,  than  the  Cour pelinert 
of  a  monarch  has  to  boast    Alas  !  the  manly  spirit  of  ancient 


^04 


ANI^E  OP  GEIERSTEm. 


faith  and  honor  has  fled  even  from  the  breast  of  kings  and 
knights,  where,  as  John  of  France  said,  it  ought  to  continue  to 
reside  a  constant  inhabitant,  if  banished  from  all  the  rest  of  the 
world/' 

"  Be  that  as  it  may,  dearest  father,"  replied  the  younger 
Philipson,  I  pray  you  to  be  persuaded  by  me  ;  and  if  we  must 
part  company,  let  it  be  by  your  taking  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  since  I  am  persuaded  it  is  the  safest  route." 

And  if  it  be  the  safest,''  said  the  father,  with  a  voice  of 
tender  reproach,  "  is  that  a  reason  why  I  should  spare  my  own 
almost  exhausted  thread  of  life,  and  expose  thine,  my  dear  son, 
which  has  but  begun  its  course  ?  " 

Nay,  father,"  answered  the  son  with  animation,  "  in  speak- 
ing thus  you  do  not  consider  the  difference  of  our  importance 
to  the  execution  of  the  purpose  which  you  have  so  long  enter- 
tained, and  which  seems  now  so  nigh  being  accomplished. 
Think  how  imperfectly  I  might  be  able  to  discharge  it,  without 
knowledge  of  the  Duke's  person,  or  credentials  to  gain  his  con- 
fidence. I  might,  indeed,  repeat  your  words,  but  the  circum- 
stances would  be  wanting  to  attract  the  necessary  faith,  and  of 
consequence,  your  scheme,  for  the  success  of  which  you  have 
lived,  and  now  are  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  death,  would  mis- 
carry along  with  me." 

"  You  cannot  shake  my  resolution,"  said  the  elder  Philip- 
son,  or  persuade  me  that  my  life  is  of  more  importance  than 
yours.  You  only  remind  me,  that  it  is  you,  and  not  I,  who 
ought  to  be  the  bearer  of  this  token  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
Should  you  be  successful  in  reaching  his  court  or  camp,  your 
possession  of  these  gems  will  be  needful  to  attach  credit  to 
your  mission  ;  a  purpose  for  which  they  would  be  less  neces- 
sary to  me,  who  can  refer  to  other  circumstances  under 
which  I  might  claim  credence,  if  it  should  please  Heaven 
to  leave  me  alone  to  acquit  myself  of  this  important  commis- 
sion, which  may  Our  Lady,  in  her  mercy,  forefend  !  Under- 
stand, therefore,  that,  should  an  opportunity  occur  by  which 
you  can  make  your  way  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rhine,  you 
are  to  direct  your  journey  so  as  again  to  cross  to  this  bank  at 
Strassburg,  where  you  will  inquire  for  news  of  me  at  the  Fly- 
ing Stag,  a  hostelry  in  that  city  which  you  will  easily  discover. 
If  you  hear  no  tidings  of  me  at  that  place,  you  will  proceed  to 
the  Duke,  and  deliver  to  him  lliis  important  packet." 

Here  he  put  into  his  son's  hand,  with  as  much  privacy  as 
possible,  the  case  containing  the  diamond  necklace. 

"What  else  your  duty  calls  on  you  to  do,"  continued  the 
elder  Philipson,  ''you  well  know;  only  I  conjure  you,  let  no 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


vain  inquiries  after  my  fate  interfere  with  the  great  duty  you 
have  there  to  discharge.  In  the  meantime,  prepare  to  bid  me 
a  sudden  farewell,  with  a  heart  as  bold  and  confident  as  when 
you  went  before  me,  and  courageously  led  the  way  amid  the 
rocks  and  storms  of  Switzerland.  Heaven  was  above  us  then, 
as  it  is  over  us  now.  Adieu,  my  beloved  Arthur !  Should  I 
wait  till  the  moment  of  separation,  there  may  be  but  short  time 
to  speak  the  fatal  word,  and  no  eye  save  thine  own  must  see 
the  tear  which  I  now  wipe  away.'* 

The  painful  feeling  which  accompanied  this  anticipation  of 
their  parting,  was  so  sincere  on  Arthur's  part,  as  well  as  that 
of  his  father,  that  it  did  not  at  first  occur  to  the  former,  as  a 
source  of  consolation,  that  it  seemed  likely  he  might  be  placed 
under  the  guidance  of  the  singular  female,  the  memory  of  whom 
haunted  him.  True  it  was,  that  the  beauty  of  Anne  of  Geier- 
stein,  as  well  as  the  striking  circumstances  in  which  she  had  ex- 
hibited herself,  had  on  that  very  morning  been  the  principal 
occupation  of  his  mind ;  but  they  were  now  chased  from  it  by 
the  predominant  recollection,  that  he  was  about  to  be  separated 
in  a  moment  of  danger  from  a  father,  so  well  deserving  of  his 
highest  esteem  and  his  fondest  affection. 

Meanwhile,  that  father  dashed  from  his  eye  the  tear  which 
his  devoted  stoicism  could  not  suppress,  and,  as  if  afraid  of 
softening  his  resolution  by  indulging  his  parental  fondness,  he 
'-ecalled  the  pious  Bartholomew,  to  demand  of  him  how  far 
they  were  from  the  Chapel  of  the  Ferry. 

"Little  more  than  a  mile,"  was  the  reply;  and  when  the 
Englishman  required  further  information  concerning  the  cause 
of  its  erection,  he  was  informed,  that  an  old  boatman  and  fisher- 
man, named  Hans,  had  long  dwelt  at  the  place,  who  gained  a 
precarious  livelihood  by  transporting  travelers  and  merchants 
from  one  bank  of  the  river  to  the  other.  The  misfortune,  how- 
ever, of  losing  first  one  boat  and  then  a  second,  in  the  deep  and 
mighty  stream,  with  the  dread  inspired  in  travelers  by  the 
repetition  of  such  accidents,  began  to  render  his  profession  an 
uncertain  qne.  Being  a  good  Catholic,  the  old  man's  distress 
took  a  devotional  turn.  He  began  to  look  back  on  his  former 
life,  and  consider  by  what  crimes  he  had  deserved  the  misfortunes 
which  darkened  the  evening  of  his  days.  His  remorse  was 
chiefly  excited  by  the  recollection  that  he  had,  on  one  occasion, 
when  the  passage  was  peculiarly  stormy,  refused  to  discharge 
his  duty  as  a  ferryman,  in  order  to  transport  to  the  other  shore 
a  priest  who  bore  along  with  him  an  image  of  the  Virgin, 
destined  for  the  village  of  Kirch-hoff,  on  the  opposite  or  right 
bank  of  the  Rhine.    For  this  fault,  Hans  submitted  to  severe 


2o6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


penance,  as  he  was  now  disposed  to  consider  as  culpable  his 
doubt  of  the  Virgin's  power  of  protecting  herself,  her  priest, 
and  the  bark  employed  in  her  service  ;  besides  which,  the  offer- 
ing of  a  large  share  of  his  worldly  goods  to  the  church  of  Kirch- 
holf  expressed  the  truth  of  the  old  man's  repentance.  Neither 
did  he  ever  again  permit  himself  to  interpose  any  delay  in  the 
journey  of  men  of  holy  Church  ;  but  all  ranks  of  the  clergy,  from 
the  mitred  prelate  to  the  barefooted  friar,  might  at  any  time  of 
day  or  night  have  commanded  the  services  of  him  and  his  boat. 

While  prosecuting  so  laudable  a  course  of  life,  it  became  at 
length  the  lot  of  Hans  to  find,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  a 
small  image  of  the  Virgin,  thrown  by  the  waves,  which  appeared 
to  him  exactly  to  resemble  that  which  he  had  formerly  ungraci- 
ously refused  to  carry  across,  when  under  charge  of  the  sacristan 
of  Kirch-hoff.  He  placed  it  in  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  his 
hut,  and  poured  out  his  soul  before  it  m  devotion,  anxiously 
inquiring  for  some  signal  by  which  he  might  discover  whether 
he  was  to  consider  the  arrival  of  her  holy  image  as  a  pledge 
that  his  offences  were  forgiven.  In  the  visions  of  the  night,  his 
prayers  were  answered,  and  Our  Lady,  assuming  the  form  of  the 
image,  stood  by  his  bedside,  for  the  purpose  of  telling  him 
wherefore  she  had  come  hither. 

My  trusty  servant,"  she  said,  "men  of  Belial  have  burned 
my  dwelling  at  Kirch-hoff,  spoiled  my  chapel,  and  thrown  the 
sacred  image  which  represents  me  into  the  swollen  Rhine,  which 
swept  me  downward.  Now,  I  have  resolved  to  dwell  no  longer 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  profane  doers  of  this  deed,  or  of 
the  cowardly  vassals  who  dared  not  prevent  it.  I  am,  therefore, 
compelled  to  remove  my  habitation,  and,  in  despite  of  the 
opposing  current  I  determined  to  take  the  shore  on  this  side, 
being  resolved  to  fix  my  abode  with  thee,  my  faithful  servant, 
that  the  land  in  which  thou  dwellest  may  be  blessed,  as  well 
as  thou  and  thy  household." 

As  the  vision  spoke,  she  seemed  to  wring  from  her  tresses 
the  water  in  which  they  had  been  steeped,  while  her  disordered 
dress  and  fatigued  appearance  was  that  of  one  who  has  been 
buffeting  with  the  waves. 

Next  morning  brought  intelligence,  that,  in  one  of  the 
numerous  feuds  of  that  fierce  period,  Kirch-hoff  had  been  sacked, 
the  church  destroyed,  and  the  church  treasury  plundered. 

In  consequence  of  the  fisherman's  vision  being  thus  remark- 
ably confirmed,  Hans  entirely  renounced  his  profession,  and, 
leaving  it  to  younger  men  to  supply  his  place  as  ferryman,  he 
converted  his  hut  into  a  rustic  chapel,  and  he  himself,  taking 
orders,  attended  upon  the  shrine  as  a  hermit,  or  daily  chaplain. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN.  207 

The  figure  was  supposed  to  work  miracles,  and  the  ferry  became 
renowned  from  its  being  under  the  protection  of  the  Holy 
Image  of  Our  Lady,  and  her  no  less  holy  servant. 

When  Bartholomew  had  concluded  his  account  of  the  Ferry 
and  its  Chapel,  the  travelers  had  arrived  at  the  place  itself. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEENTH. 

Upon  the  Rhine,  upon  the  Rhme  they  cluster, 

The  grapes  of  juice  divine, 
Which  makes  the  soldier's  jovial  courage  muster ; 

O  blessed  be  the  Rhine  ! 

Drinking  Song.* 

A  COTTAGE  or  two  on  the  side  of  the  river,  beside  which  were 
moored  one  or  two  fishing-boats,  showed  the  pious  Hans  had 
successors  in  his  profession  as  a  boatman.  The  river,  which  at 
a  point  a  little  lower  was  restrained  by  a  chain  of  islets,  ex- 
panded more  widely,  and  moved  less  rapidly,  than  when  it 
passed  these  cottages,  affording  to  the  ferryman  a  smoother 
surface,  and  a  less  heavy  stream  to  contend  with,  although  the 
current  was  even  there  too  strong  to  be  borne  up  against,  unless 
the  river  was  in  a  tranquil  state. 

On  the  opposite  bank,  but  a  good  deal  lower  than  the  hamlet 
which  gave  name  to  the  ferry,  was  seated  on  a  small  eminence, 
screened  by  trees  and  bushes,  the  little  town  of  Kirch-hoff.  A 
skiff  departing  from  the  left  bank  was,  even  on  favorable 
occasions,  carried  considerably  to  leeward  ere  it  could  attain  the 
opposite  side  of  the  deep  and  full  stream  of  the  Rhine,  so  that 
its  course  was  oblique  toward  Kirch-hoff.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  boat  departing  from  Kirch-hoff  must  have  great  advan- 
tage both  of  wind  and  oars,  in  order  to  land  its  loading  or  crew  at 
the  Chapel  of  the  Ferry,  unless  it  were  under  the  miraculous 
influence  which  carried  the  image  of  the  Virgin  in  that  direction. 
The  communication,  therefore,  from  the  east  to  the  west  bank, 
was  only  maintained  by  towing  boats  up  the  stream,  to  such  a 
height  on  the  eastern  side,  that  the  leeway  which  they  made 
during  the  voyage  across  might  correspond  with  the  point  at 
which  they  desired  to  arrive,  and  enable  them  to  attain  it  with 
ease.    Hence,  it  naturally  happened,  that  the  passage  from 

•  This  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  popular  of  the  German  ditties  *^ 
'*  Am  Rhein,  am  Rhein,  da  wachsen  unsere  Rcbcn 
Gesegnet  sei  der  Rhein,' '  etc. 


2oS 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Alsace  into  Swabia  being  the  most  easy,  the  ferry  was  more 
used  by  those  who  were  desirous  of  entering  Germany,  than  by 
travelers  who  came  in  an  opposite  direction. 

When  the  elder  Philipson  had  by  a  glance  around  him 
ascertained  the  situation  of  the  ferry,  he  said  firmly  to  his  son, — 
"  Begone,  my  dear  Arthur,  and  do  what  I  have  commanded 
thee.'^ 

With  a  heart  rent  with  filial  anxiety,  the  young  man  obeyed, 
and  took  his  solitary  course  toward  the  cottages,  near  which 
the  barks  were  moored,  which  were  occasionally  used  for  fishing, 
as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of  the  ferry. 

*^  Your  son  leaves  us  ?  said  Bartholomew  to  the  elder 
Philipson. 

"  He  does  for  the  present,''  said  his  father,  "  as  he  has  certain 
inquiries  to  make  in  yonder  hamlet." 

"  If  they  be,"  answered  the  guide,  any  matters  connected 
with  your  honor's  road,  I  laud  the  Saints  that  I  can  better 
answer  your  inquiries  than  those  ignorant  boors,  who  hardly 
understand  your  language." 

If  we  find  that  their  information  needs  thy  commentary," 
said  Philipson,  "  we  will  request  it — meanwhile,  lead  on  to  the 
chapel,  where  my  son  will  join  us." 

They  moved  toward  the  chapel,  but  with  slow  steps,  each 
turning  his  looks  aside  to  the  fishing  hamlet ;  the  guide  as  if 
striving  to  see  whether  the  younger  traveler  was  returning 
toward  them,  the  father  anxious  to  descry,  on  the  broad  bosom 
of  the  Rhine,  a  sail  unloosed,  to  waft  his  son  across  to  that 
which  might  be  considered  as  the  safer  side.  But  though  the 
looks  of  both  guide  and  traveler  were  turned  in  the  direction 
of  the  river,  their  steps  carried  them  toward  the  chapel,  to 
which  the  inhabitants,  in  memory  of  the  founder,  had  given  the 
title  of  Hans-Chapelle. 

A  few  trees  scattered  around  gave  an  agreeable  and  silvan  ail 
to  the  place  ;  and  the  chapel,  that  appeared  on  a  rising  ground 
at  some  distance  from  the  hamlet,  was  constructed  in  a  style 
of  pleasing  simplicity,  which  corresponded  with  the  whole  scene. 
Its  small  size  confirmed  the  tradition  that  it  had  originally  been 
merely  the  hut  of  a  peasant ;  and  the  cross  of  fir-trees,  covered 
with  bark,  attested  the  purpose  to  which  it  was  now  dedicated. 
The  chapel  and  all  round  it  breathed  peace  and  solemn  tran- 
quility,  and  the  deep  sound  of  the  mighty  river  seemed  to 
impose  silence  on  each  human  voice  which  might  presume  to 
mingle  with  its  awful  murmur. 

When  Philipson  arrived  in  the  vicinity,  Bartholomew  took 
the  advantage  afforded  by  his  silence  to  thunder  forth  two 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Stanzas  to  the  praise  of  the  Lady  of  the  Ferry,  and  her  faithful 
worshipper  Hans,  after  which  he  broke  forth  into  the  rapturous 
exclamation, — "  Come  hither,  ye  who  fear  wreck,  here  is  your 
safe  haven  ! — Come  hither,  ye  who  die  of  thirst,  here  is  a  well 
of  mercy  open  to  you  ! — Come  those  who  are  weary  and  far- 
traveled,  this  is  your  place  of  refreshment ! — and  more  to  the 
same  purpose  he  might  have  said,  but  Philipson  sternly  imposed 
silence  on  him. 

"  If  thy  devotion  were  altogether  true,'^  he  said,  "  it  would 
be  less  clamorous  ;  but  it  is  well  to  do  what  is  good  in  itself, 
even  if  it  is  a  hypocrite  who  recommends  it. — Let  us  enter  this 
holy  chapel,  and  pray  for  a  fortunate  issue  to  our  precarious 
travels.'' 

The  pardoner  caught  up  the  last  words. 

"  Sure  was  I,''  he  said,  that  your  worship  is  too  well  advised 
to  pass  this  holy  place  without  imploring  the  protection  and 
influence  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Ferry.  Tarry  but  a  moment  until 
I  find  the  priest  who  serves  the  altar,  that  he  may  say  a  mass 
on  your  behalf." 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  the  door  of  the  chapel  suddenly 
opening,  when  an  ecclesiastic  appeared  on  the  threshold. 
Philipson  instantly  knew  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's,  whom  he 
had  seen  that  morning  at  La  Ferette.  Bartholomew  also  knew 
him,  as  k  would  seem  ;  for  his  officious  hypocritical  eloqueifce 
failed  him  in  an  instant,  and  he  stood  before  the  priest  with 
his  arms  folded  on  his  breast,  like  a  man  who  waits  for  the 
sentence  of  condemnation. 

"  Villain,"  said  the  ecclesiastic,  regarding  the  guide  with  a 
severe  countenance,  dost  thou  lead  a  stranger  into  the 
houses  of  the  Holy  Saints,  that  thou  mayst  slay  him,  and  possess 
thyself  of  his  spoils  }  But  Heaven  will  no  longer  bear  with  thy 
perfidy.  Back,  thou  wretch,  to  meet  thy  brother  miscreants, 
who  are  hastening  hitherward.  Tell  them  thy  arts  were  unavail- 
ing and  that  the  innocent  stranger  is  under  my  protection — ■ 
under  my  protection,  which  those  who  presume  to  violate  will 
meet  with  the  reward  of  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  ! " 

The  guide  stood  quite  motionless,  while  addressed  by  the 
priest  in  a  manner  equally  menacing  and  authoritative  ;  and 
no  sooner  did  the  latter  cease  speaking,  than,  without  offering 
a  word  either  in  justification  or  reply,  Bartholomew  turned 
round,  and  retreated  at  a  hasty  pace  by  the  same  road  which 
had  conducted  the  traveler  to  the  chapel. 

"  And  do  you,  worthy  Englishman,"  continued  the  priest, 
"  enter  into  this  chapel  and  perform  in  safety  those  devotions, 
by  means  of  which  yonder  hypocrite  designed  to  detain  you 


2IO 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


until  his  brethren  in  iniquity  came  up. — But  first,  wherefore 
are  you  alone  ?  I  trust  nought  evil  hath  befallen  your  young 
companion  ? 

My  son,"  said  Philipson,  "  crosses  the  Rhine  at  yonder 
ferry,  as  we  had  important  business  to  transact  on  the  other 
side." 

As  he  spoke  thus,  a  light  boat,  about  which  two  or  three 
peasants  had  been  for  some  time  busy,  was  seen  to  push  from 
the  shore,  and  shoot  into  the  stream,  to  which  it  was  partly 
compelled  to  give  way,  until  a  sail  stretched  along  the  slender 
yard,  and  supporting  the  bark  against  the  current,  enabled  her 
to  stand  obliquely  across  the  river. 

"  Now,  praise  be  to  God  ! "  said  Philipson,  who  was  aware 
that  the  bark  he  looked  upon  must  be  in  the  act  of  carrying  his 
son  beyond  the  reach  of  the  dangers  by  which  he  was  himself 
surrounded. 

"  Amen  !  "  answered  the  priest,  echoing  the  pious  ejacula- 
tion of  the  traveler.  "  Great  reason  have  you  to  return  thanks 
to  Heaven." 

Of  that  I  am  convinced,"  replied  Philipson  ;  "  but  yet 
from  you  I  hope  to  learn  the  special  cause  of  danger  from  which 
I  have  escaped  ?  " 

"  This  is  neither  time  nor  place  for  such  an  investigation," 
an^vered  the  priest  of  Saint  Paul's.  "  It  is  enough  to  say, 
that  yonder  fellow,  well  known  for  his  hypocrisy  and  his  crimes, 
was  present  when  the  young  Switzer,  Sigismund,  reclaimed  from 
the  executioner  the  treasure  of  which  you  were  robbed  by 
Hagenbach.  Thus  Bartholomew's  avarice  was  awakened.  He 
undertook  to  be  your  guide  to  Strassburg,  with  the  criminal  in- 
tent of  detaining  you  by  the  way  till  a  party  came  up,  against 
whose  numbers  resistance  would  have  been  in  vain.  But  his 
purpose  has  been  anticipated. — And  now,  ere  giving  vent  to 
other  worldly  thoughts,  whether  of  hope  or  fear, — to  the  chapel, 
sir,  and  join  in  orisons  to  Him  who  hath  been  your  aid,  and  to 
those  who  have  interceded  with  Him  in  your  behalf." 

Philipson  entered  the  chapel  with  his  guide,  and  joined  in 
returning  thanks  to  heaven  and  the  tutelary  power  of  the  spot, 
for  the  escape  which  had  been  vouchsafed  to  him. 

When  this  duty  had  been  performed,  Philipson  intimated 
his  purpose  of  resuming  his  journey,  to  which  the  Black  Priest 
replied,  that  far  from  delaying  him  in  a  place  so  dangerous, 
he  would  himself  accompany  him  for  some  part  of  the  journey, 
since  he  also  was  bound  to  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


211 


"  You,  my  father ! — ^you  !  said  the  merchant,  with  some 
astonishment. 

And  wherefore  surprised  ?  answered  the  priest.  Is  it  so 
strange  that  one  of  my  order  should  visit  a  princess  court  ?  Be- 
Heve  me,  there  are  but  too  many  of  them  to  be  found  there. 

I  do  not  speak  with  reference  to  your  order,''  answered 
Philipson,  "  but  in  regard  of  the  part  which  you  have  this  day 
acted,  in  abetting  the  execution  of  Archibald  de  Hagenbach. 
Know  you  so  little  of  the  fiery  Duke  of  Burgundy,  as  to  imagine 
you  can  dally  with  his  resentment  with  more  safety  than  you 
would  pull  the  mane  of  a  sleeping  lion  1 

"  I  know  his  mood  well,"  said  the  priest ;  and  it  is  not  to 
excuse,  but  to  defend  the  death  of  De  Hagenbach,  that  I  go  to 
his  presence.  The  Duke  may  execute  his  serfs  and  bondsmen 
at  his  pleasure,  but  there  is  a  spell  upon  my  life,  which  is  proof 
to  all  his  power.  But  let  me  retort  the  question — You,  Sir 
Englishman,  knowing  the  conditions  of  the  Duke  so  well — you, 
so  lately  the  guest  and  traveling  companion  of  the  most  un- 
welcome visitors  who  could  approach  him — you,  implicated,  in 
appearance  at  least,  in  the  uproar  at  La  Ferette — what  chance 
is  thereof  your  escaping  his  vengeance  ?  and  wherefore  will  you 
throw  yourself  wantonly  within  his  power  .^^ " 

"Worthy  father,"  said  the  merchant,  "  let  each  of  us,  with- 
out offence  to  the  other,  keep  his  own  secret.  I  have,  indeed, 
no  spell  to  secure  me  for  the  Duke's  resentment — I  have  limbs 
to  suffer  torture  and  imprisonment,  and  property  which  may  be 
seized  and  confiscated.  But  I  have  had  in  former  days  many 
dealings  with  the  Duke ;  I  may  even  say  I  have  laid  him  under 
obligations,  and  hope  my  interest  with  him  may  in  consequence 
be  sufficient,  not  only  to  save  me  from  the  consequences  of 
this  day's  procedure,  but  be  of  some  avail  to  my  friend  the 
Landamman." 

"  But  if  you  are  in  reality  bound  to  the  court  of  Burgundy 
as  a  merchant,"  said  the  priest,  where  are  the  wares  in  which 
you  traffic  1  Have  you  no  merchandise  save  that  which  you 
carry  on  your  person  I  heard  of  a  sumpter-horse  with  baggage. 
Has  yonder  villain  deprived  you  of  it  ?  " 

This  was  a  trying  question  to  Philipson,  who,  anxious  about 
the  separation  from  his  son,  had  given  no  direction  whether  the 
baggage  should  remain  with  himself,  or  should  be  transported 
to  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine.  He  was,  therefore,  taken  at 
advantage  by  the  priest's  inquiry,  to  which  he  answered,  with 
some  incoherence, — "  I  believe  my  baggage  is  in  the  hamlet — 
that  is,  unless  my  son  has  taken  it  across  the  Rhine  with  him." 

"  That  we  will  soon  learn,"  answered  the  priest. 


ANNE  OP  GETERSTEIN 


Here  a  novice  appeared  from  the  vestiary  of  the  chapel  at  his 
call,  and  received  commands  to  inquire  at  the  hamlet  whether 
Philipson's  bales,  with  the  horse  which  transported  them,  had 
been  left  there,  or  ferried  over  along  with  his  son. 

The  novice,  being  absent  a  few  minutes,  presently  retuatied 
with  the  baggage-horse,  which,  with  its  burden,  Arthur,  from 
regard  to  his  father's  accommodation,  had  left  on  the  western 
side  of  the  river.  The  priest  looked  on  attentively,  while  the 
elder  Philipson,  mounting  his  own  horse,  and  taking  the  rein 
of  the  others  in  his  hand,  bade  the  Black  Priest  adieu  in  these 
words, — "  And  now,  father,  farewell !  I  must  pass  on  with  my 
bales,  since  there  is  little  wisdom  in  traveling  with  them  after 
nightfall,  else  would  I  gladly  suit  my  pace,  with  your  permis- 
sion, so  as  to  share  the  way  with  you." 

"  If  it  is  your  obliging  purpose  to  do  so,  as  indeed  I  was 
about  to  propose,"  said  the  priest, "  know  I  will  be  no  stay  to 
your  journey.  I  have  here  a  good  horse  ;  and  Melchior,  who 
must  otherwise  have  gone  on  foot,  may  ride  upon  your  sumpter- 
horse.  I  the  rather  propose,  this  course,  as  it  will  be  rash  for 
you  to  travel  by  night.  I  can  conduct  you  to  an  hostelry  about 
five  miles  off,  which  we  may  reach  with  sufficient  daylight,  and 
where  you  will  be  lodged  safely  for  your  reckoning." 

The  English  merchant  hesitated  a  moment.  He  had  no 
fancy  for  any  new  companion  on  the  road,  and  although  the 
countenance  of  the  priest  was  rather  handsome,  considering  his 
years,  yet  the  expression  was  such  as  by  no  means  inviteds 
confidence.  On  the  contrary,  there  was  something  mysterious 
and  gloomy  which  clouded  his  brow,  though  it  was  a  lofty  one, 
and  a  similar  expression  gleamed  in  his  cold  gray  eye,  and 
intimated  severity  and  even  harshness  of  disposition.  But  not- 
withstanding this  repulsive  circumstance,  the  priest  had  lately 
rendered  Philipson  a  considerable  service  by  detecting  the 
treachery  of  his  hypocritical  guide,  and  the  merchant  was  not  a 
man  to  be  startled  from  his  course  by  any  imaginary  preposses- 
ions  against  the  looks  or  manners  of  anyone,  or  apprehensions 
of  machinations  against  himself.  He  only  revolved  in  his  mind 
the  singularity  attending  his  destiny,  which,  while  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  appear  before  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  in  the 
most  conciliatory  manner,  seemed  to  force  upon  him  the  adoption 
of  companions  who  must  needs  1)e  obnoxious  to  that  prince  ; 
and  such,  he  was  too  well  aware,  must  be  the  case  with  the 
Priest  of  St.  Paul's.  Having  reflected  for  an  instant,  he  courte 
ously  accepted  the  offer  of  the  priest  to  guide  him  to  some  place 
of  rest  and  entertainment,  which  must  be  absolutely  necessary 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


213 


for  his  horse  before  he  reached  Strassburg,  even  if  he  himself 
could  have  dispensed  with  it. 

The  party  being  thus  arranged,  the  novice  brought  forth  the 
priest's  steed,  which  he  mounted  with  grace  and  agility,  and 
the  neophyte,  being  probably  the  same  whom  Arthur  had  repre- 
sented during  his  escape  from  La  Ferette,  took  charge,  at  his 
master's  command  of  the  baggage-horse  of  the  Englishman  ; 
and,  crossing  himself,  with  a  humble  inclination  of  his  head; 
as  the  priest  passed  him,  he  fell  into  the  rear,  and  seemed  to 
pass  the  time,  like  the  false  brother  Bartholomew,  in  telling 
his  beads,  with  an  earnestness  which  had  perhaps  more  of 
affected  than  of  real  piety.  The  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  to 
judge  by  the  glance  which  he  cast  upon  his  novice,  seemed  to 
disdain  the  formality  of  the  young  man's  devotion.  He  rode 
upon  a  strong  black  horse,  more  like  a  warrior's  charger  than 
the  ambling  palfrey  of  a  priest,  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
managed  him  was  entirely  devoid  of  awkwardness  and  timidity. 
His  pride,  whatever  was  its  character,  was  not  certainly  of  -a 
kind  altogether  professional,  but  had  its  origin  in  other  swelling 
thoughts  which  arose  in  his  mind,  to  mingle  with  and  enhance 
the  self-consequence  of  a  powerful  ecclesiastic. 

As  Philipson  looked  on  his  companion  from  time  to  time, 
his  scrutinizing  glance  was  returned  by  a  haughty  smile,  which 
seemed  to  say,  "  You  may  gaze  on  my  form  and  features,  but 
you  cannot  penetrate  my  mystery." 

The  looks  of  Philipson,  which  were  never  known  to  sink 
before  mortal  man,  seemed  to  retort,  with  equal  haughtiness, 
Nor  shall  you,  proud  priest,  know  that  you  are  now  in  com- 
pany with  one  whose  secret  is  far  more  important  than  thine 
own  can  be." 

At  length  the  priest  made  some  advance  toward  conversation, 
by  allusion  to  the  footing  upon  which,  by  a  mutual  understand- 
ing, they  seemed  to  have  placed  their  intercourse. 

"We  travel  then,"  he  said,  "like  two  powerful  enchanters, 
each  conscious  of  his  own  high  and  secret  purpose  ;  each  in  his 
own  chariot  of  clouds,  and  neither  imparting  to  his  companion 
the  direction  or  purpose  of  his  journey." 

"  Excuse  me,  father,"  answered  Philipson,  "  I  have  neither 
asked  your  purpose,  nor  concealed  my  own,  so  far  as  it  concerns 
you.  I  repeat  I  am  bound  to  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  my  object  like  that  of  any  other  merchant,  is  to 
dispose  of  my  wares  to  advantage." 

"  Doubtless,  it  would  seem  so,"  said  the  Black  Priest,  "from 
the  extreme  attention  to  your  merchandise  which  you  showed 
not  above  half-an-hour  since,  when  you  knew  not  whether  your 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


bales  had  crossed  the  river  with  your  son,  or  were  remaining  in 
your  own  charge.  Are  English  merchants  usually  so  indifferent 
to  the  sources  of  their  traffic  ? 

When  their  lives  are  in  danger,"  said  Philipson,  "  they  are 
sometimes  negligent  of  their  fortune." 

"  It  is  well,"  replied  the  priest,  and  again  resumed  his  solitary 
musings  ;  until  another  half-hour's  traveling  brought  them  to  a 
dorff,  or  village,  which  the  Black  Priest  informed  Philipson  was 
that  where  he  proposed  to  stop  for  the  night. 

"  The  novice,"  he  said,  "  will  show  you  the  inn,  which  is  of 
good  reputation,  and  where  you  may  lodge  with  safety.  For 
me,  I  have  to  visit  a  penitent  in  this  village,  who  desires  my 
ghostly  offices; — perhaps  I  may  see  you  again  this  evening, 
perhaps  not  till  the  next  morning ; — at  any  rate,  adieu  for  the 
present." 

So  saying,  the  priest  stopped  his  horse,  while  the  novice, 
coming  close  up  to  Philipson's  side,  conducted  him  onward 
through  the  narrow  street  of  the  village,  whilst  the  windows 
exhibited  here  and  there  a  twinkling  gleam  announcing  that 
the  hour  of  darkness  was  arrived.  Finally  he  led  the  English- 
man through  an  archway  into  a  sort  of  courtyard,  where  there 
stood  a  car  or  two  of  a  particular  shape,  used  occasionally  by 
woman  when  they  travel,  and  some  other  vehicles  of  the  same 
kind.  Here  the  young  man  threw  himself  from  the  sumpter- 
horse,  and  placing  the  rein  in  Philipson's  hand,  disappeared  in 
the  increasing  darkness,  after  pointing  to  a  large  but  dilapidat- 
ed building,  along  the  front  of  which  not  a  spark  of  light  was 
to  be  discovered  from  any  of  the  narrow  and  numerous  win- 
dows, which  were  dimly  visible  in  the  twilight. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN.  215 


CHAPTER  NINETEENTH. 

First  Carrier, — What,  ostler ! — a  plague  on  thee,  hast  never  an  eye  in 
thy  head  ?  Canst  thou  not  hear.  An  tvvere  not  as  good  a  deed  as  drink  to 
break  the  pate  of  thee,  I  am  a  very  villain — Come,  and  be  hanged — Hast 
thou  no  faith  in  thee  ? 

Gadshill. — I  pray  thee,  lend  me  thy  lantern,  to  see  my  gelding  in  the 
stable. 

Second  Carrier, — Nay,  soft,  I  pray  you — I  know  a  trick  worth  two  of 
•  that. 

Gadshill. — I  prithee  lend  me  thine. 

Third  Carrier. — Ay,  when?  Canst  tell  ? — Lend  thee  my  lantern,  quo- 
tha?   Marry,  I'll  see  thee  hanged  first. 

Henry  IV. 

The  social  spirit  peculiar  to  the  French  nation  had  already 
introduced  into  the  inns  of  that  country  the  gay  and  cheerful 
character  of  welcome,  upon  which  Erasmus,  at  a  latter  period, 
dwells  with  strong  emphasis,  as  a  contrast  to  the  saturnine  and 
sullen  reception  which  strangers  were  apt  to  meet  with  at  a  Ger 
man  caravansera.  Philipson  was,  therefore,  in  expectation  of 
being  received  by  the  busy,  civil,  and  talkative  host — by  the 
•  hostess  and  her  daughter,  all  softness,  coquetry,  and  glee— the 
smiHng  and  supple  waiter — the  officious  and  dimpled  chamber- 
maid. The  better  inns  in  France  boast  also  separate  rooms, 
where  strangers  could  change  or  put  in  order  their  dress,  where 
they  might  sleep  without  company  in  their  bedroom,  and  where 
they  could  deposit  their  baggage  in  privacy  and  safety.  But 
all  these  luxuries  were  as  yet  unknown  in  Germany  ;  and  in 
Alsace,  where  the  scene  now  lies,  as  well  as  in  the  other  de- 
pendencies of  the  Empire,  they  regarded  as  effeminacy  every- 
thing beyond  such  provisions  as  were  absolutely  necessary  for 
the  supply  of  the  wants  of  travelers  ;  and  even  these  v\^ere 
coarse  and  indifferent,  and,  excepting  in  the  article  of  wine, 
sparingly  ministered. 

The  Englishman,  finding  that  no  one  appeared  at  the  gate, 
began  to  make  his  presence  known  by  calling  aloud,  and  finally 
by  alighting,  and  smiting  with  all  his  might  on  the  doors  of 
the  hostelry  for  a  long  time,  without  attracting  the  least  atten- 
tion. At  length  the  head  of  a  grizzled  servitor  was  thrust  out 
at  a  small  window,  who,  in  a  voice  which  sounded  like  that  of 
one  displeased  at  the  interruption,  rather  than  hopeful  of 
advantage  from  the  arrival  of  a  guest,  demanded  what  he 
wanted. 


2l6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  Is  this  an  inn  ?  "  replied  Philipson. 

"  Yes,"  bluntly  replied  the  domestic,  and  was  about  to  witb 
draw  from  the  window,  when  the  traveler  added, — 

"  And  if  it  be,  can  I  have  lodgings  ? * 

"  You  may  come  in,"  was  the  short  and  dry  answer. 

"  Send  some  one  to  take  the  horses,"  replied  Philipson. 

"  No  one  is  at  leisure,"  replied  this  most  repulsive  o! 
waiters  ;  "  you  must  litter  down  your  horses  yourself,  in  the 
way  that  likes  you  best." 

"  Where  is  the  stable  ? "  said  the  merchant,  whose  pru- 
dence and  temper  were  scarce  proof  against  this  Dutch  phlegm. 

The  fellow,  who  seemed  as  sparing  of  his  words,  as  if,  like 
the  Princess  in  the  fairy  tale,  he  had  dropped  ducats  with  each 
of  them,  only  pointed  to  a  door  in  an  outer  building,  more  re- 
sembling that  of  a  cellar  than  of  a  stable,  and,  as  if  weary  of 
the  conference,  drew  in  his  head,  and  shut  the  window  sharply 
against  the  guest,  as  he  would  against  an  importunate  beggar. 

Cursing  the  spirit  of  independence  which  left  a  traveler  to 
his  own  resources  and  exertions,  Philipson,  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  led  the  two  nags  toward  the  door  pointed  out  as 
that  of  the  stable,  and  was  rejoiced  at  heart  to  see  light  glim- 
mering through  its  chinks.  He  entered  with  his  charge  into  a 
place  very  like  the  dungeon  vault  of  an  ancient  castle,  rudely 
fitted  up  with  some  racks  and  mangers.  It  was  of  considerable 
extent  in  point  of  length,  and  at  the  lower  end  two  or  three 
persons  were  engaged  in  tying  up  their  horses,  dressing  them, 
and  dispensing  them  their  provender. 

This  last  article  was  delivered  by  the  ostler,  a  very  old  lame 
man,  who  neither  put  his  hand  to  wisp  nor  curry-comb,  but  sat 
weighing  forth  hay  by  the  pound,  and  counting  out  corn,  as  it 
seemed,  by  the  grain,  so  anxiously  did  he  bend  over  his  task, 
by  the  aid  of  a  blinking  light  enclosed  within  a  horn  lantern. 
He  did  not  even  turn  his  head  at  the  noise  which  the  English- 
man made  on  entering  the  place  with  two  additional  horses,  far 
less  did  he  seem  disposed  to  give  himself  the  least  trouble,  or 
the  stranger  the  smallest  assistance. 

In  respect  of  cleanliness,  the  stable  of  Augeas  bore  no  small 
resemblance  to  that  of  this  Alsatian  dorff ;  and  it  would  have 
been  an  exploit  worthy  of  Hercules  to  have  restored  it  to  such 
a  state  of  cleanliness,  as  would  have  made  it  barely  decent  in 
the  eyes,  and  tolerable  to  the  nostrils,  of  the  punctilious  English- 
man. But  this  was  a  matter  which  disgusted  Philipson  himself 
much  more  than  those  of  his  party  which  were  principally  con- 
cerned. They,  videlicet  the  two  horses,  seeming  perfectly  to 
understand  that  the  rule  of  the  place  was,  "first  come  first 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


served,"  hastened  to  occupy  the  empty  stalls  which  happened 
to  be  nearest  to  them.  In  this  one  of  them  at  least  was  disap- 
pointed, being  received  by  a  groom  with  a  blow  across  the  face 
with  a  switch. 

*'Take  that/'  said  the  fellow,  "for  forcing  thyself  into  the 
place  taken  up  for  the  horses  of  the  Baron  of  Randelsheim/' 

"  Never  in  the  course  of  his  life  had  the  English  merchant 
more  pain  to  retain  possession  of  his  temper  than  at  that  mo- 
ment. Reflecting,  however,  on  the  discredit  of  quarreling  with 
such  a  man  in  such  a  cause,  he  contented  himself  with  placing 
the  animal,  thus  repulsed  from  the  stall  he  had  chosen,  into 
one  next  to  that  of  his  companion,  to  which  no  one  seemed  to 
lay  claim. 

The  merchant  then  proceeded,  notwithstanding  the  fatigue 
of  the  day,  to  pay  all  that  attention  to  the  mute  companions 
of  his  journey,  which  they  deserve  from  every  traveler  who  has 
any  share  of  prudence,  to  say  nothing  of  humanity.  The 
unusual  degree  of  trouble  which  Philipson  took  to  arrange  his 
horses  although  his  dress,  and  much  more  his  demeanor, 
seemed  to  place  him  above  this  species  of  servile  labor,  ap- 
peared to  make  an  impression  even  upon  the  iron  insensibiHty 
of  the  old  ostler  himself.  He  showed  some  alacrity  in  furnishing 
the  traveler,  who  knew  the  business  of  a  groom  so  well,  with 
corn,  straw,  and  hay,  though  in  small  quantity,  and  at  exorbitant 
rates,  which  were  instantly  to  be  paid ;  nay,  he  even  went 
as  far  as  the  door  of  the  stable,  that  he  might  point  across  the 
court  to  the  well,  from  which  Philipson  v/as  obliged  to  fetch 
water  with  his  own  hands.  The  duties  of  the  stable  being 
finished,  the  merchant  concluded  that  he  had  gained  such  an 
interest  with  the  grim  master  of  the  horse,  as  to  learn  of  him 
whether  he  might  leave  his  bales  safely  in  the  stable. 

You  may  leave  them  if  you  will,'^  said  the  ostler;  "but 
touching  their  safety,  you  will  do  much  more  wisely  if  you  take 
them  with  you,  and  give  no  temptation  to  any  one  by  suffering 
them  to  pass  from  under  your  own  eyes.'' 

So  saying,  the  man  of  oats  closed  his  oracular  jaws,  nor 
could  he  he  prevailed  upon  to  unlock  them  again  by  any  inquiry 
which  his  customer  could  devise. 

In  the  course  of  this  cold  and  comfortless  reception,  Philipson 
recollected  the  necessity  of  supporting  the  character  of  a  pru- 
dent and  wary  trader,  which  he  had  forgotten  once  before  in 
the  course  of  the  day ;  and,  imitating  what  he  saw  the  others 
do,  who  had  been  like  himself,  engaged  in  taking  charge  of  their 
horses,  he  took  up  his  baggage,  and  removed  himself  and  his 
property  to  the  inn.    Here  he  was  suffered  to  enter,  rather 


AisrKm  OP  geiersteIn. 


than  admitted,  into  the  general  or  public  stube^  or  room  of  et> 
tertainment,  which,  like  the  ark  of  the  patriarch,  received  all 
ranks  without  distinction,  whether  clean  or  unclean. 

The  stube^  or  stove,  of  a  German  inn,  derived  its  name  from 
the  great  hypocaust,  which  is  always  strongly  heated  to  secure 
the  warmth  of  the  apartment  in  which  it  is  placed.  There 
travelers  of  every  age  and  description  assembled — there  their 
upper  garments  were  indiscriminately  hung  up  around  the  stove 
to  dry  or  to  air — and  the  guests  themselves  were  seen  employed 
in  various  acts  of  ablution  or  personal  arrangement,  which  are 
generally,  in  modern  times,  referred  to  the  privacy  of  the 
dressing-room. 

The  more  refined  feelings  of  the  Englishman  were  disgusted 
with  this  scene,  and  he  was  reluctant  to  mingle  in  it.  For 
this  reason  he  inquired  for  the  private  retreat  of  the  landlord 
himself,  trusting  that,  by  some  of  the  arguments  powerful 
among  his  tribe,  he  might  obtain  separate  quarters  from  the 
crowd,  and  a  morsel  of  food,  to  be  eaten  in  private.  A  gray- 
haired  Ganymede,  to  whom  he  put  the  question  where  the 
landlord  was,  indicated  a  recess  behind  the  huge  stove,  where, 
veiling  his  glory  in  a  very  dark  and  extremely  hot  corner,  it 
pleased  the  great  man  to  obscure  himself  from  vulgar  gaze. 
There  was  something  remarkable  about  this  person.  Short, 
stout,  bandylegged,  and  consequential,  he  was  in  these  re- 
pects  like  many  brethren  of  the  profession  in  all  countries. 
But  the  countenance  of  the  man,  and  still  more  his  manners, 
differed  more  from  the  merry  host  of  France  or  England,  than 
even  the  experienced  Philipson  was  prepared  to  expect.  He 
knew  German  customs  too  well  to  expect  the  suppliant  and 
serviceable  qualities  of  the  master  of  a  French  inn,  or  even  the 
more  blunt  and  frank  manners  of  an  English  landlord.  But 
such  German  innkeepers  as  he  had  yet  seen,  though  indeed 
arbitrary  and  peremptory  in  their  country  fashions,  yet  being 
humored  in  these,  they,  like  tyrants  in  their  hours  of  relax- 
ation, dealt  kindly  with  the  guests  over  whom  their  sway  ex- 
tended, and  mitigated,  by  jest  and  jollity,  the  harshness  of 
their  absolute  power.  But  this  man's  brow  was  like  a  tragic 
volume,  in  which  you  were  as  unlikely  to  find  anything  of  jest 
or  amusement,  as  in  a  hermit's  breviary.  His  answers  were 
short,  sudden,  and  repulsive,  and  the  air  and  manner  with 
which  they  were  delivered  was  as  surly  as  their  tenor  ;  which 
will  appear  from  the  following  dialogue  betwixt  him  and  his 
guest : — 

"  Good  host,"  said  Philipson,  in  the  mildest  tone  he  could 
assume,  "  I  am  fatigued,  and  far  from  well — May  1  request  to 


AMIVE  OF  GEIERSTEIM. 


have  a  separate  apartment,  a  cup  of  wine,  and  a  morsel  of 
food,  in  my  private  chamber  ?  " 

"  You  may/'  answered  the  landlord ;  but  with  a  look 
strangely  at  variance  with  the  apparent  acquiescence  which  his 
words  naturally  implied. 

"  Let  me  have  such  accommodation,  then,  with  your  earliest 
convenience." 

Soft ! "  replied  the  innkeeper.  "  I  have  said  that  you 
may  request  these  things,  but  not  that  I  would  grant  them.  If 
you  would  insist  on  being  served  differently  from  others,  it 
must  be  at  another  inn  than  mine.'' 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  traveler,  "  I  will  shift  without  su|> 
per  for  a  night — nay,  more,  I  will  be  content  to  pay  for  a  sup- 
per whch  I  do  not  eat,  if  you  will  cause  me  to  be  accom- 
modated with  a  private  apartment." 

Seignor  traveler,"  said  the  innkeeper,  every  one  here 
must  be  accommodated  as  well  as  you,  since  all  pay  alike. 
Whoso  comes  to  this  house  of  entertainment  must  eat  as  others 
eat,  drink  as  others  drink,  sit  at  table  with  the  rest  of  my 
guests,  and  go  to  bed  when  the  company  have  done  drinking." 

All  this,"  said  Philipson,  humbling  himself  where  anger 
would  have  been  ridiculous,  is  highly  reasonable  ;  and  I  do 
not  oppose  myself  to  your  laws  or  customs.  But,"  added  he, 
taking  his  purse  from  his  girdle,  sickness  craves  some  priv- 
ilege ;  and  when  the  patient  is  willing  to  pay  for  it,  methinks 
the  rigor  of  your  laws  may  admit  of  some  mitigation  ?  " 

I  keep  an  inn,  Seignor,  and  not  a  hospital.  If  you  remain 
here,  you  shall  be  served  with  the  same  attention  as  others, — 
if  you  are  not  willing  to  do  as  others  do,  leave  my  house  and 
seek  another  inn." 

On  receiving  this  decisive  rebuff,  Philipson  gave  up  the  con- 
test, and  retired  from  the  sanctum  sanctorimt  of  his  ungracious 
host,  to  await  the  arrival  of  supper,  penned  up  like  a  bullock 
in  a  pound  amongst  the  crowded  inhabitants  of  the  stube. 
Some  of  these,  exhausted  by  fatigue,  snored  away  the  interval 
between  their  own  arrival  and  that  of  the  expected  repast ; 
others  conversed  together  on  the  news  of  the  countr}^,  and 
others  again  played  at  dice,  or  such  games  as  might  serve  to 
consume  the  time.  The  company  were  of  various  ranks,  from 
those  who  were  apparently  wealthy  and  well  appointed,  to  some 
whose  garments  and  manners  indicated  that  they  were  but  just 
beyond  the  grasp  of  poverty. 

A  begging  friar,  a  man  apparently  of  a  gay  and  pleasant 
temper,  approached  Philipson,  and  engaged  him  in  conversation. 
The  Englishman  was  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  world 


A^TN-E  OF  GElERSTRm. 


to  be  aware,  that  whatever  of  his  character  and  purpose  it  was 
desirable  to  conceal,  would  be  best  hidden  under  a  sociable  and 
open  demeanor.  He,  therefore,  received  the  friar's  approaches 
graciously,  and  conversed  with  him  upon  the  state  of  Lorraine, 
and  the  interest  which  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  attempt  to  seize 
that  fief  into  his  own  hands  was  likely  to  create  both  in  France 
and  Germany.  On  these  subjects  satisfied  with  hearing  his  fel- 
lov/-traveler's  sentiments,  Philipson  expressed  no  opinion  of  his 
own,  but,  after  receiving  such  intelligence  as  the  friar  chose  to 
communicate,  preferred  rather  to  talk  upon  the  geography  of 
the  country,  the  facilities  afforded  to  commerce,  and  the  rules 
which  obstructed  or  favored  trade. 

While  he  was  thus  engaged  in  the  conversation  which  seemed 
most  to  belong  to  his  profession,  the  landlord  suddenly  entered 
the  room,  and,  mounting  on  the  head  of  an  old  barrel,  glanced 
his  eye  slowly  and  steadily  round  the  crowded  apartment,  and 
when  he  had  completed  his  survey,  pronounced,  in  a  decisive 
tone,  the  double  command — Shut  the  gates — Spread  the 
table." 

"The  Baron  St.  Antonio  be  praised,"  said  the  friar,  "  our 
landlord  has  given  up  hope  of  any  more  guests  to-night,  until 
which  blessed  time  we  might  have  starved  for  want  of  food 
before  he  had  relieved  us.  Ay,  here  comes  the  cloth,  the  old 
gates  of  the  courtyard  are  now  bolted  fast  enough,  and  when 
lohann  Mengs  has  once  said,  *  Shut  the  gates,'  the  stranger  may 
knock  on  the  outside  as  he  will,  but  we  may  rest  assured  that 
it  shall  not  be  open  to  him." 

Meinherr  Mengs  maintains  strict  discipline  in  his  house," 
said  the  Englishman. 

As  absolute  as  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,"  answered  the  friar. 
After  ten  o'clock,  no  admittance — the 'seek  another  inn/ 
which  is  before  that  a  conditional  hint,  becomes,  after  the 
clock  has  struck,  and  the  watchmen  have  begun  their  rounds, 
an  absolute  order  of  exclusion.  He  that  is  without  remains 
without,  and  he  that  is  within  must,  in  like  manner,  continue 
there  until  the  gates  open  at  break  of  day.  Till  then  the 
house  is  almost  like  a  beleaguered  citadel,  John  Mengs  its 
seneschal  " — 

"  And  we  its  captives,  good  father,"  said  Philipson.  **Well, 
content  am  I  ;  a  wise  traveler  must  submit  to  the  control  of 
the  leaders  of  the  people,  when  he  travels  ;  and  I  hope  a  goodly 
fat  potentate,  like  John  Mengs,  will  be  as  clement  as  his  station 
and  dignity  admit  of." 

While  they  were  talking  in  this  manner,  the  aged  waiter, 
with  many  a  weary  sigh,  and  many  a  groan,  had  drawn  out 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


22  1 


certain  boards,  by  which  a  table,  that  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
stube,  had  the  capacity  of  being  extended,  so  as  to  contain  the 
company  present,  and  covered  it  with  a  cloth,  which  was  neither 
distinguished  by  extreme  cleanliness  nor  fineness  of  texture. 
On  this  table,when  it  had  been  accommodated  to  receive  the 
necessary  number  of  guests,  a  wooden  trencher  and  spoon, 
together  with  a  glass  drinking  cup,  were  placed  before  each, 
he  being  expected  to  serve  himself  with  his  own  knife  for  the 
other  purposes  of  the  table.  As  for  forks,  they  were  unknown 
until  a  much  later  period,  all  the  Europeans  of  that  day  making 
the  same  use  of  the  fingers  to  select  their  morsels  and  transport 
them  to  the  mouth,  which  the  Asiatics  now  practice. 

The  board  was  no  sooner  arranged,  than  the  hungry  guests 
hastened  to  occupy  their  seats  around  it ;  for  which  purpose  the 
sleepers  were  awakened,  the  dicers  resigned  their  game,  and  the 
idlers  and  politicians  broke  off  their  sage  debates,  in  order  to 
secure  their  station  at  the  supper-table,  and  be  ready  to  perform 
their  part  in  the  interesting  solemnity  which  seemed  about  to 
take  place.  But  there  is  much  between  the  cup  and  the  lip, 
and  not  less  sometimes  between  the  covering  of  a  table  and  the 
placing  food  upon  it.  The  guests  sat  in  order,  each  with  his 
knife  drawn,  already  menacing  the  victuals  which  were  still 
subject  to  the  operations  of  the  cook.  They  had  waited  with 
various  degrees  of  patience  for  full  half-an-hour,  when  at  length 
the  old  attendant  before  mentioned  entered  with  a  pitcher  of  thin 
Moselle  wine,  so  light  and  so  sharp-tasted,  that  Philipson  put 
down  his  cup  with  every  tooth  in  his  head  set  on  edge  by  the 
slender  portion  which  he  had  swallowed.  The  landlord,  John 
Mengs,  who  had  assumed  a  seat  somewhat  elevated  at  the  head 
of  the  table,  did  not  omit  to  observe  this  mark  of  insubordina- 
tion, and  to  animadvert  upon  it. 

The  wine  likes  you  not,  I  think,  my  master  !  "said  he  to 
the  English  merchant. 

"  For  wine,  no,"  answered  Philipson  ;  but,  could  I  see  any- 
thing requiring  such  sauce,  I  have  seldom  seen  better  vinegar.*' 

This  jest,  though  uttered  in  the  most  calm  and  composed 
manner,  seemed  to  drive  the  innkeeper  to  fury. 

"  Who  are  you,"  he  exclaimed,  for  a  foreign  pedler,  that 
ventures  to  quarrel  with  my  wine,  which  has  been  approved  of 
by  so  many  princes,  dukes,  reigning  dukes,  graves,  rhinegraves, 
counts,  barons,  and  knights  of  the  Empire,  whose  shoes  you  are 
altogether  unworthy  even  to  clean  ?  Was  it  not  of  this  wine 
that  the  Count  Palatine  of  Nimmersatt  drank  six  quarts  before 
he  ever  rose  from  the  blessed  chair  in  which  I  now  sit  " 

I  doubt  it  not,  mine  host,"  said  Philipson  5    nor  should  I 


222 


AISTNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


think  of  scandalizing  the  sobriety  of  your  honorable  guesti 
even  if  he  had  drunken  twice  the  quantity." 

"  Silence,  thou  malicious  railer  !  "  said  the  host  ;  "  and  let 
instant  apology  be  made  to  me,  and  the  wine  which  you  have 
calumniated,  or  I  will  instantly  command  the  supper  to  be 
postponed  till  midnight.'* 

Here  there  was  a  general  alarm  among  the  guests,  all  ab- 
juring any  part  in  the  censures  of  Philipson,  and  most  of  them 
proposing  that  John  Mengs  should  avenge  himself  on  the  actual 
culprit,  by  turning  him  instantly  out  of  doors,  rather  than  in- 
volve so  many  innocent  and  famished  persons  in  the  conse* 
quences  of  his  guilt.  The  wine  they  pronounced  excellent ; 
some  two  or  three  even  drank  their  glass  out,  to  make  their 
words  good  ;  and  they  all  offered,  if  not  with  lives  and  fortunes, 
at  least  with  hands  and  feet,  to  support  the  ban  of  the  house 
against  the  contumacious  Englishman.  While  petition  and 
remonstrance  were  assailing  John  Mengs  on  every  side,  the  friar, 
like  a  wise  counselor,  and  a  trusty  friend,  endeavored  to  end  the 
feud,  by  advising  Philipson  to  submit  to  the  host's  sovereignty. 

"Humble  thyself,  my  son,''  he  said;  "bend  the  stubborness 
of  thy  heart  before  the  great  lord  of  the  spigot  and  butt.  I 
speak  for  the  sake  of  others  as  well  as  my  own ;  for  Heaven 
alone  knows  how  much  longer  they  or  I  can  endure  this  ex- 
tenuating fast !  " 

"  Worthy  guests,"  said  Philipson,  "  I  am  grieved  to  have 
offended  our  respected  host,  and  am  so  far  from  objecting  to 
the  wdne,  that  I  will  pay  for  a  double  flagon  of  it,  to  be  served 
all  round  to  this  honorable  company — so,  only,  they  do  not 
ask  me  to  share  of  it." 

These  last  words  were  spoken  aside  ;  but  the  Englishman 
could  not  fail  to  perceive,  from  the  wry  mouths  of  some  of  the 
party  who  were  possessed  of  a  nicer  palate,  that  they  were  as 
much  afraid  as  himself  of  a  repetition  of  the  acid  potation. 

The  friar  next  addressed  the  company  with  a  proposal,  that 
the  foreign  merchant,  instead  of  being  amerced  in  a  measure 
of  the  liquor  which  he  had  scandalized,  should  be  mulcted  in 
an  equal  quantity  of  the  more  generous  wines  which  were 
usually  produced  after  the  repast  had  been  concluded.  In  this 
mine  host,  as  well  as  the  guests,  found  their  advantage ;  and, 
as  Philipson  made  no  objection,  the  proposal  was  unanimously 
adopted,  and  John  Mengs  gave,  from  his  seat  of  dignity,  the 
signal  for  supper  to  be  served. 

The  long-expected  meal  appeared,  and  there  was  twice  as 
much  time  employed  in  consuming  as  there  had  been  in  expect- 
ing it.    The  articles  which  the  supper  consisted,  as  well  as  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


223 


mode  of  serving  them  up,  were  as  much  calculated  to  try  the 
patience  of  the  company  as  the  delay  which  had  preceded  its 
appearance.  Messes  of  broth  and  vegetables  followed  in  succes- 
sion, with  platters  of  meat  sodden  and  roasted,  of  which  each 
in  its  turn  took  a  formal  course  around  the  ample  table,  and  was 
specially  subjected  to  every  one  in  rotation.  Black-puddings, 
hung  beef,  dried  fish,  also  made  the  circuit,  with  various  condi- 
ments,  called  Botargo,  Caviare,  and  similar  names,  composed  of 
the  roes  of  fish  mixed  with  spices,  and  the  like  preparations  cal- 
culated to  awaken  thirst  and  encourage  deep  drinking.  Flagons 
of  wine  accompanied  these  stimulating  dainties.  The  liquor 
was  so  superior  in  flavor  and  strength  to  the  ordinary  wine  which 
had  awakened  so  much  controversy,  that  it  might  be  objected 
to  on  the  opposite  account,  being  so  heady,  fiery,  and  strong, 
that,  in  spite  of  the  rebuffs  which  his  criticism  had  already 
procured,  Philipson  ventured  to  ask  for  some  cold  water  to 
allay  it. 

You  are  too  difficult  to  please,  sir  guest,"  replied  the  land- 
lord, again  bending  upon  the  Englishman  a  stern  and  offended 
brow  ;  if  you  find  the  wine  too  strong  in  my  house,  the  secret 
to  allay  its  strength  is  to  drink  the  less.  It  is  indifferent  to  us 
whether  you  drink  or  not,  so  you  pay  the  reckoning  of  those 
good  fellows  who  do.''  And  he  laughed  a  gruff  laugh. 

Philipson  was  about  to  reply,  but  the  friar,  retaining  his 
character  ot  mediator,  plucked  him  by  the  cloak,  and  entreated 
him  to  forbear.  You  do  not  understand  the  ways  of  the 
place,"  said  he  ;  it  is  not  here  as  in  the  hostelries  of  England 
and  France,  where  each  guest  calls  for  what  he  desires  for  his 
own  use,  and  where  he  pays  for  what  he  has  required,  and  for 
no  more.  Here  we  proceed  on  a  broad  principle  of  equality 
and  fraternity.  No  one  asks  for  anything  in  particular  ;  but 
such  provisions  as  the  host  thinks  sufficient  are  set  down  before 
all  indiscriminately ;  and  as  with  the  feast,  so  is  it  with  the 
reckoning.  All  pay  their  proportions  alike,  without  reference 
to  the  quantity  of  wine  which  one  may  have  swallowed  more 
than  another  ;  and  thus  the  sick  and  infirm,  nay,  the  female  and 
the  child,  pay  the  same  as  the  hungry  peasant  and  strolling 
lanz'knechtr 

"  It  seems  an  unequal  custom,"  said  Philipson  ;  "  but  travel- 
ers are  not  to  judge.  So  that,  when  a  reckoning  is  called, 
every  one,  I  am  to  understand,  pays  alike  1  " 

"  Such  is  the  rule,"  said  the  friar, — excepting,  perhaps, 
some  poor  brother  of  our  own  order,  whom  Our  Lady  and  St. 
Francis  send  into  such  a  scene  as  this,  that  good  Christians 


224 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


may  bestow  their  alms  upon  him,  and  so  make  a  step  on  their 
road  to  Heaven." 

The  first  words  of  this  speech  were  spoken  in  the  open  and 
independent  tone  of  which  the  friar  had  begun  the  conversa- 
tion ;  the  last  sentence  died  away  into  the  professional  whine 
of  mendicity  proper  to  rhe  convent,  and  at  once  apprised 
Philipson  at  what  price  he  was  to  pay  for  the  friar's  counsel 
and  mediation.  Having  thus  explained  the  custom  of  the 
country,  good  Father  Gratian  turned  to  illustrate  it  by  his  ex- 
ample, and,  having  no  objection  to  the  new  service  of  wine  on 
account  of  its  strength,  he  seemed  well  disposed  to  signalize 
himself  amongst  some  stout  topers,  who,  by  drinking  deeply, 
appeared  determined  to  have  full  pennyworths  for  their  share 
of  the  reckoning.  The  good  wine  gradually  did  its  office,  and 
even  the  host  relaxed  his  sullen  and  grim  features,  and  smiled 
to  see  the  kindling  flame  of  hilarity  catch  from  one  to  another, 
and  at  length  embrace  almost  all  the  numerous  guests  at  the 
table- d'hote,  except  a  few  who  were  too  temperate  to  partake 
deeply  of  the  wine,  or  too  fastidious  to  enter  into  the  discus- 
sions to  which  it  gave  rise.  On  these  the  host  cast,  from  time 
to  time,  a  sullen  and  displeased  eye. 

Philipson,  who  was  reserved  and  silent,  both  in  consequence 
of  his  abstinence  from  the  wine-pot,  and  his  unwillingness  to 
mix  in  conversation  with  strangers,  was  looked  upon  by  the 
landlord  as  a  defaulter  in  both  particulars ;  and  as  he  aroused 
his  own  sluggish  nature  with  the  fiery  wine,  Mengs  began  to 
throw  out  obscure  hints  about  kill-joy,  mar-company,  spoil-sport, 
and  such-like  epithets,  which  were  plainly  directed  against  the 
Englishman.  Philipson  replied,  with  the  utmost  equanimity, 
that  he  was  perfectly  sensible  that  his  spirits  did  not  at  this 
moment  render  him  an  agreeable  member  of  a  merry  company, 
and  that,  with  the  leave  of  those  present,  he  would  withdraw  to 
his  sleeping  apartment,  and  wish  them  all  a  good  evening,  and 
continuance  of  their  mirth. 

But  this  very  reasonable  proposal,  as  it  might  have  elsewhere 
seemed,  contained  in  it  treason  against  the  laws  of  German 
compotation. 

Who  are  you,"  said  John  Mengs,  ^'  who  presume  to  leave 
the  table  before  the  reckoning  is  called  and  settled  .^^  Sapper- 
ment  der  teufel !  we  are  not  men  upon  whom  such  an  offence 
is  to  be  put  with  impunity  !  You  may  exhibit  your  polite 
pranks  in  Rams-Alley  if  you  will,  or  in  Kastcheap,  or  in  Smith- 
field  ;  but  it  shall  not  be  in  John  Mengs's  Golden  Fleece  ;  nor 
will  1  suffer  one  guest  to  go  to  bed  to  blink  out  of  the  reckon 
ing,  and  so  cheat  me  and  all  the  rest  of  my  company." 


AN-NB  OP  CEIERSTBIN. 


225 


Philipson  looked  round,  to  gather  the  sentiments  of  the  com- 
pany, but  saw  no  encouragement  to  appeal  to  their  judgment. 
Indeed,  many  of  them  had  little  judgment  left  to  appeal  to,  and 
those  who  paid  any  attention  to  the  matter  at  all,  were  some 
quiet  old  soakers,  who  were  already  beginning  to  think  of  the 
reckoning,  and  were  disposed  to  agree  with  the  host  in  con- 
sidering the  English  merchant  as  a  flincher,  who  was  deter- 
mined to  evade  payment  of  what  might  be  drunk  after  he  left 
the  room ;  so  that  John  Mengs  received  the  applause  of  the 
whole  company,  when  he  concluded  his  triumphant  denuncia- 
tion against  Philipson. 

"  Yes,  sir,  you  may  withdraw  if  you  please  ;  but,  potz  ele- 
ment !  it  shall  not  be  for  this  time  to  seek  for  another  inn,  but 
to  the  courtyard  shall  you  go,  and  no  further,  there  to  make 
your  bed  upon  the  stable  litter ;  and  good  enough  for  the  man 
that  will  needs  be  the  first  to  break  up  good  company." 

"  It  is  well  said,  my  jovial  host,''  said  a  rich  trader  from 
Ratisbon  ;  "  and  here  are  some  six  of  us — more  or  less — who 
will  stand  by  you  to  maintain  the  good  old  customs  of  Ger- 
many ;  and  the — umph — laudable  and — and  praiseworthy  rules 
of  the  Golden  Fleece." 

"  Nay,  be  not  angry,  sir,"  said  Philipson  ;  "  yourself  and 
your  three  companions,  whom  the  good  wine  has  multiplied 
into  six,  shall  have  your  own  way  of  ordering  the  matter ;  and 
since  you  will  not  permit  me  to  go  to  bed,  I  trust  that  you  will 
will  take  no  offence  if  I  fall  asleep  in  my  chair.'' 

"  How  say  you  ?  what  think  you,  mine  host  ? "  said  the  citi- 
zen from  Ratisbon  ;  may  the  gentleman,  being  drunk,  as  you 
see  he  is,  since  he  cannot  tell  that  three  and  one  make  six — I 
say,  may  he,  being  drunk,  sleep  in  the  elbow-chair  ?  " 

This  question  introduced  a  contradiction  on  the  part  of  the 
host,  who  contended  that  three  and  one  made  four,  not  six ; 
and  this  again  produced  a  retort  from  the  Ratisbon  trader. 
Other  clamors  rose  at  the  same  time,  and  were  at  length  with 
difficulty  silenced  by  the  stanzas  of  a  chorus  song  of  mirth  and 
good  fellowship,  which  the  friar,  now  become  somewhat  obliv- 
ious of  the  rule  of  St.  Francis,  thundered  forth  with  better  good- 
will than  he  ever  sang  a  canticle  of  King  David.  Undercover  of 
this  tumult,  Philipson  drew  himself  a  little  aside,  and  though 
he  felt  it  impossible  to  sleep,  as  he  had  proposed,  was  yet  enabled 
to  escape  the  reproachful  glances  with  which  John  Mengs  dis- 
tinguished all  those  who  did  not  call  for  wine  loudly,  and  drink 
it  lustily.  His  thoughts  roamed  far  from  the  stube  of  the  Gold- 
en Fleece,  and  upon  matter  very  different  from  that  which  was 
discussed  around  him,  when  his  attention  was  suddenly  re- 


226 


AI^NE  OP  GElRRSTEm. 


called  by  a  loud  and  continued  knocking  on  the  door  of  the 
hostelry. 

What  have  we  here  ? said  John  Mengs,  his  nose  redden- 
ing with  very  indignation ;  "  who  the  foul  fiend  presses  on  the 
Golden  Fleece  at  such  an  hour,  as  if  he  thundered  at  the  door 
of  a  bordel  ?  To  the  turret  window  some  one — Geoffrey,  knave 
ostler,  or  thou,  old  Timothy,  tell  the  rash  man  there  is  no  admit- 
tance into  the  Golden  Fleece  save  at  timeous  hours/' 

The  men  went  as  they  were  directed,  and  might  be  heard  in 
the  stiibe  vying  with  each  other  in  the  positive  denial  which 
they  gave  to  the  ill-fated  guest,  who  was  pressing  for  admission. 
They  returned,  however,  to  inform  their  master,  that  they  were 
unable  to  overcome  the  obstinacy  of  the  stranger,  who  refused 
positively  to  depart  until  he  had  an  interview  with  Mengs  himself. 

Wroth  was  the  master  of  the  Golden  Fleece  at  this  ill-omened 
pertinacity,  and  his  indignation  exiended,  like  a  fiery  exhalation, 
from  his  nose,  all  over  the  adjacent  regions  of  his  cheeks  and 
brow.  He  started  from  his  chair,  grasped  in  his  hand  a  stout 
stick,  which  seemed  his  ordinary  sceptre  or  leading  staff  of 
command,  and  muttering  something  concerning  cudgels  for  the 
shoulders  of  fools,  and  pitchers  of  fair  or  foul  water  for  the 
drenching  of  their  ears,  he  marched  off  to  the  window  which 
looked  into  the  court,  and  left  his  guests  nodding,  winking,  and 
whispering  to  each  other,  in  full  expectation  of  hearing  the 
active  demonstrations  of  his  wrath.  It  happened  otherwise, 
however ;  for,  after  the  exchange  of  a  few  indistinct  words, 
they  were  astonished  when  they  heard  the  noise  of  the  unbolt- 
ing and  unbarring  of  the  gates  of  the  inn,  and  presently  after 
the  footsteps  of  men  upon  the  stairs  ;  and  the  landlord  enter- 
ing, with  an  appearance  of  clumsy  courtesy,  prayed  those 
assembled  to  make  room  for  an  honored  guest,  who  came, 
thought  late,  to  add  to  their  numbers.  A  tall  dark  form  followed 
muffled  in  a  traveling  cloak  ;  on  laying  aside  which,  Philip- 
son  at  once  recognized  his  late  fellow-traveler,  the  Black  Priest 
of  St.  Paul's. 

There  was  in  the  circumstance  itself  nothing  at  all  surpris- 
ing, since  it  was  natural  that  a  landlord,  however  coarse  and 
insolent  to  ordinary  guests,  might  yet  show  deference  to  an  ec- 
clesiastic, whether  from  his  rank  in  Church,  or  from  his  reputa- 
tion for  sanctity.  But  what  did  appear  surprising  to  Philipson, 
was  the  effect  produced  by  the  entrance  of  this  unexpected 
guest.  He  seated  himself,  without  hesitation,  at  the  highest 
place  of  the  board,  from  which  John  Mengs  had  dethroned  the 
aforesnid  trader  from  Ratisbon,  notwithstanding  his  zeal  for 
ancient  German  customs,  his  steady  adherence  and  loyalty  to 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


227 


the  Golden  Fleece,  and  his  propensity  to  brimming  goblets.  The 
priest  took  instant  and  unscrupulous  possession  of  his  seat  of 
honor,  after  some  negligent  reply  to  the  host's  unwonted  courtesy; 
when  it  seemed  that  the  effect  of  his  long  black  vestments,  in  place 
of  the  slashed  and  flounced  coat  of  his  predecessor,  as  well  as  of 
the  cold  gray  eye  with  which  he  slowly  reviewed  the  company,  in 
some  degree  resembled  that  of  the  fabulous  Gorgon,  and  if  it 
did  not  literally  convert  those  who  looked  upon  it  into  stone, 
there  was  yet  something  petrifying  in  the  steady  unmoved  glance 
with  which  he  seemed  to  survey  them,  looking  as  if  desirous  of 
reading  their  very  inmost  souls,  and  passing  from  one  to  another, 
as  if  each  upon  whom  he  looked  in  succession  was  unworthy 
of  longer  consideration. 

Philipson  felt,  in  his  turn,  that  momentary  examination,  in 
which,  however,  there  mingled  nothing  that  seemed  to  convey 
recognition.  All  the  courage  and  composure  of  the  English- 
man  could  not  prevent  an  unpleasant  feeling  while  under  this 
mysterious  man's  eye,  so  that  he  felt  a  relief  when  it  passed 
from  him  and  rested  upon  upon  another  of  the  company,  who 
seemed  in  turn  to  acknowledge  the  chilling  effects  of  that  freezing 
glance.  The  noise  of  intoxicated  mirth  and  drunken  disputa- 
tion, the  clamorous  argument,  and  the  still  more  boisterous 
laugh,  which  had  been  suspended  on  the  priest's  entering  the 
eating  apartment,  now,  after  one  or  two  vain  attempts  to  resume 
them,  died  away,  as  if  the  feast  had  been  changed  to  a  funeral, 
and  the  jovial  guests  had  been  at  once  converted  into  the  lugubri- 
ous mutes  who  attend  on  such  solemnities.  One  little  rosy-faced 
man,  who  afterward  proved  to  be  a  tailor  from  Augsburg,  ambiti- 
ous, perhaps,  of  showing  a  degree  of  courage  not  usually  supposed 
consistent  with  his  effeminate  trade,  made  a  bold  effort;  and 
yet  it  was  with  a  timid  and  restrained  voice,  that  he  called  on 
the  jovial  friar  to  renew  his  song.  But  whether  it  was  that  he 
did  not  dare  to  venture  on  an  uncanonical  pastime  in  presence 
of  a  brother  in  orders,  or  whether  he  had  some  other  reason  for 
declining  the  invitation,  the  merry  churchman  hung  his  head, 
and  shook  it  with  such  an  expressive  air  of  melancholy,  that 
the  tailor  drew  back  as  if  he  had  been  detected  in  cabbaging 
from  a  cardinal's  robes,  or  cribbing  the  lace  of  some  cope  or 
altar  gown.  In  short,  the  revel  was  hushed  into  deep  silence, 
and  so  attentive  were  the  company  to  what  should  arrive  next, 
that  the  bells  of  the  village  church,  striking  the  first  hour  after 
midnight,  made  the  guests  start  as  if  they  heard  them  rung 
backward,  to  announce  an  assault  or  conflagration.  The  Black 
Priest,  who  had  taken  some  slight  and  hasty  repast,  which  the 
host  had  made  no  kind  of  objection  to  supplying  him  with, 


22S 


ANN-R  OP  GEIERSTEIN. 


seemed  to  think  the  bells,  which  announced  the  service  of  lauds, 
being  the  first  after  midnight,  a  proper  signal  for  breaking  up 
the  party. 

"  We  have  eaten/'  he  said,  "  that  we  may  support  life  ;  let 
us  pray  that  we  may  be  fit  to  meet  death  ;  which  waits  upon 
life  as  surely  as  night  upon  day,  or  the  shadow  upon  the  sun- 
beam, though  we  know  not  when  or  from  whence  it  is  to  come 
upon  us." 

The  company,  as  if  mechanically,  bent  their  uncovered  heads 
while  the  priest  said,  with  his  deep  and  solemn  voice,  a  Latin 
prayer,  expressing  thanks  to  God  for  protection  throughout  the 
day,  and  entreating  for  its  continuance  during  the  witching 
hours  which  were  to  pass  ere  the  day  again  commenced.  The 
hearers  bowed  their  heads  in  token  of  acquiescence  in  the  holy 
petition  ;  and,  when  they  raised  them,  the  Black  Priest  of  St. 
Paul's  had  followed  the  host  out  of  the  apartment,  probably  to 
that  which  was  destined  for  his  repose.  His  absence  was  no 
sooner  perceived,  than  signs,  and  nods,  and  even  whispers, 
were  exchanged  between  the  guests  ;  but  no  one  spoke  above 
his  breath,  or  in  such  connected  manner,  as  that  Philipson  could 
understand  anything  distinctly  from  them.  He  himself  ven- 
tured to  ask  the  friar,  who  sat  near  him,  observing  at  the  same 
time  the  under-tone  which  seemed  to  be  fashionable  for  the 
moment,  whether  the  worthy  ecclesiastic  who  had  left  them, 
was  not  the  Priest  of  St.  PauFs  on  the  frontier  town  of  La 
Ferette. 

"  And  if  you  know  it  is  he,''  said  the  friar,  with  a  counte- 
nance and  a  tone,  from  which  all  signs  of  intoxication  were 
suddenly  banished,    why  do  you  ask  of  me  t  " 

"  Because,"  said  the  merchant,  I  would  willingly  learn  the 
spell  which  so  suddenly  converted  so  many  merry  tipplers  into 
men  of  sober  manners,  and  a  jovial  company  into  a  convent  of 
Carthusian  friars  ? " 

"  Friend,"  said  the  friar,  "  thy  discourse  savoreth  mightily 
of  asking  after  what  thou  knowest  right  well.  But  I  am  no 
such  silly  duck  as  to  be  taken  by  a  decoy.  If  thou  knowest  the 
Black  Priest,  thou  canst  not  be  ignorant  of  the  terrors  which 
attend  his  presence,  and  that  it  were  safer  to  pass  a  broad  jest 
in  the  holy  House  of  Loretto,  than  where  he  shows  himself." 

So  saying,  and  as  if  desirous  of  avoiding  further  discourse, 
he  withdrew  to  a  distance  from  Philipson. 

At  the  same  moment  the  landlord  again  appeared,  and,  with 
more  of  the  usual  manners  of  a  publican  than  he  had  hitherto 
exhibited,  commanded  his  waiter,  Geoffrey,  to  hand  round  to 
the  company  a  sleeping  drink,  or  pillow-cup  of  distilled  water, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


229 


mingled  with  spices,  which  was  indeed  as  good  as  Philipson 
himself  had  ever  tasted.  John  Mengs,  in  the  meanwhile,  with 
somewhat  of  more  deference,  expressed  to  his  guests  a  hope 
that  his  entertainment  had  given  satisfaction  ;  but  this  was  in 
so  careless  a  manner,  and  he  seemed  so  conscious  of  deserving 
the  affirmative  which  was  expressed  on  all  hands,  that  it  be- 
came obvious  there  was  very  little  humility  in  proposing  the 
question.  The  old  man,  Timothy,  was  in  the  meantime  mus- 
tering the  guests,  and  marking  with  chalk  on  the  bottom  of  a 
trencher  the  reckoning,  the  particulars  of  which  were  indicated 
by  certain  conventional  hieroglyphics,  while  he  showed  on 
another  the  division  of  the  sum  total  among  the  company,  and 
proceeded  to  collect  an  equal  share  of  it  from  each.  When 
the  fatal  trencher,  in  which  each  man  paid  down  his  money 
approached  the  jolly  friar,  his  countenance  seemed  to  be  some- 
what changed.  He  cast  a  piteous  look  toward  Philipson,  as 
the  person  from  whom  he  had  the  most  hope  of  relief  ;  and  our 
merchant,  though  displeased  with  the  manner  in  which  he  had 
held  back  from  his  confidence,  yet  not  unwilling  in  a  strange 
country  to  incur  a  little  expense,  in  the  hope  of  making  a  useful 
acquaintance,  discharged  the  mendicant's  score  as  well  as  his  own. 
The  poor  friar  paid  his  thanks  in  many  a  blessing  in  good  German 
and  bad  Latin,  but  the  host  cut  them  short  ;  for,  approaching 
Philipson  with  a  candle  in  his  hand^  he  offered  his  own  services 
to  show  him  where  he  might  sleep,  and  even  had  the  condescen- 
sion to  carry  his  mail,  or  portmanteau,  with  his  own  landlordly 
hands. 

"  You  take  too  much  trouble,  mine  host,'*  said  the  merchant, 
somewhat  surprised  at  the  change  in  the  manner  of  John 
Mengs,  who  had  hitherto  contradicted  him  at  every  word. 

"  I  cannot  take  too  much  pains  for  a  guest,"  was  the  reply, 
"whom  my  venerable  friend,  the  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  hath 
especially  recommended  to  my  charge." 

He  then  opened  the  door  of  a  small  bedroom,  prepared  for 
the  occupation  of  a  guest,  and  said  to  Philipson, — "  Here  you 
may  rest  till-morrow  at  what  hour  you  will,  and  for  as  many 
days  more  as  you  incline.  The  key  will  secure  your  wares 
against  theft  or  pillage  of  any  kind.  I  do  not  this  for  every 
one  ;  for,  if  my  guests  were  every  one  to  have  a  bed  to  himself, 
the  next  thing  they  would  demand  might  be  a  separate  table  ; 
and  then  there  would  be  an  end  of  the  good  old  German 
customs,  and  we  should  be  as  foppish  and  frivolous  as  our 
.neighbors." 

He  placed  the  portmanteau  on  the  floor,  and  seemed  about 


230 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


to  leave  the  apartment,  when,  turning  about,  he  began  a  sort  of 
apology  for  the  rudeness  of  his  former  behavior. 

"  I  trust  there  is  no  misunderstanding  between  us,  my 
worthy  guest.  You  might  as  well  expect  to  see  one  of  our 
bears  come  aloft  and  do  tricks  like  a  jackanapes,  as  one  of  us 
stubborn  old  Germans  play  the  feats  of  a  French  or  an  Italian 
host.  Yet  I  pray  you  to  note,  that  if  our  behavior  is  rude  our 
charges  are  honest,  and  our  articles  what  they  profess  to  be. 
We  do  not  expect  to  make  Moselle  pass  for  Rhenish,  by  dint 
of  a  bow  and  a  grin,  nor  will  we  sauce  your  mess  with  poison, 
like  the  wily  Italian,  and  call  you  all  the  time  Illustrissimo  and 
Magnifico." 

He  seemed  in  these  words  to  have  exhausted  his  rhetoric, 
for  when  they  were  spoken,  he  turned  abruptly  and  left  the 
apartment. 

Philipson  was  thus  deprived  of  another  opportunity  to  inquire 
who  or  what  this  ecclesiastic  could  be,  that  had  exercised  such 
influence  on  all  who  approached  him.  He  felt,  indeed,  no 
desire  to  prolong  a  conference  with  John  Mengs,  though  he  had 
laid  aside  in  such  a  considerable  degree  his  rude  and  repulsive 
manners ;  yet  he  longed  to  know  who  this  man  could  be,  who 
had  power  with  a  word  to  turn  aside  the  daggers  of  Alsatian 
banditti,  habituated  as  they  were,  like  most  borderers,  to 
robbery  and  pillage,  and  to  change  into  civility  the  proverbial 
rudeness  of  a  German  innkeeper.  Such  were  the  reflections 
of  Philipson,  as  he  doffed  his  clothes  to  take  his  much-needed 
repose,  after  a  day  of  fatigue,  danger,  and  difficulty,  on  the 
pallet  afforded  by  the  hospitality  of  the  Golden  Fleece  in  the 
Rhein-Thal. 


CHAPTER  TWENTIETH. 

Macbeth. — How  now,  ye  secret,  black,  and  midnight  hags, 
What  is't  ye  do  ? 

Witches, — A  deed  without  a  name. 

Macbeth. 

We  have  said  in  the  conclusion  of  the  last  chapter,  that, 
after  a  day  of  unwonted  fatigue  and  extraordinary  excitation, 
the  merchant,  Philipson,  naturally  expected  to  forget  so  many 
agitating  passages  in  that  deep  and  profound  repose,  which  it 
at  once  the  consequence  and  the  cure  of  extreme  exhaustion. 
Bnt  he  was  no  sooner  laid  on  his  lowly  pallet,  than  he  felt  that 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


231 


the  bodily  machine,  over-labored  by  so  much  exercise,  was 
little  disposed  to  the  charms  of  sleep.  The  mind  had  been  too 
much  excited,  the  body  was  far  too  feverish,  to  suffer  him  to 
partake  of  needful  rest.  His  anxiety  about  the  safety  of  his  son, 
his  conjectures  concerning  the  issue  of  his  mission  to  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  and  a  thousand  other  thoughts  which  recalled 
past  events,  or  speculated  on  those  which  were  to  come,  rushed 
upon  his  mind  like  the  waves  of  a  perturbed  sea,  and  prevented 
all  tendency  to  repose.  He  had  been  in  bed  about  an  hour, 
and  sleep  had  not  yet  approached  his  couch,  when  he  felt  that 
the  pallet  on  which  he  lay  was  sinking  below  him,  and  that  he 
was  in  the  act  of  descending  along  with  it  he  knew  not  whither, 
The  sound  of  ropes  and  pulleys  was  also  indistinctly  heard, 
though  every  caution  had  been  taken  to  make  them  run 
smooth;  and  the  traveler,  by  feeling  around  him,  became 
sensible  that  he  and  the  bed  on  which  he  lay  had  been  spread 
upon  a  large  trap-door  which  was  capable  of  being  let  down 
into  the  vaults,  or  apartments  beneath. 

Philipson  felt  fear  in  circumstances  so  well  qualified  to 
produce  it ;  for  how  could  he  hope  a  safe  termination  to  an 
adventure  which  had  begun  so  strangely  But  his  apprehen- 
sions were  those  of  a  brave,  ready-witted  man,  who,  even  in  the 
extremity  of  danger,  which  appeared  to  surround  him,  preserved 
his  presence  of  mind.  His  descent  seemed  to  be  cautiously 
managed,  and  he  held  himself  in  readiness  to  start  to  his  feet 
and  defend  himself,  as  soon  as  he  should  be  once  more  upon 
firm  ground.  Although  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  he  was 
a  man  of  great  personal  vigor  and  activity,  and  unless  taken  at 
advantage,  which  no  doubt  was  at  present  much  to  be  appre- 
hended, he  was  likely  to  make  a  formidable  defence.  His  plan 
of  resistance,  however,  had  been  anticipated.  He  no  sooner 
reached  the  bottom  of  the  vault,  down  to  which  he  was  low- 
ered,  than  two  men,  who  had  been  waiting  there  till  the  opera- 
tion was  completed,  laid  hands  on  him  from  either  side,  and 
forcibly  preventing  him  from  starting  up  as  he  intended,  cast  a 
rope  over  his  arms,  and  made  him  a  prisoner  as  effectually  as 
when  he  was  in  the  dungeons  of  La  Ferette.  He  was  obliged, 
therefore,  to  remain  passive  and  unresisting,  and  await  the 
termination  of  this  formidable  adventure.  Secured  as  he  was, 
he  could  only  turn  his  head  from  one  side  to  the  other ;  and  it 
was  with  joy  that  he  at  length  saw  lights  twinkle,  but  they  ap- 
peared at  a  great  distance  from  him. 

From  the  irregular  manner  in  which  these  scattered  lights 
advanced,  sometimes  keeping  a  straight  line,  sometimes  mixing 
and  crossing  each  other,  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  subter- 


232 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


ranean  vault  in  which  they  appeared  was  of  very  considerable 
extent.  Their  number  also  increased  ;  and  as  they  collected 
more  together,  Philipson  could  perceive  that  the  lights  pro- 
ceeded from  many  torches,  borne  by  men  muffled  in  black 
cloaks,  like  mourners  at  a  funeral,  or  the  Black  Friars  of  Saint 
Francis's  Order,  wearing  their  cowls  drawn  over  their  heads  so 
as  to  conceal  their  features.  They  appeared  anxiously  engaged 
in  measuring  off  a  portion  of  the  apartment,  and  while  occu- 
pied in  that  employment  they  sang,  in  the  ancient  German 
language,  rhymes  more  rude  than  Philipson  could  well  under- 
stand, but  which  may  be  imitated  thus  : — 

Measurers  of  good  and  evil, 
Bring  the  square,  the  line,  the  level, — 
Rear  the  altar,  dig  the  trench,  _ 
Blood  both  stone  and  ditch  shall  drench.  " 
Cubits  six,  from  end  to  end, 
Must  the  fatal  bench  extend, — 
Cubits  six,  from  side  to  side, 
Judge  and  culprit  must  divide. 
On  the  east  the  court  assembles, 
On  the  west  the  accused  trembles- 
Answer,  brethren,  all  and  one 
Is  the  ritual  rightly  done  ? 

A  deep  chorus  seemed  to  reply  to  the  question.  Many 
voices  joined  in  it,  as  well  of  persons  already  in  the  subterra- 
nean vault,  as  of  others  who  as  yet  remained  without  in  various 
galleries  and  passages  which  communicated  with  it,  and  whom 
Philipson  now  presumed  to  be  very  numerous.  The  answer 
chanted  ran  as  follows  : — 

On  life  and  soul,  on  blood  and  bone, 
One  for  all,  and  all  for  one, 
We  warrant  this  is  rightly  done. 

The  original  strain  was  then  renewed  in  the  same  manner 
as  before — 

How  wears  the  night  ? — Doth  morning  shine 
In  early  radiance  on  the  Rhine  ? 
What  music  floats  upon  his  tide  ? 
Do  birds  the  tardy  morning  chide  ? 
Brethren,  look  out  from  hill  and  height. 
And  answer  true,  how  wears  the  night  ? 

The  answer  was  returned,  though  less  loud  than  at  first, 
and  it  seemed  that  those  by  whom  the  reply  was  given  were  at 
a  much  greater  distance  than  before  ;  yet  the  words  were  dis- 
tinctly heard. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


The  night  is  old ;  on  Rhine's  broad  breast 
Glance  drowsy  stars  which  long  to  rest. 

No  beams  are  twinkling  in  the  east. 
There  is  a  voice  upon  the  flood, 
The  stern  still  call  of  blood  for  blood; 

*Tis  time  we  listen  the  behest. 

The  chorus  replied  with  many  additional  voices — 

Up,  then,  up  !    When  day*s  at  rest, 

*Tis  time  that  such  as  we  are  watchers; 

Rise  to  judgment,  brethren,  rise ! 

Vengeance  knows  not  sleepy  eyes, 
He  and  night  are  matchers. 

The  nature  of  the  verses  soon  led  Philipson  to  comprehend 
that  he  was  in  presence  of  the  Initiated,  or  the  Wise  Men ; 
names  which  were  applied  to  the  celebrated  Judges  of  the 
Secret  Tribunal,  which  continued  at  that  period  to  subsist  in 
Swabia,  Franconia,  and  other  districts  of  the  east  of  Germany, 
which  was  called  perhaps,  from  the  frightful  and  frequent 
occurrence  of  executions  by  command  of  those  invisible  judges, 
the  Red  Land.  Philipson  had  often  heard  that  the  seat  of  a 
free  Count,  or  Chief  of  the  Secret  Tribunal,  was  secretly  insti- 
tuted even  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  that  it  maintained 
itself  in  Alsace,  with  the  usual  tenacity  of  those  secret  societies, 
though  Duke  Charles  of  Burgundy  had  expressed  a  desire  to 
discover  and  discourage  its  influence  so  far  as  was  possible, 
without  exposing  himself  to  danger  from  the  thousands  of 
poniards  which  that  mysterious  tribunal  could  put  in  activity 
against  his  own  life  ; — am  awful  means  of  defence,  which  for  a 
long  time  rendered  it  extremely  hazardous  for  the  sovereigns  of 
Germany,  and  even  the  Emperors  themselves,  to  put  down  by 
authority  those  singular  associations. 

So  soon  as  this  explanation  flashed  on  the  mind  of  Philipson, 
it  gave  some  clew  to  the  character  and  condition  of  the  Black 
Priest  of  St.  Paul's.  Supposing  him  to  be  a  president,  or  chief 
official  of  the  secret  association,  there  was  little  wonder  that  he 
should  confide  so  much  in  the  inviolability  of  his  terrible  office, 
as  to  propose  vindicating  the  execution  of  De  Hagenbach  ;  that 
his  presence  should  surprise  Bartholomew,  whom  he  had  power 
to  have  judged  and  executed  upon  the  spot  ;  and  that  his  mere 
appearance  at  supper  on  the  preceding  evening  should  have 
appalled  the  guests ;  for  though  everything  about  the  institu- 
tion, its  proceedings  and  its  officers,  was  preserved  in  as  much 
obscurity  as  is  now  practiced  in  freemasonry,  yet  the  secret 
was  not  so  absolutely  well  kept  as  to  prevent  certain  individuals 
from  being  guessed  or  hinted  at  as  men  initiated  and  intrusted 


«34 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


with  high  authority  by  the  Vehme-gericht,  or  tribunal  of  the 
bounds.  When  such  suspicion  attached  to  an  individual,  his 
secret  power,  and  supposed  acquaintance  with  all  guilt,  however 
secret,  which  was  committed  within  the  society  in  which  he  was 
conversant,  made  him  at  once  the  dread  and  hatred  of  every 
one  who  looked  on  him  ;  and  he  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of 
personal  respect,  on  the  same  terms  on  which  it  would  have 
been  yielded  to  a  powerful  enchanter,  or  a  dreaded  genie.  In 
conversing  with  such  a  person,  it  was  especially  necessary  to 
abstain  from  all  questions  alluding,  however  remotely,  to  the 
office  which  he  bore  in  the  Secret  Tribunal ;  and,  indeed,  to 
testify  the  least  curiosity  upon  a  subject  so  solemn  and  mys- 
terious was  sure  to  occasion  some  misfortune  to  the  inquisitive 
person. 

All  these  things  rushed  at  once  upon  the  mind  of  the  Eng- 
lishman, who  felt  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  an  un- 
sparing tribunal,  whose  proceedings  were  so  much  dreaded  by 
those  who  resided  within  the  circle  of  their  power,  that  the 
friendless  stranger  must  stand  a  poor  chance  of  receiving 
justice  at  cheir  hands,  whatever  might  be  his  consciousness  of 
innocence.  While  Philipson  made  this  melancholy  reflection, 
he  resolved,  at  the  same  time,  not  to  forsake  his  own  cause, 
but  defend  himself  as  he  best  might  ;  conscious  as  he  was  that 
these  terrible  and  irresponsible  judges  were  nevertheless  gov- 
erned by  certain  rules  of  right  and  wrong,  which  formed  a 
check  on  the  rigors  of  their  extraordinary  code. 

He  lay,  therefore,  devising  the  best  means  of  obviating  the 
present  danger,  while  the  persons  whom  he  beheld  glimmered 
before  him,  less  like  distinct  and  individual  forms  than  like 
the  phantoms  of  a  fever,  or  the  phantasmagoria  with  which  a 
disease  of  the  optic  nerves  has  been  known  to  people  a  sick 
man's  chamber.  At  length  they  assembled  in  the  centre  of  the 
apartment  where  they  had  first  appeared,  and  seemed  to  arrange 
themselves  into  form  and  order.  A  great  number  of  black 
torches  were  successively  lighted,  and  the  scene  became  dis- 
tinctly visible.  In  the  centre  of  the  hall,  Philipson  could  now 
perceive  one  of  the  altars  which  are  sometimes  to  be  found  in 
ancient  subterranean  chapels.  But  we  must  pause,  in  order 
briefly  to  describe,  not  the  appearance  only,  but  the  nature  and 
constitution,  of  this  terrible  court. 

]]ehind  the  altar,  which  seemed  to  be  the  central  point,  on 
which  all  eyes  were  bent,  there  were  placed  in  parallel  lines 
two  benches  covered  with  black  cloth.  Each  was  occupied  by 
a  number  of  persons,  who  seemed  assembled  as  judges  ;  but 
those  who  held  the  foremost  bench  were  fewer,  and  appeared  of 


AiVNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


235 


a  rank  superior  to  those  who  crowded  the  seat  most  remote 
from  the  altar.  The  first  seemed  to  be  all  men  of  some  conse- 
quence, priests  high  in  their  order,  knights  or  noblemen ;  and, 
notwithstanding  an  appearance  of  equality  which  seemed  to 
pervade  this  singular  institution,  much  more  weight  was  laid 
upon  their  opinion,  or  testimonies.  They  were  called  Free 
Knights,  Counts,  or  whatever  title  they  might  bear,  while  the 
inferior  class  of  the  judges  were  only  termed  Free  and  worthy 
Burghers.  For  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  Vehmique  Insti- 
tution,* which  was  the  name  that  it  commonly  bore,  although 
its  powers  consisted  in  a  wide  system  of  espionage,  and  the 
tyrannical  application  of  force  which  acted  upon  it,  was  yet  (so 
rude  w^ere  the  ideas  of  enforcing  public  law)  accounted  to  confer 
a  privilege  on  the  country  in  which  it  was  received,  and  only 
freemen  were  allowed  to  experience  its  influence.  Serfs  and 
peasants  could  neither  have  a  place  among  the  Free  Judges, 
their  assessors,  or  assistants  ;  for  there  was  in  this  assembly 
even  some  idea  of  trying  the  culprit  by  his  peers. 

Besides  the  dignitaries  who  occupied  the  benches,  there 
were  others  who  stood  around,  and  seemed  to  guard  the  various 
entrances  to  the  hall  of  judgment,  or,  standing  behind  the  seats 
on  which  their  superiors  were  ranged,  looked  prepared  to  exe- 
cute their  commands.  These  were  members  of  the  order, 
though  not  of  the  highest  ranks.  Schoppen  is  the  name  gen- 
erally assigned  to  them,  signifying  officials,  or  sergeants  of  the 
Vehmique  Court,  whose  doom  they  stood  sworn  to  enforce, 
through  good  report  and  bad  report,  against  their  own  nearest 
and  most  beloved,  as  well  as  in  cases  of  ordinary  malefactors. 

The  Schoppen,  or  Scabini,  as  they  were  termed  in  Latin,  had 
another  horrible  duty  to  perform — that,  namely,  of  denouncing 
to  the  tribunal  whatever  came  under  their  observation,  that 
might  be  construed  as  an  offence  falling  under  its  cognizance  ; 
or,  in  their  language,  a  crime  against  the  Vehme.  This  duty 
extended  to  the  judges  as  well  as  the  assistants,  and  was  to  be 
discharged  without  respect  of  persons ;  so  that,  to  know,  and 
wilfully  conceal,  the  guilt  of  a  mother  or  brother,  inferred,  on 
the  part  of  the  unfaithful  official,  the  same  penalty  as  if  he 
himself  had  committed  the  crime  which  his  silence  screened 
from  punishment.  Such  an  institution  could  only  prevail  at 
a  time  when  ordinary  means  of  justice  were  excluded  by  the 

*  The  word  Wehme,  pronounced  Vehmey,  is  of  uncertain  derivation, 
but  was  always  used  to  intimate  this  inquisitorial  and  secret  Court.  The 
members  were  termed  Wissenden,  or  Initiated,  answering  to  the  modern 
phrase  of  Illuminati.  Mr.  Palgrave  seems  inclined  to  derive  the  word 
Vehme  from  Ehme^  i.e.  Law^  and  he  is  probably  right. 


236 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


hand  of  power,  and  when,  in  order  to  bring  the  guilty  to  punish- 
ment, it  required  all  the  influence  and  authority  of  such  a 
confederacy.  In  no  other  country  than  one  exposed  to  every 
species  of  feudal  tyranny,  and  deprived  of  every  ordinary  mode 
of  obtaining  justice  or  redress,  could  such  a  system  have  taken 
root  and  flourished. 

We  must  now  return  to  the  brave  Englishman,  who,  though 
feeling  all  the  danger  he  encountered  from  so  tremendous  a 
tribunal,  maintained  -nevertheless  a  dignified  and  unaltered 
composure. 

The  meeting  being  assembled,  a  coil  of  ropes,  and  a  naked 
sword,  the  well-known  signals  and  emblems  of  Vehmique 
authority,  were  deposited  on  the  altar ;  where  the  sword,  from 
its  being  usually  straight,  with  a  cross  handle,  was  considered 
as  representing  the  blessed  emblem  of  Christian  Redemption, 
and  the  cord  as  indicating  the  right  of  criminal  jurisdiction, 
and  capital  punishment.  Then  the  President  of  the  meeting, 
who  occupied  the  centre  seat  on  the  foremost  bench,  arose,  and 
laying  his  hand  on  the  symbols,  pronounced  aloud  the  formula 
expressive  of  the  duty  of  the  tribunal,  which  all  the  inferior 
judges  and  assistants  repeated  after  him,  in  deep  and  hollow 
murmurs. 

"  I  swear  by  the  Holy  Trinity,  to  aid  and  co-operate,  without 
relaxation,  in  the  things  belonging  to  the  Holy  Vehme,  to  defend 
its  doctrines  and  institutions  against  father  and  mother,  brother 
and  sister,  wife  and  children  ;  against  fire,  water,  earth,  and  air ; 
against  all  that  the  sun  enlightens  ;  against  all  that  the  dew 
moistens  ;  against  all  created  things  of  heaven  and  earth,  or  the 
waters  under  the  earth  ;  and  I  swear  to  give  information  to  this 
holy  judicature,  of  all  that  I  know  to  be  true,  or  hear  repeated 
by  credible  testimony,  which,  by  the  rules  of  the  Holy  Vehme, 
is  deserving  of  animadversion  or  punishment ;  and  that  I  will 
not  cloak,  cover,  or  conceal,  such  my  knowledge,  neither  for  love, 
friendship,  or  family  affection,  nor  for  gold,  silver,  or  precious 
stones  ;  neither  will  I  associate  with  such  as  are  under  the  sen- 
tence of  this  Sacred  Tribunal,  by  hinting  to  a  culprit  his  danger, 
or  advising  him  to  escape,  or  aiding  and  supplying  him  with 
counsel,  or  means  to  that  effect ;  neither  will  I  relieve  such  cul- 
prit with  fire,  clothes,  food,  or  shelter,  though  my  father  should 
require  from  me  a  cup  of  water  in  the  heat  of  summer  noon,  or 
my  brother  should  request  to  sit  by  my  fire  in  the  bitterest  cold 
night  of  winter  :  And  further,  T  vow  and  promise  to  honor 
this  holy  association,  and  do  its  behests  speedily,  faithfully,  and 
firmly,  in  preference  to  those  of  any  other  tribunal  whatsoever 
— so  help  me  God,  and  his  holy  Evangelists/' 


ANm  OF  OMIERSTEm 


When  this  oath  of  office  had  been  taken,  the  President  ad- 
dressing the  assembly,  as  men  who  judge  in  secret,  and  punish 
in  secret  like  the  Deity,  desired  them  to  say,  why  this  "  child  of 
the  cord''  ^  lay  before  them  bound  and  helpless  ?  An  individual 
rose  from  the  more  remote  bench,  and  in  a  voice  which,  though 
altered  and  agitated,  Philipson  conceived  that  he  recognized, 
declared  himself  the  accuser,  as  bound  by  his  oath,  of  the  child 
of  the  cord,  or  prisoner,  who  lay  before  them. 

"  Bring  forward  the  prisoner,"  said  the  President,  "  duly 
secured,  as  is  the  order  of  our  secret  law  ;  but  not  with  such 
severity  as  may  interrupt  his  attention  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  tribunal,  or  limit  his  power  of  hearing  and  replying." 

Six  of  the  assistants  immediately  dragged  forward  the  pallet 
and  platform  of  boards  on  which  Philipson  lay,  and  advanced 
it  toward  the  foot  of  the  altar.  This  done,  each  unsheathed 
his  dagger,  while  two  of  them  unloosed  the  cords  by  which  the 
merchant's  hands  were  secured,  and  admonished  him  in  a 
whisper,  that  the  slightest  attempt  to  resist  or  escape,  would 
be  the  signal  to  stab  him  dead. 

"  Arise  !  "  said  the  President  ;  "  listen  to  the  charge  to  be 
preferred  against  you,  and  believe  you  shall  in  us  find  judges 
equally  just  and  inflexible." 

Philipson,  carefully  avoiding  any  gesture  which  might  indi- 
cate a  desire  to  escape,  raised  his  body  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
couch,  and  remained  seated,  clothed  as  he  was  in  his  under-vest 
and  calefons,  or  drawers,  so  as  exactly  to  face  the  muffled 
President  of  the  terrible  court.  Even  in  these  agitating  circum- 
stances, the  mind  of  the  undaunted  Englishman  remained  un- 
shaken, and  his  eyelid  did  not  quiver,  nor  his  heart  beat  quicker, 
though  he  seemed,  according  to  the  expression  of  Scripture,  to 
be  a  pilgrim  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  beset  by 
numerous  snares,  and  encompassed  by  total  darkness,  where 
•  light  was  most  necessary  for  safety. 

The  President  demanded  his  name,  country,  and  occupa- 
tion. 

"  John  Philipson,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  by  birth  an  Englishman, 
by  profession  a  merchant." 

"  Have  you  ever  borne  any  other  name  and  profession  ?  " 
demanded  the  Judge. 

I  have  been  a  soldier,  and,  like  most  others,  had  then  a 
name  by  which  I  was  known  in  war." 

"  What  Wcis  that  name  ?  " 

*  The  term  Strick-kind,  or  child  of  the  cord,  was  applied  to  the  person 
accused  before  these  awful  assemblies. 


238 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


I  laid  it  aside  when  I  resigned  my  sword,  and  I  do  not 
desire  again  to  be  known  by  it.  Moreover,  I  never  bore  it 
where  your  institutions  have  weight  and  authority,'^  answered 
the  Englishman. 

Know  you  before  whom  you  stand  t    continued  the  Judge. 
I  may  at  least  guess,''  replied  the  merchant. 

"  Tell  your  guess,  then,"  continued  the  interrogator.    "  Say 
who  we  are,  and  wherefore  are  you  before  us 

"  I  believe  that  I  am  before  the  Unknown,  or  Secret  Tribu- 
nal, which  is  called  Vehme-gericht." 

"  Then  are  you  aware,"  answered  the  Judge,  "  that  you  would 
be  safer  if  you  were  suspended  by  the  hair  over  the  Abyss  of 
Schaffhausen,  or  if  you  lay  below  an  axe,  which  a  thread  of  silk 
alone  kept  back  from  the  fall.  What  have  you  done  to  deserve 
such  a  fate  ? " 

"  Let  those  reply  by  whom  I  am  subjected  to  it,"  answered 
Philipson,  with  the  same  composure  as  before. 

"  Speak,  accuser,"  said  the  President,  "  to  the  four  quarters 
of  Heaven  ! — To  the  ears  of  the  free  judges  of  this  tribunal,  and 
the  faithful  executors  of  their  doom  ! — And  to  the  face  of  the 
child  of  the  cord,  who  denies  or  conceals  his  guilt,  make  good 
the  substance  of  thine  accusation  !  " 

"  Most  dreaded,"  answered  the  accuser,  addressing  the 
President,  this  man  hath  entered  the  Sacred  Territory,  which  is 
called  the  Red  Land, — a  stranger  under  a  disguised  name  and 
profession.  When  he  was  yet  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Alps, 
at  Turin,  in  Lombardy,  and  elsewhere,  he  at  various  times 
spoke  of  the  Holy  Tribunal  in  terms  of  hatred  and  contempt, 
and  declared  that  were  he  Duke  of  Burgundy,  he  would  not 
permit  it  to  extend  itself  from  Westphalia,  or  Swabia,  into  his 
dominions.  Also,  I  charge  him,  that,  nourishing  this  malev- 
olent intention  against  the  Holy  Tribunal,  he  who  now  appears 
before  the  bench  as  child  of  the  cord,  has  intimated  his  inten-  * 
tion  to  wait  upon  the  court  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  use 
his  influence  with  him,  which  he  boasts  will  prove  effectual  to 
stir  him  up  to  prohibit  the  meetings  of  the  Holy  Vehme  in  his 
dominions,  and  to  inflict  on  their  ofBcers,  and  the  executors  of 
their  mandates,  the  punishment  due  to  robbers  and  assassins." 

This  is  a  heavy  charge,  brother  !  "  said  the  President  of  the 
assembly,  when  the  accuser  ceased  speaking — "  How  do  you 
purpose  to  make  it  good  ?" 

"  According  to  the  tenor  of  those  secret  statutes,  the  perusal 
of  which  is  prohibited  to  all  but  the  initiated,"  answered  the 
accuser. 

"  It  is  well,"  said  the  President ;  "  but  I  ask  thee  once  more, 


AJVNE  OF  GEIER^TEIN, 


What  are  those  means  of  proof  ? — You  speak  to  holy  and  to 
initiated  ears.'* 

"  I  will  prove  my  charge/'  said  the  accuser,  "  by  the  confes- 
sion of  the  party  himself,  and  by  my  own  oath  upon  the  holy 
emblems  of  the  Secret  Judgment — that  is,  the  steel  and  the 
cord." 

"  It  is  a  legitimate  offer  of  proof,"  said  a  member  of  the 
aristocratic  bench  of  the  assembly ;  "  and  it  much  concerns  the 
safety  of  the  system  to  which  we  are  bound  by  such  deep  oaths, 
a  system  handed  down  to  us  from  the  most  Christian  and  Holy 
Roman  Emperor,  Charlemagne,for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
Saracens,  and  punishing  such  of  them  as  revolted  again  to  their 
Pagan  practices,  that  such  criminals  should  be  looked  to.  This 
Duke  Charles  of  Burgundy  hath  already  crowded  his  army  with 
foreigners,  whom  he  can  easily  employ  against  this  Sacred  Court, 
more  especially  with  the  English,  a  fierce  insular  people,  wedded 
to  their  own  usages,  and  hating  those  of  every  other  nation.  It  is 
not  unknown  to  us,  that  the  Duke  hath  already  encouraged  oppo- 
sition to  the  officials  of  the  Tribunal  in  more  than  one  part  of 
his  German  dominions  ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  instead  of  sub- 
mitting to  their  doom  with  reverent  resignation,  children  of  the 
cord  have  been  found  bold  enough  to  resist  the  executioners  of 
the  Vehme,  striking,  wounding,  and  even  slaying  those  who  have 
received  commission  to  put  them  to  death.  This  contumacy 
must  be  put  an  end  to ;  and  if  the  accused  shall  be  proved  to  be 
one  of  those  by  whom  such  doctrines  are  harbored  and  incul- 
cated, I  say  let  the  steel  and  cord  do  their  work  on  him." 

A  general  murmur  seemed  to  approve  what  the  speaker  had 
said  ;  for  all  were  conscious  that  the  power  of  the  Tribunal 
depended  much  more  on  the  opinion  of  its  being  deeply  and 
firmly  rooted  in  the  general  system,  than  upon  any  regard  or 
esteem  for  an  institution,  of  which  all  felt  the  severity.  It 
followed,  that  those  of  the  members  who  enjoyed  consequence 
by  means  of  their  station  in  the  ranks  of  the  Vehme,  saw  the 
necessity  of  supporting  its  terrors  by  occasional  examples  of 
severe  punishment ;  and  none  could  be  more  readily  sacrificed, 
than  an  unknown  and  wandering  foreigner.  All  this  rushed 
upon  Philipson's  mind,  but  did  not  prevent  his  making  a  steady 
reply  to  the  accusation. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  good  citizens,  burgesses,  or  by  what- 
ever other  name  you  please  to  be  addressed,  know,  that  in  my 
former  days  I  have  stood  in  as  great  peril  as  now,  and  have 
never  turned  my  heel  to  save  my  life.  Cords  and  daggers  are  not 
calculated  to  strike  terror  into  those  who  have  seen  swords 
and  lances.    My  answer  to  the  accusation  is,  that  I  am  an 


Anne  of  cEiERSTEtN. 


Englishman,  one  of  a  nation  accustomed  to  yield  and  to  receive 
open-handed  and  equal  justice  dealt  forth  in  the  broad  light 
of  day.  I  am,  however,  a  traveler,  who  knows  that  he  has  no 
right  to  oppose  the  rules  and  laws  of  other  nations,  because  they 
do  not  resemble  those  of  his  own.  But  this  caution  can  only 
be  called  for  in  lands,  where  the  system  about  which  we  converse 
is  in  full  force  and  operation.  If  we  speak  of  the  institutions 
of  Germany,  being  at  the  time  in  France  or  Spain,  we  may, 
without  offence  to  the  country  in  which  they  are  current,  dispute 
concerning  them,  as  students  debate  upon  a  logical  thesis  in  a 
university.  The  accuser  objects  to  me,  that  at  Turin,  or  else- 
where in  the  north  of  Italy,  I  spoke  with  censure  of  the  institu- 
tion under  which  I  am  now  judged.  I  will  not  deny  that  I 
remember  something  of  the  kind  ;  but  it  was  in  consequence  of 
the  question  being  in  a  manner  forced  upon  me  by  two  guests, 
with  whom  I  chanced  to  find  myself  at  table.  I  was  much  and 
earnestly  solicited  for  an  opinion  ere  I  gave  one.*' 

"And  was  that  opinion,''  said  the  presiding  Judge,  "  favor- 
able or  otherwise  to  the  Holy  and  Secret  Vehme-gericht  ?  Let 
truth  rule  your  tongue — remember,  life  is  short,  judgment  is 
eternal  !  " 

I  would  not  save  my  life  at  the  expense  of  a  falsehood. 
My  opinion  was  unfavorable  ;  and  I  expressed  myself  thus  : 
— No  laws  or  judicial  proceedings  can  be  just  or  commendable, 
which  exist  and  operate  by  means  of  a  secret  combination.  I 
said,  that  justice  could  only  live  and  exist  in  the  open  air,  and 
that  when  she  ceased  to  be  public,  she  degenerated  into  re- 
venge and  hatred.  I  said  that  a  system,  of  which  your  own 
jurists  have  said,  7i07i /rater  a  fratre^  non  hospes  a  hospite^  tiiius, 
w^as  too  much  adverse  to  the  laws  of  nature,  to  be  connected 
with  or  regulated  by  those  of  religion/' 

These  words  were  scarcely  uttered,  when  there  burst  a  mur- 
mur from  the  Judges  highly  unfavorable  to  the  prisoner, — 
"  He  blasphemes  the  Holy  Vehme — Let  his  mouth  be  closed 
for  ever  ! " 

"  Hear  me,"  said  the  Englishman,  "  as  you  will  one  day 
wish  to  be  yourselves  heard  !  I  say  such  were  my  sentiments, 
and  so  I  expressed  them — I  say  also,  I  had  a  right  to  express 
these  opinions,  whether  sound  or  erroneous,  in  a  neutral  coun- 
try, where  this  Tribunal  neither  did,  nor  could,  claim  any  ju- 
risdiction. My  sentiments  are  still  the  same.  I  would  avow 
them  if  that  sword  were  at  my  bosom,  or  that  cord  around  my 
throat.  But  I  deny  that  I  have  ever  spoken  against  the  insti- 
tutions of  your  Vehme,  in  a  country  where  it  had  its  course  as 
a  national  mode  of  justice.    Far  more  strongly,  if  possible,  do 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


241 


I  denounce  the  absurdity  of  the  falsehood,  which  represents 
me,  a  wandering  foreigner,  as  commissioned  to  traffic  with  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  about  such  high  matters,  or  to  form  a  con- 
spiracy for  the  destruction  of  a  system,  to  which  so  many  seem 
warmly  attached.  I  never  said  such  a  thing,  and  I  never 
thought  it/' 

Accuser,'*  said  the  presiding  Judge,  "  thou  hast  heard  the 
accused — What  is  thy  reply  ?  " 

"  The  first  part  of  the  charge,"  said  the  accuser,  "  he  hath 
confessed  in  this  high  presence,  namely,  that  his  foul  tongue 
hath  basely  slandered  our  holy  mysteries  ;  for  which  he  deserves 
that  it  should  be  torn  out  of  his  throat.  I  myself,  on  my  oath 
of  office,  will  aver,  as  use  and  law  is,  that  the  rest  of  the  accusa- 
tion, namely,  that  which  taxes  him  as  having  entered  into 
machinations  for  the  destruction  of  the  Vehmique  institutions, 
is  as  true  as  those  which  he  has  found  himself  unable  to  deny." 

"  In  justice,"  said  the  Englishman,  "  the  accusation,  if  not 
made  good  by  satisfactory  prgof,  ought  to  be  left  to  the  oath  of 
the  party  accused,  instead  of  permitting  the  accuser  to  establish 
by  his  own  deposition  the  defects  in  his  own  charge." 

"  Stranger,"  replied  the  presiding  Judge,  ^'  we  permit  to  thy 
ignorance  a  longer  and  more  full  defence  than  consists  with 
our  usual  forms.  Know  that  the  right  of  sitting  among  these 
venerable  judges  confers  on  the  person  of  him  who  enjoys  it  a 
sacredness  of  character  w^hich  ordinary  men  cannot  attain  to. 
The  oath  of  one  of  the  initiated  must  counterbalance  the  most 
solemn  asseveration  of  every  one  that  is  not  acquainted  with 
our  holy  secrets.  In  the  Vehmique  court  all  must  be  Vehmique. 
The  averment  of  the  Emperor,  he  being  uninitiated,  would  not 
have  so  much  weight  in  our  counsels  as  that  of  one  of  the  mean- 
est of  these  officials.  The  affirmation  of  the  accuser  can  only 
be  rebutted  by  the  oath  of  a  member  of  the  same  Tribunal, 
being  of  superior  rank." 

"  Then,  God  be  gracious  to  me,  for  I  have  no  trust  save  in 
Heaven  ! "  said  the  Englishman  in  solemn  accents.  "  Yet  I 
will  not  fall  without  an  effort.  I  call  upon  thee,  thyself,  dark 
spirit,  who  presidest  in  this  most  deadly  assembly — I  call  upon 
thyself,  to  declare  on  thy  faith  and  honor,  whether  thou  boldest 
me  guilty  of  what  is  thus  boldly  averred  by  this  false  calumnia- 
tor— I  call  upon  thee  by  thy  sacred  character — by  the  name 
of'  

"  Hold  !  "  replied  the  presiding  Judge.  "  The  name  by 
which  we  are  known  in  open  air  must  not  be  pronounced  in 
this  subterranean  judgment-seat." 

He  then  proceeded  to  address  the  prisoner  and  the  assem- 


242 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


bly, — "  I,  being  called  on  in  evidence,  declare  that  the  charge 
against  thee  is  so  far  true  as  it  is  acknowledged  by  thyself, 
namely,  that  thou  hast  in  other  lands  than  the  Red  Soil,* 
spoken  lightly  of  this  holy  institution  of  justice.  But  I  believe 
in  my  soul,  and  will  bear  witness  on  my  honor,  that  the  rest 
of  the  accusation  is  incredible  and  false.  And  this  I  swear, 
holding  my  hand  on  the  dagger  and  the  cord. — What  is  your 
judgment,  my  brethren,  upon  the  case  which  you  have  inves- 
tigated " 

A  member  of  the  first-seated  and  highest  class  amongst 
the  judges,  muffled  like  the  rest,  but  the  tone  of  whose  voice, 
and  the  stoop  of  whose  person,  announced  him  to  be  more  ad- 
vanced in  years  than  the  other  two  who  had  before  spoken, 
arose  with  difficulty,  and  said  with  a  trembling  voice, — 

The  child  of  the  cord,  who  is  before  us,  has  been  convicted 
of  folly  and  rashness  in  slandering  our  holy  institution.  But 
he  spoke  his  folly  to  ears  which  had  never  heard  our  sacred 
laws — He  has,  therefore,  been  acquitted  by  irrefragable  testi- 
mony, of  combining  for  the  important  purpose  of  undermining 
our  power,  or  stirring  up  princes  against  our  holy  association, 
for  which  death  were  too  light  a  punishment — He  hath  been 
foolish,  then,  but  not  criminal ;  and  as  the  holy  laws  of  the 
Vehme  bear  no  penalty  save  that  of  death,  I  propose  for 
judgment  that  the  child  of  the  cord  be  restored  without  injury 
to  society,  and  to  the  upper  world,  having  been  first  duly  ad- 
monished of  his  errors." 

Child  of  the  cord,"  said  the  presiding  Judge,  "  thou  hast 
heard  thy  sentence  of  acquittal.  But  as  thou  desirest  to  sleep 
in  an  unbloody  grave,  let  me  warn  thee,  that  the  secrets  of  this 
night  shall  remain  with  thee,  as  a  secret  not  to  be  communicated 
to  father  nor  mother,  to  spouse,  son,  or  daughter  ;  neither  to  be 
spoken  aloud  nor  whispered ;  to  be  told  in  words  or  written  in 
characters  ;  to  be  carved  or  to  be  painted,  or  to  be  otherwise 
communicated,  either  directly  or  by  parable  and  emblem.  Obey 
this  behest,  and  thy  life  is  in  surety.  Let  thy  heart  then  rejoice 
within  thee,  but  let  it  rejoice  with  trembling.  Never  more  let 
thy  vanity  persuade  thee  that  thou  art  secure  from  the  servants 
and  Judges  of  the  Holy  Vehme.  Though  a  thousand  leagues  lie 
between  thee  and  the  Red  Land,  and  thou  speakest  in  that 

*  The  parts  of  Germany  subjected  to  the  operation  of  the  Secret  Tri- 
l)unal  were  called,  from  the  blood  which  it  sj^ilt,  or  from  some  other  reason 
(Mr.  Palgrave  siigp^csts  the  ground  tincture  of  the  ancient  banner  of  the 
district)  the  Red  Soil.  Westi)halia,  as  the  limits  of  that  country  were  un- 
derstood in  the  middle  ages,  which  are  considerably  different  from  the  pres- 
ent boundaries,  was  the  principal  theatre  of  the  Vehme* 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEIN. 


243 


where  our  power  is  not  known  ;  though  thou  shouldst  be  shel- 
tered by  thy  native  island,  and  defended  by  thy  kindred  ocean, 
yet,  even  there,  I  warn  thee  to  cross  thyself  when  thou  dost  so 
much  as  think  of  the  Holy  and  Invisible  Tribunal,  and  to  retain 
thy  thoughts  within  thine  own  bosom  ;  for  the  Avenger  maybe 
beside  thee,  and  thou  mayst  die  in  thy  folly.  Go  hence,  be  wise, 
and  let  the  fear  of  the  Holy  Vehme  never  pass  from  before  thine 
eyes." 

At  the  concluding  words,  all  the  lights  were  at  once  extin- 
guished with  a  hissing  noise.  Philipson  felt  once  more  the 
grasp  of  the  hands  of  the  officials,  to  which  he  resigned  himself 
as  the  safest  course.  He  was  gently  prostrated  on  his  pallet- 
bed,  and  transported  back  to  the  place  from  w^hich  he  had  been 
advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  altar.  The  cordage  was  again 
applied  to  the  platform,  and  Philipson  was  sensible  that  his 
couch  rose  with  him  for  a  few  moments,  until  a  slight  shock 
apprised  him  that  he  was  again  brought  to  a  level  with  the  floor 
of  the  chamber  in  which  he  had  been  lodged  on  the  preceding 
night,  or  rather  morning.  He  pondered  over  the  events  that 
had  passed,  in  which  he  was  sensible  that  he  owed  Heaven 
thanks  for  a  great  deliverance.  Fatigue  at  length  prevailed 
over  anxiety,  and  he  fell  into  a  deep  and  profound  sleep,  from 
which  he  was  only  awakened  by  returning  light.  He  resolved 
on  an  instant  departure  from  so  dangerous  a  spot,  and  without 
seeing  any  one  of  the  household  but  the  old  ostler,  pursued  his 
journey  to  Strassburg,  and  reached  that  city  without  further 
accident. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST. 

Away  with  these  ! — True  Wisdom's  world  will  be 

Within  its  own  creation,  or  in  thine, 

Maternal  Nature  !  for  who  teems  like  thee 

Thus  on  the  banks  of  thy  majestic  Rhine? 

There  Harold  gazes  on  a  work  divine, 

A  blending  of  all  beauties,  streams,  and  dells — 

Fruit,  foliage,  crag,  wood,  cornfield,  mountain,  vine, 

Andchiefless  castles  breathing  stern  farewells, 

From  gray  but  leafy  walls,  where  ruin  greenly  dwells. 

Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage,  Canto  III. 

When  Arthur  Philipson  left  his  father,  to  go  on  board  the 
bark  which  was  to  waft  him  across  the  Rhine,  he  took  but  few 
precautions  for  his  own  subsistence,  during  a  separation  of  which 
he  calculated  the  duration  to  be  very  brief.    Some  necessary 


244 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


change  of  raiment,  and  a  very  few  pieces  of  gold,  were  all  which 
he  thought  it  needful  to  withdraw  from  the  general  stock  ;  the 
rest  of  the  baggage  and  money  he  left  with  the  sumpter-horse, 
which  he  concluded  his  father  might  need,  in  order  to  sustain 
his  character  as  an  English  trader.  Having  embarked  with  his 
horse  and  his  slender  appointments  on  board  a  fishing  skiff,  she 
instantly  raised  her  temporary  mast,  spread  a  sail  across  the 
yard,  and,  supported  by  the  force  of  the  wind  against  the 
downward  power  of  the  current,  moved  across  the  river  ob= 
liquely  in  the  direction  of  Kircb-hoff,  which,  as  we  have  said, 
lies  somewhat  lower  on  the  river  than  Hans-Chapelle.  Their 
passage  was  so  favorable,  that  they  reached  the  opposite  side 
in  a  few  minutes,  but  not  until  Arthur,  whose  eye  and  thoughts 
were  on  the  left  bank,  had  seen  his  father  depart  from  the 
Chapel  of  the  Ferry,  accompanied  by  two  horsemen,  whom  he 
readily  concluded  to  be  the  guide  Bartholomew,  and  some 
chance  traveler  who  had  joined  him  ;  but  the  second  of  w^hom 
was  in  truth  the  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned. 

This  augmentation  of  his  father's  company  was,  he  could  not 
but  think,  likely  to  be  attended  with  an  increase  of  his  safety, 
since  it  was  not  probable  he  would  suffer  a  companion  to  be 
forced  upon  him,  and  one  of  his  own  choosing  might  be  a  protec- 
tion, in  case  his  guide  should  prove  treacherous.  At  any  rate, 
he  had  to  rejoice  that  he  had  seen  his  father  depart  in  safety 
from  the  spot  where  they  had  reason  to  apprehend  some  danger 
awaited  him.  He  resolved,  therefore,  to  make  no  stay  at  Kirch- 
hoff,  but  to  pursue  his  way,  as  fast  as  possible,  toward  Strass- 
burg,  and  rest,  when  darkness  compelled  him  to  stop,  in  one  of 
the  dorffs,  or  villages,  which  were  situated  on  the  German  side 
of  the  Rhine.  At  Strassburg,  he  trusted,  with  the  sanguine 
spirit  of  youth,  he  might  again  be  able  to  rejoin  his  father ;  and 
if  he  could  not  altogether  subdue  his  anxiety  on  their  separation, 
he  fondly  nourished  the  hope  that  he  might  meet  him  in  safety. 
After  some  short  refreshment  and  repose  afforded  to  his  horse, 
he  lost  no  time  in  proceeding  on  his  journey  down  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  broad  river. 

He  was  now  upon  the  most  interesting  side  of  the  Rhine, 
walled  in  and  repelled  as  the  river  is  on  that  shore  by  the  most 
romantic  cliffs,  now  mantled  with  vegetation  of  the  richest  hue^ 
tinged  with  all  the  variegated  colors  of  autumn  ;  now  sur- 
mounted by  fortresses,  over  whose  gates  were  displayed  the 
pennons  of  their  proud  owners  ;  or  studded  with  hamlets,  where 
the  richness  of  the  soil  supplied  to  the  poor  laborer  the  food  of 
which  the  oppressive  hand  of  his  superior  threatened  altogether 


ANNR  of  GEIERSTEm, 


to  deprive  him.  Every  stream  which  here  contributes  its  waters 
to  the  Rhine  winds  through  its  own  tributary  dell,  and  each 
valley  possesses  a  varying  and  separate  character,  some  rich 
with  pastures,  cornfields,  and  vineyards,  some  frowning  with 
crags  and  precipices,  and  other  romantic  beauties. 

The  principles  of  taste  were  not  then  explained  or  analyzed 
as  they  have  been  since,  in  countries  where  leisure  has  been 
found  for  this  investigation.  But  the  feelings  arising  from  so  rich 
a  landscape  as  is  displayed  by  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  must  have 
been  the  same  in  every  bosom,  from  the  period  when  our  Eng- 
lishman took  his  solitary  journey  through  it,  in  doubt  and  danger, 
till  that  in  which  it  heard  the  indignant  Childe  Harold  bid  a 
proud  farewell  to  his  native  country,  in  the  vain  search  of  a  land 
in  which  his  heart  might  throb  less  fiercely. 

Arthur  enjoyed  the  scene,  although  the  fading  daylight  began 
to  remind  him  that,  alone  as  he  was,  and  traveling  wdth  a  very 
valuable  charge,  it  would  be  matter  of  prudence  to  look  out  for 
some  place  of  rest  during  the  night.  Just  as  he  had  formed  the 
resolution  of  inquiring  at  the  next  habitation  he  passed,  which 
way  he  should  follow  for  this  purpose,  the  road  he  pursued 
descended  into  a  beautiful  amphitheatre  filled  with  large  trees, 
which  protected  from  the  heats  of  summer  the  delicate  and 
tender  herbage  of  the  pasture.  A  large  brook  flowed  through 
it  and  joined  the  Rhine.  At  a  short  mile  up  the  brook,  its 
waters  made  a  crescent  round  a  steep  craggy  eminence,  crowned 
with  flanking  walls,  and  Gothic  towers,  and  turrets  enclosing  a 
feudal  castle  of  the  first  order.  A  part  of  the  savanna  that  has 
been  mentioned  had  been  irregularly  cultivated  for  wheat,  which 
had  grown  a  plentiful  crop.  It  was  gathered  in,  but  the  patches 
of  deep  yellow  stubble  contrasted  with  the  green  of  the  undis- 
turbed pasture  land,  and  with  the  seared  and  dark-red  foliage  of 
the  broad  oaks  which  stretched  their  arms  athwart  the  level 
space.  There  a  lad,  in  a  rustic  dress,  was  employed  in  the  task 
of  netting  a  brood  of  partridges  with  the  assistance  of  a  trained 
spaniel  ;  while  a  young  woman,  who  had  the  air  rather  of  a 
domestic  in  some  family  of  rank,  than  that  of  an  ordinary 
villager,  sat  on  the  stump  of  a  decayed  tree,  to  watch  the  prog- 
ress of  the  amusement.  The  spaniel,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
drive  the  partridges  under  the  net,  was  perceptibly  disturbed  at 
the  approach  of  the  traveler  ;  his  attention  was  divided,  and  he 
was  obviously  in  danger  of  marring  the  sport,  by  barking  and 
putting  up  the  covey,  when  the  maiden  quitted  her  seat,  and 
advancing  toward  Philipson,  requested  him  for  courtesy  to  pass 
at  a  greater  distance,  and  not  interfere  with  their  amusement. 

The  traveler  willingly  complied  with  her  request. 


Anne  of  geierstmij^. 


"  I  will  ride,  fair  damsel,  he  said  "  at  whatever  distance 
you  please.  And  allow  me,  in  guerdon,  to  ask,  whether  there 
is  convent,  castle,  or  good  man's  house,  where  a  stranger,  who 
is  belated  and  weary,  might  receive  a  night's  hospitality  ?  '* 

The  girl,  whose  face  he  had  not  yet  distinctly  seen,  seemed 
to  suppress  some  desire  to  laugh,  as  she  replied,  "  Hath  not 
yon  castle,  think  you,"  pointing  to  the  distant  towers,  "  some 
corner  which  might  accommodate  a  stranger  in  such  ex- 
tremity ? " 

Space  enough,  certainly,"  said  Arthur;  but  perhaps 
little  inclination  to  grant  it." 

"  I  myself,"  said  the  girl,  being  one,  and  a  formidable 
part  of  the  garrison,  will  be  answerable  for  your  reception. 
But  as  you  parley  with  me  in  such  hostile  fashion,  it  is  accord- 
ing to  martial  order  that  I  should  put  down  my  visor." 

So  saying,  she  concealed  her  face  under  one  of  those  riding 
masks,  which  at  that  period  women  often  wore  when  they  went 
abroad,  whether  for  protecting  their  complexion,  or  screening 
themselves  from  intrusive  observation.  But  ere  she  could  ac- 
complish this  operation,  Arthur  had  detected  the  merry  coun- 
tenance of  Annette  Veilchen,  a  girl  who,  though  her  attend- 
ance on  Anne  of  Geierstein  was  in  a  menial  capacity,  was  held 
in  high  estimation  at  Geierstein.  She  was  a  bold  wench,  un- 
accustomed to  the  distinctions  of  rank,  which  were  little  re- 
garded in  the  simplicity  of  the  Helvetian  hills,  and  she  was 
ready  to  laugh,  jest,  and  flirt  with  the  young  men  of  the  Lan- 
damman's  family.  This  attracted  no  attention,  the  mountain 
manners  making  little  distinction  between  the  degrees  of  at- 
tendant and  mistress,  further  than  that  the  mistress  was  a 
young  woman  who  required  help,  and  the  maiden  one  who  was 
in  a  situation  to  offer  and  afford  it.  This  kind  of  familiarity 
would  perhaps  have  been  dangerous  in  other  lands,  but  the 
simplicity  of  Swiss  manners,  and  the  turn  of  Annette's  disposi- 
tion, which  was  resolute  and  sensible,  though  rather  bold  and 
free,  when  compared  to  the  manners  of  more  civilized  countries, 
kept  all  intercourse  betwixt  her  and  the  young  men  of  the 
family  in  the  strict  path  of  honor  and  innocence. 

Arthur  himself  had  paid  considerable  attention  to  Annette, 
being  naturally,  from  his  feelings  toward  Anne  of  Geierstein, 
heartily  desirous  to  possess  the  good  graces  of  her  attendant ; 
a  point  which  was  easily  gained  by  the  attentions  of  a  hand- 
some young  man,  and  the  generosity  with  which  he  heaped 
upon  lier  small  j^resents  of  articles  of  dress  or  ornament,  which 
the  damsel,  however  faithful,  could  find  no  heart  to  refuse. 

The  assurance  that  he  was  in  Anne's  neighborhood,  and 


AhrME  OP  GklERSTklhr. 


U1 


that  he  was  likely  to  pass  the  night  under  the  same  roof,  both 
of  which  circumstances  were  intimated  by  the  girl's  presence 
and  language,  sent  the  blood'  in  a  hastier  current  through 
Arthur's  veins ;  for  though,  since  he  had  crossed  the  river,  he 
had  sometimes  nourished  hopes  of  again  seeing  her  who  had 
made  so  strong  an  impression  on  his  imagination,  yet  his  un- 
derstanding had  as  often  told  him  how  slight  was  the  chance  of 
their  meeting,  and  it  was  even  now  chilled  by  the  reflection, 
that  it  could  be  followed  only  by  the  pain  of  a  sudden  and 
final  separation.  He  yielded  himself,  however,  to  the  prospect 
of  promised  pleasure,  without  attempting  to  ascertain  what  was 
to  be  its  duration  or  its  consequence.  Desirous,  in  the  mean- 
time, to  hear  as  much  of  Anne's  circumstances  as  Annette 
chose  to  tell,  he  resolved  not  to  let  that  merry  maiden  perceive 
that  she  was  known  by  him,  until  she  chose  of  her  own  accord 
to  lay  aside  her  mystery. 

While  these  thoughts  passed  rapidly  through  his  imagina- 
tion, Annette  bade  the  lad  drop  his  nets,  and  directed  him 
that,  having  taken  two  of  the  best  fed  partridges  from  the 
covey,  and  carried  them  into  the  kitchen,  he  was  to  set  the  rest 
at  liberty. 

*^  I  must  provide  supper,"  said  she  to  the  traveler,  since  I 
am  bringing  home  unexpected  company." 

Arthur  earnestly  expressed  his  hope  that  his  experiencing 
the  hospitality  of  the  castle  would  occasion  no  trouble  to  the 
inmates,  and  received  satisfactory  assurances  upon  the  subject 
of  his  scruples. 

"  I  would  not  willingly  be  the  cause  of  inconvenience  to 
your  mistress,"  pursued  the  traveler. 

"  Look  you  there,"  said  Annette  Veilchen,  "  I  have  said 
nothing  of  master  or  mistress,  and  this  poor  forlorn  traveler 
has  already  concluded  in  his  own  mind  that  he  is  to  be  har- 
bored in  a  lady's  bower!" 

Why,  did  you  not  tell  me,"  said  Arthur,  somewhat  con- 
fused at  his  blunder,  **that  you  were  the  person  of  second  im- 
portance in  the  place  >  A  damsel,  I  judged,  could  only  be  an 
officer  under  a  female  governor." 

"  I  do  not  see  the  justness  of  the  conclusion,"  replied  the 
maiden.  I  have  known  ladies  bear  offices  of  trust  in  lords' 
families  ;  nay,  and  over  the  lords  themselves." 

"Am  I  to  understand,  fair  damsel,  that  you  hold  so  pre- 
dominant a  situation  in  the  castle  which  we  are  now  approach- 
ing, and  of  which  I  pray  you  to  tell  me  the  name  ? " 

"The  name  of  the  castle  is  Arnheim,"  said  Annette. 

**Your  garrison  must  be  a  large  one,"  said  Arthur,  looking 


248 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


at  the  extensive  building,  "  if  you  are  able  to  man  such  a  laby< 
rinth  of  walls  and  towers.'' 

"  In  that  point,"  said  Annette,  "  I  must  needs  own  we  are 
very  deficient.  At  present  we  rather  hide  in  the  castle  than 
inhabit  it ;  and  yet  it  is  well  enough  defended  by  the  reports 
which  frighten  every  other  person  who  might  disturb  its 
seclusion." 

"  And  yet  you  yourselves  dare  to  reside  in  it  ?  "  said  the 
Englishman,  recollecting  the  tale  which  had  been  told  by  Ru- 
dolph Donnerhugel,  concerning  the  character  of  the  Barons  of 
Arnheim,  and  the  final  catastrophe  of  the  family. 

"  Perhaps,"  replied  his  guide,  "  we  are  too  intimate  with  the 
cause  of  such  fears  to  feel  ourselves  strongly  oppressed  with 
them — perhaps  we  have  means  of  encountering  the  supposed 
terrors  proper  to  ourselves — perhaps,  and  it  is  not  the  least 
likely  conjecture,  we  have  no  choice  of  a  better  place  of  refuge. 
Such  seems  to  be  your  own  fate  at  present,  sir,  for  the  tops  of 
the  distant  hills  are  gradually  losing  the  lights  of  the  evening ; 
and  if  you  rest  not  in  Arnheim,  well  contented  or  not,  you  are 
likely  to  find  no  safe  lodging  for  many  a  mile." 

As  she  thus  spoke  she  separated  from  Arthur,  taking,  with 
the  fowler  who  attended  her,  a  very  steep  but  short  footpath, 
which  ascended  straight  up  to  the  site  of  the  castle  ;  at  the 
same  time  motioning  to  the  young  Englishman  to  follow  a 
horse-track,  which,  more  circuitous,  led  to  the  same  point,  and, 
though  less  direct,  was  considerably  more  easy. 

He  soon  stood  before  the  south  front  of  Arnheim  Castle, 
which  was  a  much  larger  building  than  he  had  conceived,  either 
from  Rudolph's  description,  or  from  the  distant  view.  It  had 
been  erected  at  many  different  periods,  and  a  considerable  part 
of  the  edifice  was  less  in  the  strict  Gothic  than  in  what  has 
been  termed  the  Saracenic  style,  in  which  the  imagination  of 
the  architect  is  more  florid  than  that  which  is  usually  indulged 
in  the  North, — rich  in  minarets,  cupolas,  and  similar  approxi- 
mations to  Oriental  structures.  This  singular  building  bore  a 
general  appearance  of  desolation  and  desertion,  but  Rudolph 
had  been  misinformed  when  he  declared  that  it  had  become 
ruinous.  On  the  contrary,  it  had  been  maintained  with  con- 
siderable care  ;  and  when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Emperor, 
aUhough  no  garrison  was  maintained  within  its  precincts,  care 
was  taken  to  keep  the  building  in  repair  ;  and  though  the  pre- 
judices of  the  country  people  prevented  any  one  from  passing 
the  niglu  within  the  fearful  walls,  yet  it  was  regularly  visited 
from  time  to  time  by  a  person  having  commission  from  the  im- 
perial chancery  to  that  effect.    The  occupation  of  the  domain 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


249 


around  the  castle  was  a  valuable  compensation  for  this  official 
person's  labor,  and  he  took  care  not  to  endanger  the  loss  of  it 
by  neglecting  his  duty.  Of  late  this  officer  had  been  withdrawn, 
and  now  it  appeared  that  the  young  Baroness  of  Arnheim  had 
found  refuge  in  the  deserted  towers  of  her  ancestors. 

The  Swiss  damsel  did  not  leave  the  youthful  traveler  time 
to  study  particularly  the  exterior  of  the  castle,  or  to  construe 
the  meaning  of  emblems  and  mottoes,  seemingly  of  an  Oriental 
character,  with  which  the  oustide  was  inscribed,  and  which 
expressed  in  various  modes,  more  or  less  directly,  the  attach- 
ment of  the  builders  of  this  extensive  pile  to  the  learning  of 
the  eastern  sages.  Ere  he  had  time  to  take  more  than  a  general 
survey  of  the  place,  the  voice  of  the  Swiss  maiden  called  him 
to  an  angle  of  the  wall  in  which  there  was  a  projection,  from 
whence  a  long  plank  extended  over  a  dry  moat,  and  was  con- 
nected with  a  window  in  which  Annette  was  standing. 

"  You  have  forgotten  your  Swiss  lessons  already,"  said  she, 
observing  that  Arthur  went  rather  timidly  about  crossing  the 
temporary  and  precarious  drawbridge. 

The  reflection  that  Anne,  her  mistress,  might  make  the  same 
observation,  recalled  the  young  traveler  to  the  necessary  degree 
of  composure.  He  passed  over  the  plank  with  the  same  sang 
froid  with  which  he  had  learned  to  brave  the  far  more  terrific 
bridge,  beneath  the  runinous  Castle  of  Geierstein.  He  had  no 
sooner  entered  the  window  than  Annette,  taking  off  her  mask, 
bade  him  welcome  to  Germany,  and  to  old  friends  with  new 
names. 

Anne  of  Geierstein,"  she  said,  is  no  more  ;  but  you  will 
presently  see  the  Lady  Baroness  of  Arnheim,  who  is  extremely 
like  her  ;  and  I  who  was  Annette  Veilchen  in  Switzerland,  the 
servant  to  a  damsel  who  was  not  esteemed  much  greater  than 
myself,  am  now  the  young  Baroness's  waiting  woman,  and 
make  everybody  of  less  quality  stand  back." 

"  If,  in  such  circumstances,"  said  young  Philipson,  "  you 
have  the  influence  due  to  your  consequence,  let  me  beseech 
of  you  to  tell  the  Baroness,  since  we  must  now  call  her  so, 
that  my  present  intrusion  on  her  is  occasioned  by  my  igno- 
rance." 

"  Away,  away,"  said  the  girl  laughing,  "  I  know  better  what 
to  say  in  your  behalf.  You  are  not  the  first  poor  man  and 
pedler  that  has  got  the  graces  of  a  great  lady ;  but  I  warrant 
you  it  was  not  by  making  humble  apologies,  and  talking  of  un- 
intentional intrusion.  I  will  tell  her  of  love,  which  all  the 
Rhine  cannot  quench,  and  which  has  driven  you  hither  leaving 
you  no  other  choice  than  to  come  or  to  perish  !  " 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  Nay,  but  Annette,  Annette  "  

Fie  on  you  for  a  fool, — make  a  shorter  name  of  it, — cry 
Anne,  Anne  !  and  there  will  be  more  prospect  of  your  being 
answered/' 

So  saying,  the  wild  girl  ran  out  of  the  room,  delighted,  as 
a  mountaineer  of  her  description  was  likely  to  be,  with  the 
thought  of  having  done  as  she  would  desire  to  be  done  by,  in 
her  benevolent  exertions  to  bring  two  lovers  together,  when  on 
the  eve  of  inevitable  separation. 

In  this  self-approving  disposition,  Annette  sped  up  a  narrow 
turnpike  stair  to  a  closet,  or  dressing-room,  where  her  young 
mistress  was  seated,  and  exclaimed,  with  open  mouth, — "  Anne 

of  Gei  ,  I  mean  my  Lady  Baroness,  they  are  come — they 

are  come ! 

"  The  Philipsons  ?  "  said  Anne,  almost  breathless  as  she 
asked  the  question. 

"  Yes — no — answered  the  girl ;  that  is,  yes, — for  the  best 
of  them  is  come,  and  that  is  Arthur.'* 

What  meanest  thou,  girl  1  Is  not  Seignor  Philipson,  the 
father,  along  with  his  son  ? 

"  Not  he,  indeed,"  answered  Veilchen,  "  nor  did  I  ever  think 
of  asking  about  him.  He  was  no  friend  of  mine,  nor  of  any 
one  else,  save  the  old  Landamman ;  and  well  met  they  were 
for  a  couple  of  wiseacres,  with  eternal  proverbs  in  their  mouths, 
and  care  upon  their  brows." 

"  Unkind,  inconsiderate  girl,  what  hast  thou  done  ?  "  said 
Anne  of  Geierstein.  Did  I  not  warn  and  charge  thee  to  bring 
them  both  hither  ?  and  you  have  brought  the  young  man  alone 
to  a  place  where  we  are  nearly  in  solitude  ?  What  will  he — 
what  can  he  think  of  me  ?  " 

"  Why,  what  should  I  have  done  ?  "  said  Annette,  remaining 
firm  in  her  argument.  He  was  alone,  and  should  I  have  sent 
him  down  to  the  dorff  to  be  murdered  by  the  Rhinegrave's 
Lanz-knechts  ?  All  is  fish,  I  trow,  that  comes  to  their  net ;  and 
how  is  he  to  get  through  this  country,  so  beset  with  wandering 
soldiers,  robber  barons  (I  beg  your  ladyship's  pardon),  and 
roguish  Italians,  flocking  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  standard  ? 
— Not  to  mention  the  greatest  terror  of  all,  that  is  never  in  one 
shape  or  other  absent  from  one's  eyes  or  thought." 

Hush,  hush,  girl !  add  not  utter  madness  to  the  excess  of 
folly ;  but  let  us  think  what  is  to  be  done.  For  our  sake,  for 
his  own,  this  unfortunate  young  man  must  leave  this  castle 
instantly." 

**  You  must  take  the  message  yourself  then,  Anne — I  beg 
pardon,  most  noble  Baroness  ; — it  may  be  very  fit  for  a  lady  of 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


high  birth  to  send  such  a  message,  which,  indeed,  I  have  heard 
the  minne-singers  tell  in  their  romances ;  but  I  am  sure  it  is 
not  a  meet  one  for  me,  or  any  frank-hearted  Swiss  girl,  to 
carry.  No  more  foolery  ;  but  remember,  if  you  were  born  Baron- 
ess of  Arnheim,  you  have  been  bred  and  brought  up  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Swiss  hills,  and  should  conduct  yourself  like  an 
honest  and  welbmeaning  damsel/' 

xlnd  in  what  does  your  wisdom  reprehend  my  folly,  good 
Mademoiselle  Annette  ?  "  replied  the  Baroness. 

"  Ah,  marry  !  now  our  noble  blood  stirs  in  our  veins.  But 
remember,  gentle  my  lady,  that  it  was  a  bargain  between  us 
when  I  left  yonder  noble  mountains,  and  the  free  air  that  blows 
over  them,  to  coop  myself  up  in  this  land  of  prisons  and  slaves, 
that  I  should  speak  my  mind  to  you  as  freely  as  I  did  when  our 
heads  lay  on  the  same  pillow.'' 

"  Speak,  then,"  said  Anne,  studiously  averting  her  face  as 
she  prepared'  to  listen;  ''but  beware  that  you  say  nothing 
which  it  is  unfit  for  me  to  hear." 

"  I  will  speak  nature  and  common  sense  ;  and  if  your  noble 
ears  are  not  made  fit  to  hear  and  understand  these,  the  fault  lies 
in  them,  and  not  in  my  tongue.  Look  you,  you  have  saved 
this  youth  from  two  great  dangers, — one  at  the  earth-shoot  at 
Geierstein,  the  other  this  very  day,  when  his  life  was  beset. 
A  handsome  young  man  he  is,  well  spoken,  and  well  qualified 
to  gain  deservedly  a  lady's  favor.  Before  you  saw  him,  the 
Swiss  youth  were  at  least  not  odious  to  you.  You  danced  with 
them, — you  jested  with  them, — you  were  the  general  object  of 
their  admiration, — and,  as  you  well  know,  you  might  have  had 
your  choice  through  the  Canton — Why,  I  think  it  possible  a 
little  urgency  might  have  brought  you  to  think  of  Rudolph 
Donnerhugel  as  your  mate." 

"  Never,  wench,  never  !  "  exclaimed  Anne. 

"  Be  not  so  very  positive,  my  lady.  Had  he  recommended 
himself  to  the  uncle  in  the  first  place,  I  think,  in  my  poor  senti- 
ment, he  might  at  some  lucky  moment  have  carried  the  niece. 
But  since  we  have  known  this  young  Englishman,  it  has  been 
little  less  than  contemning,  despising,  and  something  like  hating, 
all  the  men  whom  you  could  endure  well  enough  before." 

"Well,  well,"  said  Anne,  "  I  will  detest  and  hate  thee  more 
than  any  of  them,  unless  you  bring  your  matters  to  an  end." 

"  Softly,  noble  lady,  fair  and  easy  go  far.  All  this  argues 
you  love  the  young  man,  and  let  those  say  that  you  are  wrong, 
who  think  there  is  anything  wonderful  in  the  matter.  There 
is  much  to  justify  you,  and  nothing  that  I  know  against  it." 

"  What,  foolish  girl !   Remember  my  birth  forbids  me  to  love 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm, 


2i  mean  man — my  condition  to  love  a  poor  man — my  father^*? 
commands  to  love  one  whose  addresses  are  without  his  conse/i! 
— above  all,  my  maidenly  pride  forbids  me  fixing  my  affections, 
on  one  who  cares  not  for  me, — nay,  perhaps,  is  prejudiced 
against  me  by  appearances.'' 

"  Here  is  a  line  homily  !  "  said  Annette  ;  "  but  I  can  clear 
every  point  of  it  as  easily  as  Father  Francis  does  his  text  in  a 
holiday  sermon.  Your  birth  is  a  silly  dream,  which  you  have 
only  learned  to  value  within  these  two  or  three  days,  when, 
having  come  to  German  soil,  some  of  the  old  German  weed, 
usually  called  family  pride,  has  begun  to  germinate  in  your 
heart.  Think  of  such  folly  as  you  thought  when  you  lived  at 
Geierstein,  that  is,  during  all  the  rational  part  of  your  life,  and 
this  great  terrible  prejudice  will  sink  into  nothing.  By  con- 
dition, I  conceive  you  mean  estate.  But  Philipson's  father,  who 
is  the  most  free-hearted  of  men,  will  surely  give  his  son  as 
many  zechins  as  will  stock  a  mountain  farm.  You  have  fire- 
wood for  the  cutting,  and  land  for  the  occupying,  since  you  are 
surely  entitled  to  part  of  Geierstein,  and  gladly  will  your  uncle 
put  you  in  possession  of  it.  You  can  manage  the  dairy,  Arthur 
can  shoot,  hunt,  fish,  plough,  harrow,  and  reap." 

Anne  of  Geierstein  shook  her  head,  as  if  she  greatly  doubted 
her  lover's  skill  in  the  last  of  the  accomplishments  enumerated. 

"  Well,  well,  he  can  learn,  then,"  said  Annette  Veilchen  ; 
"  and  you  will  only  live  the  harder  the  first  year  or  so.  Be- 
sides, Sigismund  Biederman  will  aid  him  willingly,  and  he  is  a 
very  horse  at  labor  ;  and  I  know  another  besides,  who  is  a 
friend  "  

"  Of  thine  own,  I  warrant,"  quoth  the  young  Baroness. 

"  Marry,  it  is  my  poor  friend  Martin  Sprenger ;  and  I'll 
never  be  so  false-hearted  as  to  deny  my  bachelor." 

"  Well,  well,  but  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  all  this  ? "  said  the 
Baroness,  impatiently. 

"The  end  of  it,  in  my  opinion,"  said  Annette,  "is  very 
simple.  Here  are  priests  and  prayer-books  within  a  mile — go 
down  to  the  parlor,  speak  your  mind  to  your  lover,  or  hear  him 
speak  his  mind  to  you  ;  join  hands,  go  quietly  back  to  Geierstein 
in  the  character  of  man  and  wife,  and  get  everything  ready  to 
receive  your  uncle  on  his  return.  This  is  the  way  that  a  plain 
Swiss  wench  would  cut  off  the  romance  of  a  German  Baron- 
ess "  

"And  break  the  heart  of  her  father,"  said  the  young  lady, 
with  a  sigh. 

"  It  is  more  tough  than  you  are  aware  of,"  replied  Annette  ; 
"he  hath  not  lived  without  you  so  long  but  that  he  will  be 


AJ^ISTE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


able  to  spare  you  for  the  rest  of  his  life  a  great  deal  more  easily 
than  yoiL  with  all  your  new-fangled  ideas  of  quality,  will  be 
able  to  endure  his  schemes  of  wealth  and  ambition,  which 
will  aim  at  making  you  the  wife  of  some  illustrious  Count,  like 
De  Hagenbach,  whom  we  saw  not  long  since  make  such  an 
edifying  end,  to  the  great  example  of  all  Robber-Chivalry  upon 
the  Rhine." 

"Thy  plan  is  naught,  wench;  a  childish  vision  of  a  girl, 
who  never  knew  more  of  life  than  she  has  heard  told  over  her 
milking-pail.  Remember  that  my  uncle  entertains  the  highest 
ideas  of  family  discipline,  and  that,  to  act  contrary  to  my  father's 
will,  would  destroy  us  in  his  good  opinion.  Why  else  am  I  here  ? 
wherefore  has  he  resigned  his  guardianship  ?  and  why  am  I 
obliged  to  change  the  habits  that  are  dear  to  me,  and  assume 
the  manners  of  a  people  that  are  strange,  and  therefore  un- 
pleasing  to  me  ? 

"  Your  uncle,"  said  Annette,  firmly,  is  Landamman  of  the 
Canton  of  Unterwalden  ;  respects  its  freedom,  and  is  the  sworn 
protector  of  its  laws,  of  which,  when  you,  a  denizen  of  the  Con- 
federacy, claim  the  protection,  he  cannot  refuse  it  to  you." 

"  Even  then,"  said  the  young  Baroness,  "  I  should  forfeit  his 
good  opinion,  his  more  than  paternal  affection  ;  but  it  is  needless 
to  dwell  upon  this.  Know,  that  although  I  could  have  loved  the 
young  man,  whom  I  will  not  deny  to  be  as  amiable  as  your  par- 
tiality paints  him — Know," — she  hesitated  for  a  moment, — 
"  that  he  has  never  spoken  a  word  to  me  on  such  a  subject  as 
you,  without  knowing  either  his  sentiments  or  mine,  would  in- 
trude on  my  consideration." 

"  Is  it  possible  t  "  answered  Annette.  "  I  thought — I  be- 
lieved, though  I  have  never  pressed  on  your  confidence — that 
you  must — attached  as  you  were  to  each  other — have  spoken 
together,  like  true  maid  and  true  bachelor,  before  now.  I  have 
done  wrong,  when  I  thought  to  do  for  the  best, —  Is  it  possible  1 
—  such  things  have  been  heard  of  even  in  our  Canton — is  it 
possible  he  can  have  harbored  so  unutterably  base  purposes,  as 
that  Martin  of  Breisach,  who  made  love  to  Adela  of  the  Sund- 
gau,  enticed  her  to  folly — the  thing,  though  almost  incredible, 
is  true, — fled — fled  from  the  country  and  boasted  of  his  villainy, 
till  her  cousin  Raymond  silenced  forever  his  infamous  triumph, 
by  beating  his  brains  out  with  his  club,  even  in  the  very  street 
of  the  villain's  native  town  ?  By  the  Holy  Mother  of  Einsied- 
len  !  could  I  suspect  this  Englishman  of  meditating  such  treason, 
I  would  saw  the  plank  across  the  moat  till  a  fly's  weight  would 
break  it,  and  it  should  be  at  six  fathom  deep  that  he  should 


^54 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


abye  the  perfidy  which  dared  to  meditate  dishonoi  against  an 
adopted  daughter  of  Switzerland." 

As  Annette  Veilchen  spoke,  all  the  fire  of  her  mountain 
courage  flashed  from  her  eyes,  and  she  listened  reluctantly 
while  Anne  of  Geierstein  endeavored  to  obliterate  the  danger- 
ous impression  which  her  former  words  had  impressed  on  her 
simple  but  faithful  attendant. 

On  my  word  " — she  said,  "  on  my  soul — you  do  Arthur 
Philipson  injustice — foul  injustice,  in  intimating  such  a  suspic- 
ion ; — his  conduct  toward  me  has  ever  been  upright  and  hon- 
orable— a  friend  to  a  friend — a  brother  to  a  sister — could  not, 
in  all  he  has  done  and  said,  have  been  more  respectful,  more 
anxiously  affectionate,  more  undeviatingly  candid.  In  our  fre- 
quent interviews  and  intercourse  he  has  indeed  seemed  very 
kind — very  attached.  But  had  I  been  disposed — at  times  I 
may  have  been  too  much  so — to  listen  to  him  with  endurance,*' 
— the  young  lady  here  put  her  hand  on  her  forehead,  but  the 
tears  streamed  through  her  slender  fingers, — "  he  has  never 
spoken  of  any  love — any  preference  ;  if  he  indeed  entertains 
any,  some  obstacle,  insurmountable  on  his  part,  has  interfered 
to  prevent  him." 

"  Obstacle  !  "  replied  the  Swiss  damsel.  "  Ay,  doubtless — 
some  childish  bashfulness — some  foolish  idea  about  your  birth 
being  so  high  above  his  own — some  dream  of  modesty  pushed 
to  extremity  which  considers  as  impenetrable  the  ice  of  a  spring 
frost.  This  delusion  may  be  broken  by  a  moment's  encourage- 
ment, and  I  will  take  the  task  on  myself  to  spare  your  blushes, 
my  dearest  Anne.'' 

No,  no ;  for  heaven's  sake,  no,  Veilchen  !  "  answered  the 
Baroness,  to  whom  Annette  had  so  long  been  a  companion  and 
confident,  rather  than  a  domestic.  You  cannot  anticipate  the 
nature  of  the  obstacles  which  may  prevent  his  thinking  on  what 
you  are  so  desirous  to  promote.  Hear  me — My  early  education, 
and  the  instructions  of  my  kind  uncle,  have  thought  me  to  know 
something  more  of  foreigners  and  their  fashions,  than  I  ever 
could  have  learned  in  our  happy  retirement  of  Geierstein  ;  I  am 
well-nigh  convinced  that  these  Philipsons  are  of  rank,  as  they 
are  of  manners  and  bearing,  far  superior  to  the  occupation  which 
they  appear  to  hold.  The  father  is  a  man  of  deep  observation, 
of  high  thoughts  and  pretension,  and  lavish  of  gifts,  far  beyond 
what  consists  with  the  utmost  liberality  of  a  trader." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Annette  ;  1  will  say  for  myself  that 
the  silver  chain  he  gave  me  weighs  against  ten  silver  crowns, 
and  the  cross  which  Arthur  added  to  it,  the  day  after  the  long 
ride  we  had  together  up  toward  Mont  Pilatre,  is  worth,  they 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


tell  me,  as  much  more.  There  is  not  the  like  of  it  in  the  Can- 
tons. Well,  what  then  1  They  are  rich,  so  are  you.  So  much 
the  better.'' 

"  Alas  !  Annette,  they  are  not  only  rich,  but  noble.  I  am  per- 
suaded of  this  ;  for  I  have  observed  often,  that  even  the  father 
retreated,  with  an  air  of  quiet  and  dignified  contempt,  from  dis- 
cussions with  Donnerhugel  and  others,  who,  in  our  plain  way^ 
wished  to  fasten  a  dispute  upon  him.  And  when  a  rude  obser- 
vation or  blunt  pleasantry  was  pointed  at  the  son,  his  eyes 
flashed,  his  cheek  colored,  and  it  was  only  a  glance  from  his 
father  which  induced  him  to  repress  the  retort  of  no  friendly 
character  which  rose  to  his  lips." 

"  You  have  been  a  close  observer,''  said  Annette.  All  this 
may  be  true,  but  I  noted  it  not.  But  what  then,  I  say  once 
more  ?  If  Arthur  has  some  fine  noble  name  in  his  own  country 
are  not  you  yourself  Baroness  of  Arnheim  ?  And  I  will  frankly 
allow  it  as  something  of  worth,  if  it  smooths  the  way  to  a  match, 
where  I  think  you  must  look  for  happiness — I  hope  so,  else  I 
am  sure  it  should  have  no  encouragement  from  me." 

"  I  do  believe  so,  my  faithful  Veilchen  ;  but,  alas  !  how  can 
you,  in  the  state  of  natural  freedom  in  which  you  have  been 
bred,  know,  or  even  dream,  of  the  various  restraints  which  this 
gilded  or  golden  chain  of  rank  and  nobility  hangs  upon  those 
whom  it  fetters  and  encumbers,  I  fear,  as  much  as  it  decorates  1 
In  every  country,  the  distinction  of  rank  binds  men  to  certain 
duties.  It  may  carry  with  it  restrictions,  which  may  prevent 
alliances  in  foreign  countries — it  often  may  prevent  them  from 
consulting  their  inclinations  when  they  wed  in  their  own.  It 
leads  to  alliances  in  which  the  heart  is  never  consulted,  to 
treaties  of  marriage,  which  are  often  formed  when  the  parties 
are  in  the  cradle,  or  in  leading  strings,  but  which  are  not  the 
less  binding  on  them  in  honor  and  faith.  Such  may  exist  in 
the  present  case.  These  alliances  are  often  blended  and  mixed 
up  with  state  policy  ;  and  if  the  interest  of  England,  or  what  he 
deems  such,  should  have  occasioned  the  elder  Philipson  to  form 
such  an  engagement,  Arthur  would  break  his  own  heart — the 
heart  of  any  one  else — rather  than  make  false  his  father's 
word." 

"  The  more  shame  to  them  that  formed  such  an  engagement ! " 
said  Annette.  "  Well,  they  talk  of  England  being  a  free  country  • 
but  if  they  can  bar  young  men  and  women  of  the  natural  privi- 
lege to  call  their  hands  and  hearts  their  own,  I  would  as  soon 
be  a  German  serf. — Well,  lady,  you  are  wise,  and  I  am  ignorant 
But  what  is  to  be  done  t  I  have  brought  this  young  man  here, 
expecting,  God  knows,  a  happier  issue  to  your  meeting.    But  it 


ANNE  OF  GEIER3TEIN. 


is  clear  you  cannot  marry  him  without  his  asking  you.  Now, 
although  I  confess  that,  if  I  could  think  him  willing  to  forfeit 
the  hand  of  the  fairest  maid  of  the  Cantons,  either  from  want 
of  manly  courage  to  ask  it,  or  from  regard  to  some  ridiculous 
engagement,  formed  betwixt  his  father  and  some  other  nobleman 
of  their  island  of  noblemen,  I  would  not  in  either  case  grudge 
him  a  ducking  in  the  moat  ;  yet  it  is  another  question,  whether 
we  should  send  him  down  to  be  murdered  among  those  cut- 
throats of  the  Rhinegrave  ;  and  unless  we  do  so,  I  know  not 
how  to  get  rid  of  him." 

Then  let  the  boy  William  give  attendance  on  him  here,  and 
do  you  see  to  his  accommodation.    It  is  best  we  do  not  meet." 

I  will,"  said  Annette  ;  "yet  what  am  I  to  say  for  you  ? 
Unhappily,  I  let  him  know  that  you  were  here." 

Alas,  imprudent  girl  !  Yet  why  should  I  blame  thee,"  said 
Anne  of  Geierstein,  when  the  imprudence  has  been  so  great 
on  my  own  side  ?  It  is  myself,  who,  suffering  my  imagination 
to  rest  too  long  upon  this  young  man  and  his  merits,  have  led 
me  into  this  entanglement.  But  I  will  show  thee  that  I  can 
overcome  this  folly,  and  I  will  not  seek  in  my  own  error  a  cause 
for  evading  the  duties  of  hospitality.  Go,  Veilchen,  get  some 
refreshment  ready.  Thou  shalt  sup  with  us,  and  thou  must 
not  leave  us.  Thou  shalt  see  me  behave  as  becomes  both  a 
German  lady  and  a  Swiss  maiden.  Get  me  first  a  candle,  how- 
ever, my  girl,  for  I  must  wash  these  tell-tales,  my  eyes,  and 
arrange  my  dress." 

To  Annette  this  whole  explanation  had  been  one  scene  of 
astonishment,  for,  in  the  simple  ideas  of  love  and  courtship  in 
which  she  had  been  brought  up  amid  the  Swiss  mountains,  she 
had  expected  that  the  two  lovers  would  have  taken  the  first 
opportunity  of  the  absence  of  their  natural  guardians,  and  have 
united  themselves  forever  ;  and  she  had  even,  arranged  a  little 
secondary  plot,  in  which  she  herself  and  Martin  Sprenger,  her 
faithful  bachelor,  were  to  reside  with  the  young  couple  as 
friends  and  dependants.  Silenced,  therefore,  but  not  satisfied, 
by  the  objections  of  her  young  mistress,  the  zealous  Annette 
retreated  murmuring  to  herself, — "That  little  hint  about  her 
dress  is  the  only  natural  and  sensible  word  she  has  said  in  my 
hearing.  Please  God,  I  will  return  and  help  her  in  the  twin- 
kling  of  an  eye.  That  dressing  my  mistress  is  the  only  part  of  a 
waiting-lady's  life  that  I  have  the  least  fancy  for — it  seems  so 
natural  for  one  pretty  maiden  to  set  off  another — in  faith  we 
are  but  learning  to  dress  ourselves  at  another  time." 

And  with  this  sage  remark  Annette  Veilchen  tripped  down 
stairs. 


ANNB  OF  GEIER3TEIN.  257 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SECOND. 

Tell  me  not  of  it — I  could  ne*er  abide 
The  mummery  of  all  that  forced  civility, 
"  Pray,  seat  yourself,  my  lord."  With  cringing  hams 
The  speech  is  spoken,  and,  with  bended  knee, 
Heard  by  the  smiling  courtier. — "  Before  you,  sir? 
It  must  be  on  the  earth  then."    Hang  it  all ! 
The  pride  which  cloaks  itself  in  such  poor  fashion 
Is  scarcely  fit  to  swell  a  beggar's  bosom. 

Old  Play. 

Up  stairs  and  down  stairs  tripped  Annette  Veilchen,  the 
soul  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  only  habitable  corner  of 
the  huge  castle  of  Arnheim.  She  was  equal  to  every  kind  of 
service,  and  therefore  popped  her  head  into  the  stable  to  be 
sure  that  William  attended  properly  to  Arthur's  horse,  looked 
into  the  kitchen  to  see  that  the  old  cook,  Marthon,  roasted  the 
partridges  in  due  time  (an  interference  for  which  she  received 
little  thanks),  rummaged  out  a  flask  or  two  of  Rhine  wine  from 
the  huge  Dom  Daniel  of  a  cellar,  and  finally,  just  peeped  into 
the  parlor  to  see  how  Arthur  was  looking  ;  when,  having  the 
satisfaction  to  see  he  had,  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  sedu- 
lously, arranged  his  person,  she  assured  him  that  he  should 
shortly  see  her  mistress,  who  was  rather  indisposed,  yet  could 
nor  refrain  from  coming  down  to  see  so  valued  an  acquaintance. 

Arthur  blushed  when  she  spoke  thus,  and  seemed  so  hand- 
some in  the  waiting-maid's  eye,  that  she  could  not  help  saying 
to  herself,  as  she  went  to  her  young  lady's  room — *'Well,  if 
true  love  cannot  manage  to  bring  that  couple  together,  in  spite 
of  all  the  obstacles  that  they  stand  boggling  at.  I  will  never 
believe  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  true  love  in  the  world,  let 
Martin  Sprenger  say  what  he  will,  and  swear  to  it  on  the 
gospels." 

When  she  reached  the  young  Baroness's  apartment,  she 
found,  to  her  surprise,  that,  instead  of  having  put  on  what 
finery  she  possessed,  that  young  lady's  choice  had  preferred 
the  same  simple  kirtle  which  she  had  worn  during  the  first  day 
that  Arthur  had  dined  at  Geierstein.  Annette  looked  at  first 
puzzled  and  doubtful,  then  suddenly  recognized  the  good  taste 
which  had  dictated  the  attire,  and  exclaimed — "  you  are  right 
— you  are  right — it  is  best  to  meet  him  as  a  fr^e-hearted  Swiss 
maiden," 


258 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Anne  also  smiled  as  she  replied — "  But  at  the  same  timC; 
in  the  walls  of  Arnheim,  I  must  appear  in  some  respect  as  the 
daughter  of  my  father. — Here,  girl,  aid  me  to  put  this  gem 
upon  the  ribbon  which  binds  my  hair." 

It  was  an  aigrette,  or  plume,  composed  of  two  feathers  of  a 
vulture,  fastened  together  by  an  opal,  which  changed  to  the 
changing  light  with  a  variability  which  enchanted  the  Swiss 
damsel,  who  had  never  seen  an3^thing  resembling  it  in  her  life. 

Now,  Baroness  Anne,"  said  she,^*  if  that  pretty  thing  be 
really  worn  as  a  sign  of  your  rank,  it  is  the  only  thing  belong- 
ing to  your  dignity  that  I  should  ever  think  of  coveting ;  for 
it  doth  shimmer  and  change  color  after  a  most  wonderful 
fashion,  even  something  like  one's  own  cheek  when  one  is 
fluttered." 

"  Alas,  Annette  ! "  said  the  Baroness,  passing  her  hand 
.  across  her  eyes,  "  of  all  the  gauds  which  the  females  of  my 
house  have  owned,  this  perhaps  hath  been  the  most  fatal  to  its 
possessors." 

"  And  why  then  wear  it  ?  "  said  Annette.  "  Why  wear  it 
now  of  all  days  in  the  year?" 

"Because  it  best  reminds  me  of  my  duty  to  my  father  and 
family.  And  now,  girl,  look  thou  sit  with  us  at  table,  and  leave 
not  the  apartment ;  and  see  thou  fly  not  to  and  fro  to  help  thy- 
self or  others  with  anything  on  the  board,  but  remain  quiet  and 
seated  till  William  helps  you  to  what  you  have  occasion  for." 

Well,  that  is  a  gentle  fashion,  which  I  like  well  enough," 
said  Annette,  "  and  William  serves  us  so  debonairly,  that  it  is 
a  joy  to  see  him ;  yet,  ever  and  anon,  I  feel  as  I  were  not 
Annette  Veilchen  herself,  but  only  Annette  Veilchen's  picture, 
since  I  can  neithet  rise,  sit  down,  run  about,  nor  stand  still, 
without  breaking  some  rule  of  courtly  breeding.  It  is  not  so, 
I  dare  say,  with  you  who  are  always  mannerly." 

**Less  courtly  than  thou  seemest  to  think,"  said  the  high- 
born maiden;  **but  I  feel  the  restraint  more  on  the  green- 
sward, and  under  heaven's  free  air,  than  when  I  undergo  it 
closed  within  the  walls  of  an  apartment." 

Ah,  true — the  dancing,"  said  Annette  ;  "that  was  some- 
thing to  be  sorry  for  indeed." 

"  But  most  am  I  sorry,  Annette,  that  I  cannot  tell  whether 
I  act  precisely  right  or  wrong  in  seeing  this  young  man,  though 
it  must  be  for  the  last  time.  Were  my  father  to  arrive  ? — Were 
Ital  Schreckenwald  to  return"  

"  Your  father  is  too  deeply  engaged  on  some  of  his  dark  and 
mystic  errands,"  said  the  flippant  Swiss  ;  "  sailed  to  the  moun* 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


tains  of  the  Brockenberg,  were  witches  hold  their  sabbath,  01 
gone  on  a  hunting-party  with  the  Wild  Huntsman." 

"  Fie,  Annette,  how  dare  you  talk  thus  of  my  father  ?  " 

"Why,  I  know  little  of  him  personally,"  said  the  damsel, 
"  and  you  yourself  do  not  know  much  more.  And  how  should 
that  be  false  which  all  men  say  is  true  ?  " 

"  Why,  fool,  what  do  they  say  ?  " 

**  Why,  that  the  Count  is  a  wizard — that  your  grandmother 
was  a  will-of-wisp,  and  old  Ital  Schreckenwald  a  born  devil  in- 
carnate ;  and  there  is  some  truth  in  that,  whatever  comes  of 
the  rest." 

"  Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  Gone  down  to  spend  the  night  in  the  village,  to  see  the 
Rhinegrave^s  men  quartered,  and  keep  them  in  some  order,  if 
possible  ;  for  the  soldiers  are  disappointed  of  pay  which  they 
had  been  promised  ;  and  when  this  happens,  nothing  resembles 
a  Lanz-knecht  except  a  chafed  bear." 

"  Go  we  down  then,  girl  ;  it  is  perhaps  the  last  night  which 
we  may  spend,  for  years,  with  a  certain  degree  of  freedom." 

I  will  not  pretend  to  describe  the  marked  embarrassment 
with  which  Arthur  Philipson  and  Anne  of  Geierstein  met ; 
neither  lifted  their  eyes,  neither  spoke  intelligibly,  as  they 
greeted  each  other,  and  the  maiden  herself  did  not  blush  more 
deeply  than  her  modest  visitor  ;  while  the  good-humored  Swiss 
girl,  whose  ideas  of  love  partook  of  the  freedom  of  a  more 
Arcadian  country  and  its  customs,  looked  on  with  eyebrows  a 
little  arched,  much  in  wonder,  and  a  little  in  contempt  at  a 
couple,  who,  as  she  might  think,  acted  with  such  unnatural 
and  constrained  reserve.  Deep  was  the  reverence  and  the 
blush  with  which  Arthur  offered  his  hand  to  the  young  lady, 
and  her  acceptance  of  the  courtesy  had  the  same  character  of 
extreme  bashfuluess,  agitation,  and  embarrassment.  In  short, 
though  little  or  nothing  intelligible  passed  between  this  very 
handsome  and  interesting  couple,  the  interview  itself  did  not  on 
that  account  lose  any  interest.  Arthur  handed  the  maiden,  as 
was  the  duty  of  a  gallant  of  the  day,  into  the  next  room  where 
their  repast  was  prepared ;  and  Annette,  who  watched  with 
singular  attention  everything  which  occurred,  felt  with  astonish- 
ment, that  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  higher  orders  of 
society  had  such  an  influence,  even  over  her  free-born  mind,  as 
the  rites  of  the  Druids  over  that  of  the  Roman  general,  when 
he  said, 

"  I  scorn  them,  yet  they  awe  me." 

*^  What  can  have  changed  them  1  "  said  Annette  ;  "  when 
at  Geierstein,  they  looked  but  like  another  girl  and  bachelor, 


26o 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


only  that  Anne  is  so  very  handsome  ;  but  now  they  move  in  time 
and  manner  as  if  they  were  leading  a  stately  pavin,  and  behave 
to  each  other  with  as  much  formal  respect  as  if  he  were 
Landamman  of  the  Unterwalden,  and  she  the  first  lady  of 
Berne.  'Tis  all  very  fine,  doubtless,  but  it  is  not  the  way  that 
Martin  Sprenger  makes  love." 

Apparently,  the  circumstances  in  which  each  of  the  young 
people  were  placed,  recalled  to  them  the  habits  of  lofty,  and 
somewhat  formal  courtesy,  to  which  they  might  have  been 
accustomed  in  former  days  ;  and  while  the  Baroness  felt  it 
necessary  to  observe  the  strictest  decorum,  in  order  to  qualify 
the  reception  of  Arthur  into  the  interior  of  her  retreat,  he,  on 
the  other  hand,  endeavored  to  show,  by  the  profoundness  of  his 
respect,  that  he  was  incapable  of  misusing  the  kindness  with 
which  he  had  been  treated.  They  placed  themselves  at  table, 
scrupulously  observing  the  distance  which  might  become  a 
"  virtuous  gentleman  and  maid."  The  youth  William  did  the 
service  of  the  entertainment  with  deftness  and  courtesy,  as  one 
well  accustomed  to  such  duty ;  and  Annette,  placing  herself 
between  them,  and  endeavoring,  as  closely  as  she  could,  to 
adhere  to  the  ceremonies  which  she  saw  them  observe,  made 
practice  of  the  civilities  which  were  expected  from  the  attend- 
ant of  a  baroness.  Various,  however,  were  the  errors  which 
she  committed.  Her  demeanor  in  general  was  that  of  a  gray- 
hound  in  the  slips,  ready  to  start  up  every  moment ;  and  she 
was  only  withheld  by  the  recollection  that  she  was  to  ask  for 
that  which  she  had  far  more  mind  to  help  herself  to. 

Other  points  of  etiquette  were  transgressed  in  their  turn, 
after  the  repast  was  over,  and  the  attendant  had  retired.  The 
waiting  damsel  often  mingled  too  unceremoniously  in  the  conver- 
sation, and  could  not  help  calling  her  mistress  by  her  Christian 
name  of  Anne,  and,  in  defiance  of  all  decorum,  addressed  her,  as 
well  as  Philipson,  with  the  pronoun  thou^  which  then,  as  well  as 
now,  was  a  dreadful  solecism  in  German  politeness.  Her  blun- 
ders were  so  far  fortunate,  that  by  furnishing  the  young  lady 
and  Arthur  with  a  topic  foreign  to  the  peculiarities  of  their  own 
situation,  they  enabled  them  to  withdraw  their  attentions  from 
its  embarrassments,  and  to  exchange  smiles  at  poor  Annette^s 
expense.  She  was  not  long  of  perceiving  this,  and  half  nettled, 
half  availing  herself  of  the  apology  to  speak  her  mind,  said,  with 
considerable  spirit,  "  You  have  both  been  very  merry,  forsooth, 
at  my  expense,  and  all  because  I  wished  rather  to  rise  and  seek 
what  I  wanted,  than  wait  till  the  poor  fellow,  who  was  kept 
trotting  between  the  board  and  beaulTet,  found  leisure  to  bring 
it  to  mc.    You  laugh  at  me  now,  because  I  call  you  by  your 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


names,  as  they  were  given  to  you  in  the  blessed  church  at  your 
christening  ;  and  because  I  say  to  you  thee  and  thou^  addressing 
my  Yuncker  and  my  Youngfrou  as  I  would  do  if  I  were  on  my 
knees  praying  to  Heaven.  But  for  all  your  new  world  fancies. 
I  can  tell  you,  you  are  but  a  couple  of  children,  who  do  not 
know  your  own  minds,  and  are  jesting  away  the  only  leisure 
given  you  to  provide  for  your  own  happiness.  Nay,  frown  not, 
my  sweet  Mistress  Baroness  ;  I  have  looked  at  Mont  Pilatre 
too  often  to  fear  a  gloomy  brow.'' 

"  Peace,  Annette,"  said  her  mistress,  "  or  quit  the  room.'' 

"  Were  I  not  more  your  friend  than  I  am  my  own,"  said  the 
headstrong  and  undaunted  Annette,  I  would  quit  the  room, 
and  the  castle  to  boot,  and  leave  you  to  hold  your  house  here 
with  your  amiable  seneschal,  Ital  Schreckenwald." 

"  If  not  for  love,  yet  for  shame,  for  charity,  be  silent,  or 
leave  the  room." 

Nay,"  said  Annette,  "  my  bolt  is  shot,  and  I  have  but 
hinted  at  what  aU  upon  Geierstein  Green  said,  the  night  when 
the  bow  of  Buttisholz  was  bended.  You  know  what  the  old 
saw  says  "  

"  Peace  !  peace,  for  Heaven's  sake,  or  I  must  needs  fly  !  " 
said  the  young  Baroness. 

Nay,  then,"  said  Annette,  considerably  changing  her  tone, 
as  if  afraid  that  her  mistress  should  actually  retire,  if  you 
must  fly,  necessity  must  have  its  course.  I  know  no  one  who 
can  follow.  This  mistress  of  mine,  Seignor  Arthur,  would 
require  for  her  attendant  not  a  homely  girl  of  flesh  and  blood 
like  myself,  but  a  waiting  woman  with  a  substance  composed  of 
gossamer,  and  breath  supplied  by  the  spirit  of  ether.  Would 
you  believe  it  ? — It  is  seriously  held  by  many,  that  she  partakes 
of  the  race  of  spirits  of  the  elements,  which  makes  her  so  much 
more  bashful  than  maidens  of  this  everyday  world." 

Anne  of  Geierstein  seemed  rather  glad  to  lead  away  the  con- 
versation from  the  turn  which  her  wayward  maiden  had  given 
to  it,  and  to  turn  it  on  more  indifferent  subjects,  though  these 
were  still  personal  to  herself. 

Seignor  Arthur,"  she  said,  "  thinks,  perhaps,  he  has  some 
room  to  nourish  some  such  strange  suspicion  as  your  heedless 
folly  expresses,  and  some  fools  believe,  both  in  Germany  and 
Switzerland.  Confess,  Seignor  Arthur,  you  thought  strangely 
of  me  when  I  passed  your  guard  upon  the  bridge  of  Graffs-lust, 
on  the  night  last  past"!" 

The  recollection  of  the  circumstances  which  had  so  greatly 
surprised  him  at  the  time,  so  startled  Arthur,  that  it  was  with 
some  difficulty  he  commanded  himself,  so  as  to  attempt  an 


AANE  OF  GEIEkSTBlM. 


answer  at  all ;  and  what  he  did  say  on  the  occasion  was  broken 
and  unconnected. 

"  I  did  hear,  I  own — that  is,  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  reported 
— But  that  I  believed  that  you,  gentle  lady,  were  other  than  a 
Christian  maiden  " — - — 

Nay,  if  Rudolph  were  the  reporter,  said  Annette,  "  you 
would  hear  the  worst  of  my  lady  and  her  lineage,  that  is  certain. 
He  is  one  of  those  prudent  personages  who  depreciate  and  find 
fault  with  the  goods  he  has  thoughts  of  purchasing,  in  order  to 
deter  other  offerers.  Yes,  he  told  you  a  fine  goblin  story,  I 
warrant  you,  of  my  lady's  grandmother ;  and  truly,  it  so  hap- 
pened, that  the  circumstances  of  the  case  gave,  I  dare  say,  some 
color  in  your  eyes  to  "  

"  Not  so,  Annette,*'  answered  Arthur  ;  whatever  might  be 
said  of  your  lady  that  sounded  uncouth  and  strange,  fell  to  the 
ground  as  incredible." 

Not  quite  so  much  so,  I  fancy,"  interrupted  Annette, 
without  heeding  sign  or  frown.  I  strongly  suspect  I  should 
have  had  much  more  trouble  in  dragging  you  hither  to  this 
castle,  had  you  known  you  were  approaching  the  haunt  of  the 
Nymph  of  the  Fire,  the  Salamander,  as  they  call  her,  not  to 
mention  the  shock  of  again  seeing  the  descendant  of  that 
Maiden  of  the  Fiery  Mantle." 

"  Peace,  once  more,  Annette,"  said  her  mistress  ;  "  since 
Fate  has  occasioned  this  meeting,  let  us  not  neglect  the  oppor- 
tunity to  disabuse  our  English  friend,  of  the  absurd  report  he 
has  listened  to  with  doubt  and  wonder  perhaps,  but  not  with 
absolute  incredulity. 

"  Seignor  Arthur  Philipson,"  she  proceeded,  "it  is  true  my 
grandfather,  by  the  mother's  side,  Baron  Herman  of  Arnheim, 
was  a  man  of  great  knowledge  in  abstruse  sciences.  He  was 
also  a  presiding  judge  of  a  tribunal  of  which  you  must  have 
heard,  called  the  Holy  Vehme.  One  night  a  stranger,  closely 
pursued  by  the  agents  of  that  body,  which  (crossing  herself)  it 
is  not  safe  even  to  name,  arrived  at  the  castle  and  craved  his 
protection,  and  the  rights  of  hospitality.  My  grandfather,  find- 
ing the  advance  which  the  stranger  had  made  to  the  rank  of 
Adept,  gave  him  his  protection,  and  became  bail  to  deliver  him 
to  answer  the  charge  against  him,  for  a  year  and  a  day,  which 
delay  he  was,  it  seems,  entitled  to  require  on  his  behalf.  They 
studied  together  during  that  term,  and  pushed  their  researches 
into  the  mysteries  of  nature,  as  far,  in  all  probability,  as  men 
have  the  power  of  urging  them.  When  the  fatal  day  drew  nigh 
on  which  the  guest  must  part  from  his  host,  he  asked  permission 
to  bring  his  daughter  to  the  castle,  that  they  might  exchange  9 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


263 


last  farewell.  She  was  introduced  with  much  secrecy,  and  after 
some  days,  finding  that  her  father's  fate  was  so  uncertain,  the 
Baron,  with  the  sage's  consent,  agreed  to  give  the  forlorn 
maiden  refuge  in  his  castle,  hoping  to  obtain  from  her  some 
additional  information  concerning  the  languages  and  the  wisdom 
of  the  East.  Dannischemend,  her  father,  left  this  castle,  to  go 
to  render  himself  up  to  the  Vehmegericht  at  Fulda.  The  re- 
sult is  unknown  ;  perhaps  he  was  saved  by  Baron  Arnheim's 
testimony,  perhaps  he  was  given  up  to  the  steel  and  the  cord. 
On  such  matters,  who  dare  speak  1 

"  The  fair  Persian  became  the  wife  of  her  guardian  and 
protector.  Amid  many  excellences,  she  had  one  peculiarity 
allied  to  imprudence.  She  availed  herself  of  her  foreign  dress 
and  manners,  as  well  as  of  a  beauty  which  was  said  to  have 
been  marvelous,  and  an  agility  seldom  equaled,  to  impose 
upon  and  terrify  the  ignorant  German  ladies,  who,  hearing  her 
speak  Persian  and  Arabic,  were  already  disposed  to  consider 
her  as  over  closely  connected  with  unlawful  arts.  She  was  of 
a  fanciful  and  imaginative  disposition,  and  delighted  to  place 
herself  in  such  colors  and  circumstances  as  might  confirm  their 
most  ridiculous  suspicions,  which  she  considered  only  as  matter 
of  sport.  There  was  no  end  to  the  stories  to  which  she  gave 
rise.  Her  first  appearance  in  the  castle  was  said  to  be  highly 
picturesque,  and  to  have  inferred  something  of  the  marvelous. 
With  the  levity  of  a  child,  she  had  some  childish  passions,  and 
while  she  encouraged  the  growth  and  circulation  of  the  most 
extraordinary  legends  amongst  some  of  the  neighborhood,  she 
entered  into  disputes  with  persons  of  her  own  quality,  concern- 
ing rank  and  precedence,  on  which  the  ladies  of  Westphalia 
have  at  all  times  set  great  store.  This  cost  her  her  life  ;  for, 
on  the  morning  of  the  christening  of  my  poor  mother,  the 
Baroness  of  Arnheim  died  suddenly,  even  while  a  splendid 
company  was  assembled  in  the  castle  chapel  to  witness  the 
ceremony.  It  was  believed  that  she  died  of  poison,  adminis* 
tered  by  the  Baroness  Steinfeldt,  with  whom  she  was  engaged 
in  a  bitter  quarrel,  entered  into  chiefly  on  behalf  of  her  friend 
and  companion,  the  Countess  Waldstetten." 

"  And  the  opal  gem  — and  the  sprinkling  with  water  ?  "  said 
Arthur  Philipson. 

"  Ah  !  "  replied  the  young  Baroness,  I  see  you  desire  to 
hear  the  real  truth  of  my  family  history,  of  which  you  have  yet 
learned  only  the  romantic  legend. — The  sprinkling  of  water 
was  necessarily  had  recourse  to,  on  my  ancestress's  first  swoon. 
As  for  the  opal,  I  have  heard  that  it  did  indeed  grow  pale,  but 
only  because  it  is  said  to  be  the  nature  of  that  noble  gem,  on 


2^4 


ANMR  OF  GEIBrSTMW. 


the  approach  of  poison.  Some  part  of  the  quarrel  with  the 
Baroness.  Steinfeldt  was  about  the  right  of  the  Persian  maidea 
to  wear  this  stone,  which  an  ancestor  in  my  family  won  in 
battle  from  the  Soldan  of  Trebizond.  All  these  things  were 
confused  in  popular  tradition,  and  the  real  facts  turned  into  a 
fairy  tale." 

"  But  you  have  said  nothing,"  suggested  Arthur  Philipson, 

on— on  "  

On  what  ?  "  said  his  hostess. 
"  On  your  appearance  last  night." 

"Is  it  possible,"  said  she,  "that  a  man  of  sense,  and  an 
Englishman,  cannot  guess  at  the  explanation  which  I  have  to 
give,  though  not,  perhaps,  very  distinctly  ?  My  father,  you 
are  aware,  has  been  a  busy  man  in  a  disturbed  country,  and 
has  incurred  the  hatred  of  many  powerful  persons.  He  is, 
therefore,  obliged  to  move  in  secret,  and  avoid  unnecessary 
observation.  He  was,  besides,  averse  to  meet  his  brother,  the 
Landamman.  I  was  therefore  told,  on  our  entering  Germany, 
that  I  was  to  expect  a  signal  where  and  when  to  join  him, — the 
token  was  to  be  a  small  crucifix  of  bronze,  which  had  belonged 
to  my  poor  mother.  In  my  apartment  at  Graffs-lust  I  found 
the  token,  with  a  note  from  my  father,  making  me  acquainted 
with  a  secret  passage  proper  to  such  places,  which,  though  it 
had  the  appearance  of  being  blocked  up,  was  in  fact  very 
slightly  barricaded.  By  this  I  was  instructed  to  pass  to  the 
gate,  make  my  escape  into  the  woods,  and  meet  my  father  at  a 
place  appointed  there." 

"  A  wild  and  perilous  adventure,"  said  Arthur. 

"  I  have  never  been  so  much  shocked,"  continued  the  maiden, 
"  as  at  receiving  this  summons,  compelling  me  to  steal  away 
from  my  kind  and  affectionate  uncle,  and  go  I  knew  not 
whither.  Yet  compliance  was  absolutely  necessary.  The  place 
of  meeting  was  plainly  pointed  out.  A  midnight  walk,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  protection,  was  to  me  a  trifle  ;  but  the  pre- 
caution of  posting  sentinels  at  the  gate  might  have  interfered 
with  my  purpose,  had  I  not  mentioned  it  to  some  of  my  elder 
cousins,  the  Biedermans,  who  readily  agreed  to  let  me  pass  and 
repass  unquestioned.  But  you  know  my  cousins ;  honest  and 
kind-hearted,  they  are  of  a  rude  way  of  thinking,  and  as  in- 
capable of  feeling  a  generous  delicacy  as — some  other  persons." 
(Here  there  was  a  glance  toward  Annette  Veilchen.) — "  They 
exacted  from  me,  that  I  should  conceal  myself  and  my  purpose 
from  Sigismund ;  and  as  they  are  always  making  sport  with 
the  simple  youth,  they  insisted  that  I  should  pass  him  in  such 
a  manner  as  might  induce  him  to  believe  that  I  was  a  spiritual 


ANNE  OF  GEiERSTElN, 


apparition,  and  out  of  his  terrors  for  supernatural  beings  they 
expected  to  have  much  amusement.  I  was  obliged  to  secure 
their  connivance  at  my  escape  on  their  own  terms  ;  and,  indeed, 
I  was  too  much  grieved  at  the  prospect  of  quitting  my  kind 
uncle,  to  think  much  of  anything  else.  Yet  my  surprise  was 
considerable,  when,  contrary  to  expectation,  I  found  you  on  the 
bridge  as  sentinel,  instead  of  my  cousin  Sigismund.  Your  own 
ideas  I  ask  not  for." 

"  They  were  those  of  a  fool,''  said  Arthur,  of  a  thrice- 
sodden  fool.  Had  I  been  aught  else,  I  would  have  offered  my 
escort.    My  sword  "  

"  I  could  not  have  accepted  your  protection,"  said  Anne, 
calmly.  "  My  mission  was  in  every  respect  a  secret  one.  I 
met  my  father — some  intercourse  had  taken  place  betwixt  him 
and  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  which  induced  him  to  alter  his  pur- 
pose of  carrying  me  away  with  him  last  night.  I  joined  him, 
however,  early  this  morning,  while  Annette  acted  for  a  time  my 
part  amongst  the  Swiss  pilgrims.  My  father  desired  that  it 
should  not  be  known  when  or  with  whom  I  left  my  uncle 
and  his  escort  I  need  scarce  remind  you  that  I  saw  you  in  the 
dungeon." 

"  You  were  the  preserver  of  my  life,"  said  the  youth — "  the 
restorer  of  my  liberty." 

"  Ask  me  not  the  reason  of  my  silence.  I  was  then  acting 
under  the  agency  of  others,  not  under  mine  own.  Your  escape 
was  effected,  in  order  to  establish  a  communication  betwixt  the 
Swiss  without  the  fortress  and  the  soldiers  within.  After  the 
alarm  at  La  Ferette,  I  learned  from  Sigismund  Biederman  that 
a  party  of  Banditti  were  pursuing  your  father  and  you,  with  a 
view  to  pillage  and  robbery.  My  father  had  furnished  me  with 
the  means  of  changing  Anne  of  Geierstein  into  a  German 
maiden  of  quality.  I  set  out  instantly,  and  glad  I  am  to  have 
given  you  a  hint  which  might  free  you  from  danger." 

"  But  my  father  ?  "  said  Arthur. 

"  I  have  every  reason  to  hope  he  is  well  and  safe,"  answered 
the  young  lady.  More  than  I  were  eager  to  protect  both  you 
and  him — poor  Sigismund  amongst  the  first. — And  now,  my 
friend,  these  mysteries  explained,  it  is  time  we  part,  and  for- 
ever." 

"  Part  !— and  forever  !  "  repeated  the  youth  in  a  voice  like 
a  dying  echo. 

"  It  is  our  fate,"  said  the  maiden.  "  I  appeal  to  you  if  it  is 
not  your  duty — I  tell  you  it  is  mine.  You  will  depart  with  early 
dawn  to  Strassburg — and — and — we  never  meet  again." 

With  an  ardor  of  passion  which  he  could  not  repress,  Arthur 


^66  '       ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Philipson  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  maiden,  whose  falter- 
ing  tone  had  clearly  expressed  that  she  felt  deeply  in  uttering 
the  words.  She  looked  round  for  Annette,  but  Annette  had 
disappeared  at  the  most  critical  moment  ;  and  her  mistress  for 
a  second  or  two  was  not  perhaps  sorry  for  her  absence. 

"  Rise,"  she  said,  "  Arthur — rise.  You  must  not  give  way 
to  feelings  that  might  be  fatal  to  yourself  and  me." 

Hear  me,  lady,  before  I  bid  you  adieu,  and  forever — the 
word  of  a  criminal  is  heard,  though  he  plead  the  worst  cause — 
I  am  a  belted  knight,  and  the  son  and  heir  of  an  Earl,  whose 
name  has  been  spread  throughout  England  and  France,  and 
wherever  valor  has  had  fame." 

"  Alas !  "  said  she,  faintly,  I  have  but  too  long  suspected 
what  you  now  tell  me — Rise,  I  pray  you,  rise." 

"  Never  till  you  hear  me,"  said  the  youth,  seizing  one  of 
her  hands,  which  trembled,  but  hardly  could  be  said  to  struggle 
in  his  grasp. — Hear  me,"  he  said,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  first 
love,  when  the  obstacles  of  bashfulness  and  diffidence  are  sur- 
mounted— "  My  father  and  I  are — I  acknowledge  it — bound 
on  a  most  hazardous  and  doubtful  expedition.  You  will  very 
soon  learn  its  issue  for  good  or  bad.  If  it  succeed,  you  shall 
hear  of  me  in  my  own  character. — If  I  fall,  I  must — I  will — I 
do  claim  a  tear  from  Anne  of  Geierstein.  If  I  escape,  I  have 
yet  a  horse,  a  lance,  and  a  sword ;  and  you  shall  hear  nobly 
of  him  whom  you  have  thrice  protected  from  imminent 
danger." 

Arise — arise,"  repeated  the  maiden,  whose  tears  began  to 
flow  fast,  as,  struggling  to  raise  her  lover,  they  fell  thick  upon 
his  head  and  face.  I  have  heard  enough — to  listen  to  more 
were  indeed  madness,  both  for  you  and  myself." 

"  Yet  one  single  word,"  added  the  youth ;  "  while  Arthur 
has  a  heart,  it  beats  for  you — while  Arthur  can  wield  an  arm, 
it  strikes  for  you,  and  in  your  cause." 

Annette  now  rushed  into  the  room. 

"Away,  away!"  she  cried — "  Schreckenwald  has  returned 
from  the  village  with  some  horrible  tidings,  and  I  fear  me  he 
comes  this  way." 

Arthur  had  started  to  his  feet  at  the  first  signal  of  alarm. 
If  there  is  danger  near  your  lady,  Annette,  there  is  at  least 
one  faithful  friend  by  her  side." 

Annette  looked  anxiously  at  her  mistress. 

"  But  Schreckenwald,"  she  said — "  Schreckenwald,  your 
father's  steward — his  confidant. — Oh,  think  better  of  it — I  can 
hide  Arthur  somewhere." 

The  noble-minded  girl  had  already  resumed  her  composure^ 


Al^NE  OF  GEIERSTEI^^. 


and  replied  with  dignity — "  I  have  done  nothing,"  she  said,  to 
offend  my  father.  If  Schreckenwald  be  my  father's  steward, 
he  ID  my  vassal.  I  hide  no  guest  to  conciliate  him.  Sit  down," 
(addressing  Arthur),  and  let  us  receive  this  man — Introduce 
him  instantly,  Annette,  and  let  us  hear  his  tidings — ^and  bid 
him  remember,  that  when  he  speaks  to  me  he  addresses  his 
mistress." 

Arthur  resumed  his  seat,  still  more  proud  of  his  choice  from 
the  noble  and  fearless  spirit  displayed  by  one  who  had  so 
lately  shown  herself  sensible  to  the  gentlest  feelings  of  the 
female  sex. 

Annette,  assuming  courage  from  her  mistress's  dauntless 
demeanor,  clapped  her  hands  together  as  she  kit  the  room, 
saying,  but  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  see  that  after  all  it  is  something 
to  be  a  Baroness,  if  one  can  assert  her  dignity  conformingly. 
How  could  I  be  so  frightened  for  this  rude  man  !  " 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

 Affairs  that  walk 

(As  they  say  spirits  do)  at  midnight,  have 
In  them  a  wilder  nature  than  the  business 
That  seeks  despatch  bv  day. 

Henry  VIII.,  Act  5. 

The  approach  of  the  steward  was  now  boldly  expected  by 
the  little  party.  Arthur,  flattered  at  once  and  elevated  by  the 
firmness  which  Anne  had  shown  when  this  person's  arrival  was 
announced,  hastily  considered  the  part  which  he  was  to  act  in 
the  approaching  scene,  and  prudently  determined  to  avoid  all 
active  and  personal  interference,  till  he  should  observe,  from 
the  demeanor  of  Anne,  that  such  was  likely  to  be  useful  or 
agreeable  to  her.  He  resumed  his  place,  therefore,  at  a  distant 
part  of  the  board,  on  which  their  meal  had  been  lately  spread, 
and  remained  there,  determined  to  act  in  the  manner  Anne's 
behavior  should  suggest  as  most  prudent  and  fitting, — veiling, 
at  the  same  time,  the  most  acute  internal  anxiety,  by  an  ap- 
pearance of  that  deferential  composure,  which  one  of  inferior 
rank  adopts  when  admitted  to  the  presence  of  a  superior 
Anne,  on  her  part,  seemed  to  prepare  herself  for  an  intervie\» 
of  interest.  An  air  of  conscious  dignity  succeeded  the  extreme 
agitation  which  she  had  so  lately  displayed,  and,  busying  her- 
self with  some  articles  of  female  work,  she  also  seemed  to 


2  68 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


expect  with  tranquility  the  visit,  to  which  her  attendant  was 
disposed  to  attach  so  much  alarm. 

A  step  was  heard  upon  the  stair,  hurried  and  unequal,  as 
that  of  some  one  in  confusion  as  well  as  haste  the  door  flew 
open,  and  Ital  Schreckenwald  entered. 

This  person,  with  whom  the  details  given  to  the  elder  Philip- 
son  by  the  Landamman  Biederman  have  made  the  reader  in 
some  degree  acquainted,  was  a  tall,  well-made,  soldierly-looking 
man.  His  dress,  like  that  of  persons  of  rank  at  the  period  in 
Germany,  was  more  varied  in  color,  more  cut  and  ornamented, 
slashed  and  jagged,  than  the  habit  worn  in  France  and  England. 
The  never-failing  hawk^s  feather  decked  his  cap,  secured  with  a 
medal  of  gold,  which  served  as  a  clasp.  His  doublet  was  of 
buff,  for  defence,  but  laid  do7mi,  as  it  was  called  in  the  tailor's 
craft,  with  rich  lace  on  each  seam,  and  displayed  on  the  breast 
a  golden  chain,  the  emblem  of  his  rank  in  the  Baron's  household. 
He  entered  with  rather  a  hasty  step,  and  busy  and  offended 
look,  and  said  somewhat  rudely, — "  Why,  how  now,  young  lady 
— wherefore  this  ?  Strangers  in  the  castle  at  this  period  of 
night ! '' 

Anne  of  Geierstein,  though  she  had  been  long  absent  from 
her  native  country,  was  not  ignorant  of  its  habits  and  customs, 
and  knew  the  haughty  manner  in  which  all  who  were  noble 
exerted  their  authority  over  their  dependants. 

Are  you  a  vassal  of  Arnheim,  Ital  Schreckenwald,  and  do 
you  speak  to  the  Lady  of  Arnheim  in  her  own  castle  with  an 
elevated  voice,  a  saucy  look,  and  bonneted  withal  ?  Know  your 
place  ;  and,  when  you  have  demanded  pardon  for  your  insolence, 
and  told  your  errand  in  such  terms  as  befit  your  condition  and 
mine,  I  may  listen  to  what  you  have  to  say." 

Schreckenwald's  hand,  in  spite  of  him,  stole  to  his  bonnet, 
and  uncovered  his  haughty  brow. 

"  Noble  lady,  he  said,  in  a  somewhat  milder  tone,  excuse 
me  if  my  haste  be  unmannerly,  but  the  alarm  is  instant.  The 
soldiery  of  the  Rhinegrave  have  mutinied,  plucked  down  the 
banners  of  their  master,  and  set  up  an  independent  ensign, 
which  they  call  the  pennon  of  St.  Nicholas,  under  which  they 
declare  that  they  will  maintain  peace  with  God,  and  war  with 
all  the  world.  This  castle  cannot  escape  them,  when  they  con- 
sider that  the  first  course  to  maintain  themselves,  must  be  to 
take  possession  of  some  place  of  strength.  You  must  up  then, 
and  ride  with  the  very  peep  of  dawn.  For  the  present,  they 
are  busy  with  the  wine-skins  of  the  peasants  ;  but  when  they 
wake  in  the  morning,  they  will  unquestionably  march  hither; 
and  you  may  chance  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  those  who  will 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


269 


think  of  the  terrors  of  the  castle  of  Arnheim  as  the  figments  of 
a  fairy  tale,  and  laugh  at  its  mistress's  pretensions  to  honor 
and  respect.'* 

"  Is  it  impossible  to  make  resistance  ?  The  castle  is  strong," 
said  the  young  lady,  and  I  am  unwilling  to  leave  the  house  of 
my  fathers  without  attempting  somewhat  in  our  defence." 

"  Five  hundred  men,"  said  Schreckenwald,  ^'  might  garrison 
Arnheim,  battlement  and  tower.  With  a  less  number  it  were 
madness  to  attempt  to  keep  such  an  extent  of  walls  ;  and  how 
to  get  twenty  soldiers  together,  I  am  sure  I  know  not. — -So, 
having  now  the  truth  of  the  story,  let  me  beseech  you  to  dis- 
miss this  guest, — too  young,  I  think,  to  be  the  inmate  of  a 
lady's  bower, —  and  I  wdll  point  to  him  the  nighest  way  out  of 
the  castle  ;  for  this  is  a  strait  in  which  we  must  all  be  contented 
with  looking  to  our  own  safety." 

"  And  whither  is  it  that  you  propose  to  go  ?  "  said  the 
Baroness,  continuing  to  maintain,  in  respect  to  Ital  Schrecken- 
wald, the  complete  and  calm  assertion  of  absolute  si;periority,  to 
which  the  seneschal  gave  way  with  such  marks  of  impatience, 
as  a  fiery  steed  exhibits  under  the  management  of  a  complete 
cavalier. 

"  To  Strassburg  I  propose  to  go, — that  is,  if  it  so  please  you, 
— with  such  slight  escort  as  I  can  get  hastily  together  by  day- 
break. I  trust  we  may  escape  being  observed  by  the  mutineers  ; 
or,  if  we  fall  in  with  a  party  of  stragglers,  I  apprehend  but 
little  difficulty  in  forcing  my  way." 

"  And  wherefore  do  you  prefer  Strassburg  as  a  place  of 
asylum  ? " 

Because  I  trust  we  shall  there  meet  your  excellency's  father, 
the  noble  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein." 

It  is  well,"  said  the  young  lady.  You  also,  I  think, 
Seignor  Philipson,  spoke  of  directing  your  course  to  Strassburg. 
If  it  consist  with  your  convenience,  you  may  avail  yourself  of 
the  protection  of  my  escort  as  far  as  that  city,  where  you  expect 
to  meet  your  father." 

It  will  readily  be  believed  that  Arthur  cheerfully  bowed 
assent  to  a  proposal  which  was  to  prolong  their  remaining  in 
society  together ;  and  might  possibly,  as  his  romantic  imagina- 
tion suggested,  afford  him  an  opportunity,  on  a  road  beset  with 
dangers,  to  render  some  service  of  importance. 

Ital  Schreckenwald  attempted  to  remonstrate. 

"  Lady  ! — lady  !  " — he  said,  with  some  marks  of  impatience 

"  Take  breath  and  leisure,  Schreckenwald,"  said  Anne. 
"  and  you  will  be  more  able  to  express  yourself  with  distinctness 
and  with  respectful  propriety.*' 


270 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


The  impatient  vassal  muttered  an  oath  betwixt  his  teeth, 
and  answered  with  forced  civility, — Permit  me  to  state,  that 
our  case  requires  we  should  charge  ourselves  with  the  care  of  no 
one  but  you.  We  shall  be  few  enough  for  your  defence,  and  I 
cannot  permit  any  stranger  to  travel  with  us/^ 

"  If,"  said  Arthur,  I  conceived  that  I  was  to  be  a  useless 
encumbrance  on  the  retreat  of  this  noble  young  lady,  worlds, 
Sir  Squire,  would  not  induce  me  to  accept  her  offer.  But  I  am 
neither  child  nor  woman — I  am  a  full-grown  man,  and  ready  to 
show  such  good  service  as  manhood  may,  in  defence  of  your 
lady." 

"  If  we  must  not  challenge  your  valor  and  ability,  young 
sir,'*  said  Schreckenwald,  "  who  shall  answer  for  your  fidelity  ?  " 

"  To  question  that  elsewhere,"  said  Arthur,  "  might  be  dan- 
gerous." 

But  Anne  interfered  between  them.  "  We  must  straight  to 
rest,  and  remain  prompt  for  alarm,  perhaps  even  before  the  hour 
of  dawn.  Schreckenwald,  I  trust  to  your  care  for  due  watch  and 
ward. — You  have  men  enough  at  least  for  that  purpose. — And 
hear  and  mark — It  is  my  desire  and  command  that  this  gentle- 
man be  accommodated  with  lodgings  here  for  this  night,  and 
that  he  travel  with  us  to-morrow.  For  this  I  will  be  responsible 
to  my  father,  and  your  part  is  only  to  obey  my  commands.  I 
have  long  had  occasion  to  know  both  the  young  man's  father 
and  himself,  who  were  ancient  guests  of  my  uncle,  the  Landam- 
man.  On  the  journey  you  will  keep  the  youth  beside  you,  and 
use  such  courtesy  to  him  as  your  rugged  temper  will  permit." 

Ital  Schreckenwald  intimated  his  acquiescence  with  a  look 
of  bitterness,  which  it  were  vain  to  attempt  to  describe.  It 
expressed  spite,  mortification,  humbled  pride,  and  reluctant 
submission.  He  did  submit,  however,  and  ushered  young 
Philipson  into  a  decent  apartment  with  a  bed,  which  the 
fatigue  and  agitation  of  the  preceding  day  rendered  very 
acceptable. 

Notwithstanding  the  ardor  with  which  Arthur  expected 
the  rise  of  the  next  dawn,  his  deep  repose,  the  fruit  of  fatigue, 
held  him  until  the  reddening  of  the  east,  when  the  voice  of 
Schreckenwald  exclaimed,  "  Up,  Sir  Englishman,  if  you  mean 
to  accomplish  your  boast  of  loyal  service.  It  is  time  we  were 
in  the  saddle,  and  we  shall  tarry  for  no  sluggards." 

Arthur  was  on  the  floor  of  the  apartment,  and  dressed  in 
almost  an  instant,  not  forgetting  to  put  on  his  shirt  of  mail  and 
assume  whatever  weapons  seemed  most  fit  to  render  him  an 
efficient  part  of  the  convoy.  He  next  hastened  to  seek  out  the 
stable,  to  have  his  horse  in  readiness  ;  and  descending  for  that 


ANNE  OF  GE IE R STEIN 


271 


purpose  into  the  under  story  of  the  lower  mass  of  buildings,  he 
was  wandering  in  search  of  the  way  which  led  to  the  offices, 
when  the  voice  of  Annette  Veilchen  softly  whispered,  This 
way,  Seignor  Philipson  ;  I  would  speak  with  you.'' 

The  Swiss  maiden,  at  the  same  time,  beckoned  him  into  a 
small  room,  where  he  found  her  alone. 

"  Were  you  not  surprised,"  she  said,  "  to  see  my  lady,  queen 
it  so  over  Ital  Schreckenwald,  who  keeps  every  other  person  in 
awe  with  his  stern  looks  and  cross  words  ?  But  the  air  of 
command  seems  so  natural  to  her,  that,  instead  of  being  a 
baroness,  she  might  have  been  an  empress.  It  must  come  of 
birth,  I  think,  after  all,  for  I  tried  last  night  to  take  state  upon 
me,  after  the  fashion  of  my  mistress,  and,  would  you  think  it, 
the  brute  Schreckenwald  threatened  to  throw  me  out  of  the 
window?  But  if  ever  I  see  Martin  Sprenger  again,  yil  know  if 
there  is  strength  in  a  Swiss  arm,  and  virtue  in  a  Swiss  quarter- 
staff. — But  here  I  stand  prating,  and  my  lady  wishes  to  see  you 
for  a  minute  ere  we  take  to  horse." 

"  Your  lady  "  said  Arthur,  starting,  why  did  you  lose  an 
instant  ? — why  not  tell  me  before  }  " 

"  Because  I  was  only  to  keep  you  here  till  she  came,  and — 
here  she  is." 

Anne  of  Geierstein  entered,  fully  attired  for  her  journey. 
Annette,  always  willing  to  do  as  she  would  wish  to  be  done  by, 
was  about  to  leave  the  apartment,  when  her  mistress,  who  had 
apparently  made  up  her  mind  concerning  what  she  had  to  do  or 
say,  commanded  her  positively  to  remain. 

"  I  am  sure,  she  said,  Seignor  Philipson  will  rightly  under- 
stand the  feelings  of  hospitality — I  will  say  of  friendship — which 
prevented  my  suffering  him  to  be  expelled  from  my  castle  last 
night,  and  which  have  determined  me  this  morning  to  admit  of 
his' company  on  the  somewhat  dangerous  road  to  Strassburg. 
At  the  gate  of  that  town  we  part,  I  to  join  my  father,  you  to 
place  yourself  under  the  direction  of  yours.  From  that  moment 
intercourse  between  us  ends,  and  our  remembrance  of  each 
other  must  be  as  the  thoughts  which  we  pay  to  friends  de- 
ceased." 

Tender  recollections,"  said  Arthur,  passionately,  "more 
dear  to  our  bosoms  than  all  we  have  surviving  upon  earth." 

"  Not  a  word  in  that  tone,"  answered  the  maiden.  "  With 
night  delusion  should  end,  and  reason  awaken  with  dawning. 
One  word  more — Do  not  address  me  on  the  road  ;  you  may,  by 
doing  so,  expose  me  to  vexatious  and  insulting  suspicion,  and 
yourself  to  quarrels  and  peril. — Farewell,  our  party  is  ready  to 
take  horse." 


272 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


She  left  the  apartment,  where  Arthur  remained  for  a  moment 
deeply  bewildered  in  grief  and  disappointment.  The  patience, 
nay,  even  favor,  with  which  Anne  of  Geierstein  had,  on  the 
previous  night,  listened  to  his  passion,  had  not  prepared  him  for 
the  terms  of  reserve  and  distance  which  she  now  adopted  to- 
ward him.  He  was  ignorant  that  noble  maids,  if  feeling  or 
passion  has  for  a  moment  swayed  them  from  the  strict  path  of 
principle  and  duty,  endeavor  to  atone  for  it,  by  instantly  return- 
ing, and  severely  adhering,  to  the  line  from  which  they  have 
made  a  momentary  departure.  He  looked  mournfully  on  An- 
nette, who,  as  she  had  been  in  the  room  before  Anne's  arrival, 
took  the  privilege  of  remaining  a  minute  after  her  departure  ; 
but  he  read  no  comfort  in  the  glances  of  the  confidant,  who 
seemed  as  much  disconcerted  as  himself. 

I  cannot  imagine  what  hath  happened  to  her,"  said  An- 
nette ;  to  me  she  is  kind  as  ever,  but  to  every  other  person 
about  her  she  plays  countess  and  baroness  with  a  witness  ;  and 
now  she  is  begun  to  tyrannize  over  her  own  natural  feelings — 
and — if  this  be  greatness,  Annette  Veilchen  trusts  always 
to  remain  the  penniless  Swiss  girl ;  she  is  mistress  of  her  own 
freedom,  and  at  liberty  to  speak  with  her  bachelor  when  she 
pleases,  so  as  religion  and  maiden  modesty  suffer  nothing  in 
the  conversation.  Oh,  a  single  daisy  twisted  with  content  into 
one*s  hair,  is  worth  all  the  opals  in  India,  if  they  bind  us  to 
torment  ourselves  and  other  people,  or  hinder  us  from  speaking 
our  mind,  when  our  heart  is  upon  our  tongue.  But  never  fear, 
Arthur  ;  for  if  she  has  the  cruelty  to  think  of  forgetting  you, 
you  may  rely  on  one  friend  who,  while  she  has  a  tongue,  and 
Anne  has  ears,  will  make  it  impossible  for  her  to  do  so." 

So  saying,  away  tripped  Annette,  having  first  indicated  to 
Philipson  the  passage  by  which  he  would  find  the  lower  court 
of  the  castle.  There  his  steed  stood  ready  among  about  twenty 
others.  Twelve  of  these  were  accoutred  with  war  saddles  and 
frontlets  of  proof,  being  intended  for  the  use  of  as  many  caval- 
iers, or  troopers,  retainers  of  the  family  of  Arnheim,  whom  the 
seneschal's  exertions  had  been  able  to  collect  on  the  spur  of 
the  occasion.  Two  palfreys,  somewhat  distinguished  by  their 
trappings,  w^ere  designed  for  Anne  of  Geierstein  and  her  favor- 
ite female  attendant.  The  other  menials,  chiefly  boys  and 
women  servants,  had  inferior  horses.  At  a  signal  made,  the 
troopers  took  their  lances  and  stood  by  their  steeds,  till  the 
lemales  were  mounted  and  in  order  ;  they  then  sprang  into 
their  saddles  and  began  to  move  forward,  slowly  and  with  great 
precaution.  Schreckenwald  led  the  van,  and  kept  Arthur 
Philipson  close  beside  him,    Anne  and  her  attendant  were  in 


ANNE  OF  GBlERSTRm. 


^73 


the  centre  of  the  little  body,  followed  by  the  un warlike  train  of 
servants,  while  two  or  three  experienced  cavaliers  brought  up 
the  rear,  with  strict  orders  to  guard  against  surprise. 

On  their  being  put  into  motion,  the  first  thing  which  sur- 
prised Arthur  was,  that  the  horses'  hoofs  no  longer  sent  forth 
the  sharp  and  ringing  sound  arising  from  the  collision  of  iron 
and  flint,  and  as  the  morning  light  increased,  he  could  perceive 
that  the  fetlock  and  hoof  of  every  steed,  his  own  included,  had 
been  carefully  wrapped  around  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  wool 
to  prevent  the  usual  noise  which  accompanied  their  motions. 
It  was  a  singular  thing  to  behold  the  passage  of  the  little  body 
of  cavalry  down  the  rocky  road  which  led  from  the  castle,  un- 
attended with  the  noise,  which  we  are  disposed  to  consider  as 
inseparable  from  the  motions  of  horse,  the  absence  of  which 
seemed  to  give  a  peculiar  and  almost  an  unearthly  appearance 
to  the  cavalcade. 

They  passed  in  this  manner  the  winding  path  which  led  from 
the  castle  of  Arnheim  to  the  adjacent  village,  which,  as  was  the 
ancient  feudal  custom,  lay  so  near  the  fortress,  that  its  inhabi- 
tants, when  summoned  by  their  lord,  could  instantly  repair  for 
its  defence.  But  it  was  at  present  occupied  by  very  different 
inhabitants,  the  mutinous  soldiers  of  the  Rhinegrave.  When 
the  party  from  Arnheim  approached  the  entrance  of  the  village, 
Schreckenwald  made  a  signal  to  halt,  which  was  instantly 
obeyed  by  his  followers.  He  then  rode  forward  in  person  to 
reconnoitre,  accompanied  by  Arthur  Philipson,  both  moving 
with  the  utmost  steadiness  and  precaution.  The  deepest  silence 
prevailed  in  the  deserted  streets.  Here  and  there  a  soldier 
was  seen,  seemingly  designed  for  a  sentinel,  but  uniformly  fast 
asleep. 

^'The  swinish  mutineers!'*  said  Schreckenwald;  "a  fair 
night-watch  they  keep,  and  a  beautiful  mornmg's  rouse  would 
I  treat  them  with,  were  not  the  point  to  protect  yonder  peevish 
wench. — Halt  thou  here,  stranger,  while  I  ride  back  and  bring 
them  on — there  is  no  danger." 

Schreckenwald  left  Arthur  as  he  spoke,  who,  alone  in  the 
street  of  a  village  filled  with  banditti,  though  they  were  lulled 
into  temporary  insensibility,  had  no  reason  to  consider  his  case 
as  very  comfortable.  The  chorus  of  a  wassel-song,  which  some 
reveler  was  trolling  over  in  his  sleep ;  or,  in  its  turn,  the 
growling  of  some  village  cur,  seemed  the  signal  for  a  hundred 
ruffians  to  start  up  around  him.  But  in  the  space  of  two  or 
three  minutes,  the  noiseless  cavalcade,  headed  by  Ital  Schreck- 
enwald, again  joined  him,  and  followed  their  leader,  observing 
the  utmost  precaution  not  to  give  an  alarm.    All  went  well 


274 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTEIN. 


till  they  reached  the  further  end  of  the  village,  where,  although 
the  Baaren-hauter  ^  who  kept  guard  was  as  drunk  as  his  com- 
panions on  duty,  a  large  shaggy  dog  which  lay  beside  him  was 
more  vigilant.  As  the  little  troop  approached,  the  animal  sent 
forth  a  ferocious  yell,  loud  enough  to  have  broken  the  rest  of 
the  Seven  Sleepers,  and  which  effectually  dispelled  the  slum- 
bers of  its  master.  The  soldier  snatched  up  his  carabine  and 
fired,  he  knew  not  well  at  what,  or  for  what  reason.  The  ball, 
however,  struck  Arthur's  horse  under  him,  and,  as  the  animal 
fell,  the  sentinel  rushed  forward  to  kill  or  make  prisoner  the 
rider. 

Haste  on,  haste  on,  men  of  Arnheim  !  care  for  nothing  but 
the  young  lady's  safet}^,"  exclaimed  the  leader  of  the  band. 

Stay,  I  command  you  ; — aid  the  stranger  on  your  lives  ! 
— said  Anne,  in  a  voice  which,  usually  gentle  and  meek,  she 
now  made  heard  by  those  around  her,  like  the  note  of  a  silver 
clarion.       I  will  not  stir  till  he  is  rescued." 

Schreckenwald  had  already  spurred  his  horse  for  flight ;  but, 
perceiving  Anne's  reluctance  to  follow  him,  he  dashed  back, 
and  seizing  a  horse,  which,  bridled  and  saddled,  stood  picketed 
near  him,  he  threw  the  reins  to  Arthur  Philipson  ;  and  pushing 
his  own  horse,  at  the  same  time,  betwixt  the  Englishman  and 
the  soldier,  he  forced  the  latter  to  quit  the  hold  he  had  on  his 
person.  In  an  instant  Philipson  was  again  mounted,  when, 
seizing  a  battle-axe  which  bung  at  the  saddle-bow  of  his  new 
steed,  he  struck  down  the  staggering  sentinel,  who  was  en- 
deavoring again  to  seize  upon  him.  The  whole  troop  then  rode 
off  at  a  gallop,  for  the  alarm  began  to  grow  general  in  the  vil- 
lage ;  some  soldiers  were  seen  coming  out  of  their  quarters, 
and  others  were  beginning  to  get  upon  horseback.  Before 
Schreckenwald  and  his  party  had  ridden  a  mile,  they  heard 
more  than  once  the  sound  of  bugles ;  and  when  they  arrived 
upon  the  sumnnit  of  an  eminence  commanding  a  view  of  the 
village,  their  leader,  who,  during  the  retreat,  had  placed  himself 
in  the  rear  of  his  companions,  now  halted  to  reconnoitre  the 
enemy  they  had  left  behind  them.  There  was  bustle  and  con- 
fusion in  the  street,  but  there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  pursuit ; 
so  that  Schreckenwald  followed  his  route  down  the  river,  with 
speed  and  activity  indeed,  but  with  so  much  steadiness  at  the 
same  time,  as  not  to  distress  the  slowest  horse  of  his  party. 

When  they  had  ridden  two  hours  or  more,  the  confidence  of 
their  leader  was  so  much  augmented,  that  he  ventured  to  com- 
mand a  halt  at  the  edge  of  a  pleasant  grove,  which  served 

*  Baarefi-hauter — he  of  the  Bear's  hide — a  nickname  for  a  German 
priyate  soldier. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSmiN 


to  conceal  their  number,  whilst  both  riders  and  horses  took 
some  refreshment,  for  which  purpose  forage  and  provisions  had 
been  borne  along  with  them.  Ital  Schreckenwald,  having  held 
some  communication  with  the  Baroness,  continued  to  offer  their 
traveling  companion  a  sort  of  surly  civility.  He  invited  him 
to  partake  of  his  own  mess,  which  was  indeed  little  different 
from  that  which  was  served  out  to  the  other  troopers,  but  was 
seasoned  with  a  glass  of  wine  from  a  more  choice  flask. 

"  To  your  health,  brother,^'  he  said;  ^*if  you  tell  this  day's 
story  truly,  you  will  allow  that  I  was  a  true  comrade  to  you  two 
hours  since,  in  riding  through  the  village  of  Arnheim.'' 

I  will  never  deny  it,  fair  sir,"  said  Philipson,  and  I  return 
you  thanks  for  your  timely  assistance  ;  alike,  whether  it  sprang 
from  your  mistress's  order  or  your  own  good- will." 

"  Ho  !  ho  !  my  friend,"  said  Schreckenwald,  laughing,  "  you 
are  a  philosopher,  and  can  try  conclusions  while  your  horse 
lies  rolling  above  you,  and  a  Baaren-hauter  aims  his  sword  at 
your  throat  — Well,  since  your  wit  hath  discovered  so  much,  I 
care  not  if  you  know,  that  I  should  not  have  had  much  scruple 
to  sacrifice  twenty  such  smooth-faced  gentlemen  as  yourself, 
rather  than  the  young  Baroness  of  Arnheim  had  incurred  the 
slightest  danger." 

"  The  propriety  of  the  sentiment,"  said  Philipson,  "  is  so 
undoubtedly  correct,  that  I  subscribe  to  it,  even  though  it  is 
something  discourteously  expressed  toward  myself." 

In  making  this  reply,  the  young  man,  provoked  at  the  in- 
solence of  Schreckenwald's  manner,  raised  his  voice  a  little. 
The  circumstance  did  not  escape  observation,  for,  on  the  in- 
stant, Annette  Veilchen  stood  before  them,  with  her  mistress's 
commands  on  them  both  to  speak  in  whispers,  or  rather  to  be 
altogether  silent. 

Say  to  your  mistress  that  I  am  mute,"  said  Philipson. 

"  Our  mistress,  the  Baroness  says,"  continued  Annette,  with 
an  emphasis  on  the  title,  to  which  she  began  to  ascribe  some 
talismanic  influence — "  the  Baroness,  1  tell  you,  says,  that 
silence  much  concerns  our  safety,  for  it  were  most  hazardous 
to  draw  upon  this  little  fugitive  party  the  notice  of  any  passen- 
gers who  may  pass  along  the  road  during  the  necessary  halt  ; 
and  so,  sirs,  it  is  the  Baroness's  request  that  you  will  continue 
the  exercise  of  your  teeth  as  fast  as  you  can,  and  forbear  that 
of  your  tongues  till  you  are  in  a  safer  condition." 

"  My  lady  is  wise,"  answered  Ital  Schreckenwald,  and  her 
maiden  is  witty.  I  drink.  Mistress  Annette,  in  a  cup  of  Rudes- 
heimer,  to  the  continuance  of  her  sagacity,  and  of  your  amiable 


2)6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTRiN. 


liveliness  of  disposition.  Will  it  please  you,  fair  mistress,  to 
pledge  me  in  this  generous  liquor  ? 

Out,  thou  German  wine-flask  ! — Out,  thou  eternal  swill- 
flagon  ! — Heard  you  ever  of  a  modest  maiden  who  drank  wine 
before  she  had  dined  ? 

"  Remain  without  the  generous  inspiration,  then,"  said  the 
German,  and  nourish  thy  satirical  vein  on  sour  cider  or  acid 
whey/^ 

A  short  space  having  been  allowed  to  refresh  themselves, 
the  little  party  again  mounted  their  horses,  and  traveled  with 
such  speed,  that  long  before  noon  they  arrived  at  the  strongly- 
fortified  town  of  Kehl,  opposite  to  Strassburg,  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Rhine. 

It  is  for  local  antiquaries  to  discover  whether  the  travelers 
crossed  from  Kehl  to  Strassburg  by  the  celebrated  bridge  of 
boats  which  at  present  maintain  the  communication  across  the 
river,  or  whether  they  were  wafted  over  by  some  other  mode  of 
transportation.  It  is  enough  that  they  passed  in  safety,  and 
had  landed  on  the  other  side,  where — whether  she  dreaded 
that  he  might  forget  the  charge  she  had  given  him,  that  here 
they  were  to  separate,  or  whether  she  thought  that  something 
more  might  be  said  in  the  moment  of  parting — the  young 
Baroness,  before  remounting  her  horse,  once  more  approached 
Arthur  Philipson,  who  too  truly  guessed  the  tenor  of  what  she 
had  to  say. 

"  Gentle  stranger,''  she  said,  "  I  must  now  bid  you  fare- 
well. But  first  let  me  ask  if  you  know  whereabouts  you  are  to 
seek  your  father  1 '' 

"  In  an  inn  called  the  Flying  Stag,"  said  Arthur,  detected- 
ly  ;  "  but  where  that  is  situated  in  this  large  town  I  know  not." 

"  Do  you  know  the  place,  Ital  Schreckenwald  ? " 

"  I,  young  lady  ? — Not  I — I  know  nothing  of  Strassburg  and 
its  inns.    I  believe  most  of  our  party  are  as  ignorant  as  I  am." 

"  You  and  they  speak  German,  I  suppose,"  said  the  Baron- 
ess, dryly,  "  and  can  make  inquiry  more  easily  than  a  foreigner  t 
Go,  sir,  and  forget  not  than  humanity  to  the  stranger  is  a  re- 
ligious duty." 

With  that  shrug  of  the  shoulders  which  testifies  a  dis- 
pleased messenger,  Ital  went  to  make  some  inquiry,  and,  in 
his  absence,  brief  as  it  was,  Anne  took  an  opportunity  to  say 
apart — Farewell  ! — Farewell  !  Accept  this  token  of  friend- 
ship,  and  wear  it  for  my  sake.    May  you  be  happy  !  " 

Her  slender  fingers  dropped  into  his  hand  a  very  small 
parcel.  He  turned  to  thank  her,  but  she  was  already  at  some 
distance ;  and  Schreckenwald,  who  had  taken  his  place  by  his 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


277 


side,  said  in  his  harsh  voice,  "  Come,  Sir  Squire,  I  have  found 
out  your  place  of  rendezvous,  and  I  have  but  little  time  to  play 
the  gentleman-usher." 

He  then  rode  on  ;  and  Philipson,  mounted  on  his  military 
charger,  followed  him  in  silence  to  the  point  where  a  large 
street  joined,  or  rather  crossed,  that  v*^hich  led  from  the  quay 
on  which  they  had  landed. 

Yonder  swings  the  Flying  Stag,"  said  Ital,  pointing  to  an 
immense  sign,  which,  mounted  on  a  huge  wooden  frame, 
crossed  almost  the  whole  breadth  of  the  street.  Your  intelli- 
gence can,  I  think,  hardly  abandon  you,  with  such  a  guide-post 
in  your  eye." 

So  saying,  he  turned  his  horse  without  further  farewell, 
and  rode  back  to  join  his  mistress  and  her  attendants. 

Philipson's  eyes  rested  on  the  same  group  for  a  moment, 
when  he  was  recalled  to  a  sense  of  his  situation  by  the  thoughts 
of  his  father  ;  and,  spurring  his  jaded  horse  down  the  cross 
street,  he  reached  the  hostelry  of  the  Flying  Stag. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

  I  was,  I  must  confess, 

Great  Albion's  Queen  in  former  golden  days  ; 
But  now  mischance  hath  trod  my  title  down. 
And  with  dishonor  laid  me  on  the  ground  ; 
Where  I  must  take  like  seat  unto  my  fortune, 
And  to  my  humble  seat  conform  myself. 

Henry  IV.  Part  III. 

The  hostelry  of  the  Flying  Stag,  in  Strassburg,  was,  like 
every  inn  in  the  empire  at'  that  period,  conducted  with  much 
the^  same  discourteous  inattention  to  the  wants  and  accommo- 
dation of  the  guests,  as  that  of  John  Mengs.  But  the  youth 
and  good  looks  of  Arthur  Philipson,  circumstances  which  sel- 
dom or  never  fail  to  produce  some  effect  where  the  fair  are 
concerned,  prevailed  upon  a  short,  plump,  dimpled,  blue-eyed, 
fair-skined  yungfrou,  the  daughter  of  the  landlord  of  the  Flying 
Stag  (himself  a  fat  old  man,  pinned  to  the  oaken  chair  in  the 
stube),  to  carry  herself  to  the  young  Englishman  with  a  degree 
of  condescension,  which,  in  the  privileged  race  to  which  she 
belonged,  was  little  short  of  degradation.  She  not  only  put  her 
light  buskins  and  her  pretty  ankles  in  danger  of  being  soiled 
by  tripping  across  the  yard  to  point  out  an  unoccupied  stable, 


278 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


but,  on  Arthur's  inquiry  after  his  father,  condescended  to  rec- 
ollect that  such  a  guest  as  he  described  had  lodged  in  the 
house  last  night,  and  had  said  he  expected  to  meet  there 
a  young  person,  his  fellow-traveler. 

"  1  will  send  him  out  to  you,  fair  sir,''  said  the  little  yung- 
frou,  with  a  smile,  which,  if  things  of  the  kind  are  to  be  valued 
by  their  rare  occurrence,  must  have  been  reckoned  inestimable. 

She  was  as  good  as  her  word.  In  a  few  instants  the  eldex 
Philipson  entered  the  stable,  and  folded  his  son  in  his  arms. 

My  son — my  dear  son  !  "  said  the  Englishman,  his  usual 
stoicism  broken  down  and  melted  by  natural  feeling  and  par- 
ental tenderness, — Welcome  to  me  at  all  times — welcome,  in 
a  period  of  doubt  and  danger — and  most  welcome  of  all,  in  a 
moment  which  forms  the  very  crisis  of  our  fate.  In  a  few 
hours  I  shall  know  what  we  may  expect  from  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy.— Hast  thou  the  token  !  " 

Arthur's  hand  first  sought  that  which  was  nearest  to  his 
heart,  both  in  the  literal  and  allegorical  sense— the  small  par- 
cel, namely,  which  Anne  had  given  him  at  parting.  But  he 
recollected  himself  in  the  instant,  and  presented  to  his  father 
the  packet,  which  had  been  so  strangely  lost  and  recovered  at 
La  Ferette. 

It  hath  run  its  own  risk  since  you  saw  it,"  he  observed  to 
his  father,  "  and  so  have  I  mine.  I  received  hospitality  at  a 
castle  last  night,  and  behold  a  body  of  lanz-knechts  in  the 
neighborhood  began  in  the  morning  to  mutiny  for  their  pay. 
The  inhabitants  fled  from  the  castle  to  escape  their  violence, 
and  as  we  passed  their  leaguer  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  a 
drunken  Baaren-hauter  shot  my  poor  horse,  and  I  was  forced, 
in  the  way  of  exchange,  to  take  up  with  his  heavy  Flemish  ani- 
mal, with  its  steel  saddle,  and  its  clumsy  chalfron." 

Our  road  is  beset  with  perils,"  said  his  father.  "  I  too 
have  had  my  share,  having  been  in  great  danger  "  (he  told  not 
its  precise  nature)  "  at  an  inn,  where  I  rested  last  night.  But 
I  left  it  in  the  morning,  and  proceeded  hither  in  safety.  I  have 
at  length,  however,  obtained  a  safe  escort  to  conduct  me  to  the 
Duke's  camp  near  Dijon  ;  and  I  trust  to  have  an  audience  of 
him  this  evening.  Then,  if  our  last  hope  should  fail,  we  will 
seek  the  seaport  of  Marseilles,  hoist  sail  for  Candia  or  for 
Rhodes,  and  spend  our  lives  in  defence  of  Christendom,  since 
we  may  no  longer  fight  for  England." 

Arthur  heard  these  ominous  words  without  reply  ;  but  they 
did  not  the  less  sink  upon  his  heart,  deadly  as  the  doom  of  the 
judge  which  secludes  the  criminal  from  society  and  all  its  joys, 
and  condemns  him  to  an  eternal  prison  house.   The  bells  from 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


the  cathedral  began  to  toll  at  this  instant,  and  reminded  the 
elder  Philipson  of  the  duty  of  hearing  mass,  which  was  said  at 
all  hours  in  some  one  or  other  of  the  separate  chapels  which 
are  contained  in  that  magnificent  pile.  His  son  followed,  on 
an  intimation  of  his  pleasure. 

In  approaching  the  access  to  this  superb  cathedral,  the 
travelers  found  it  obstructed,  as  is  usual  in  Catholic  countries, 
by  the  number  of  mendicants  of  both  sexes,  who  crowded  round 
the  entrance  to  give  the  worshippers  an  opportunity  of  discharg- 
ing the  duty  of  ahns-giving,  so  positively  enjoined  as  a  chief- 
observance  of  their  Church.  The  Englishmen  extricated  them- 
selves from  their  importunity  by  bestowing,  as  is  usual  on  such 
occasions,  a  donative  of  small  coin  upon  those  who  appeared, 
most  needy,  of  most  deserving  of  their  charity.  One  tall  woman 
stood  on  the  steps  close  to  the  door,  and  extended  her  hand  to 
the  elder  Philipson,  who,  struck  with  her  appearance,  exchanged 
for  a  piece  of  silver  the  copper  coins  which  he  had  been  dis- 
tributing amongst  others. 

A  marvel  !  she  said,  in  the  English  language,  but  in  a 
tone  calculated  only  to  be  heard  by  him  alone,  although  his  son 
also  caught  the  sound  and  sense  of  what  she  said, — Ay,  a 
miracle  ! — An  Englishmen  still  possesses  a  silver  piece,  and  can 
afford  to  bestow  it  on  the  poor  ! 

Arthur  v/as  sensible  that  his  father  started  somewhat  at  the 
voice  or  words,  which  bore,  even  in  his  ear,  something  of  deeper 
import  than  the  observation  of  an  ordinary  mendicant.  But 
after  a  glance  at  the  female  who  thus  addressed  him,  his  father 
passed  onward  into  the  body  of  the  church,  and  was  soon 
engaged  in  attending  to  the  solemn  ceremony  of  the  mass,  as  it 
was  performed  by  a  priest  at  the  altar  of  a  chapel,  divided  from 
the  main  body  of  the  splendid  edifice,  and  dedicated,  as  it 
appeared  from  the  image  over  the  altar,  to  Saint  George ;  that 
military  Saint,  whose  real  history  is  so  obscure,  though  his 
popular  legend  rendered  him  an  object  of  peculiar  veneration 
during  the  feudal  ages.  The  ceremony  was  begun  and  finished 
with  all  customary  forms.  The  ofiiciating  priest,  with  his  attend- 
ants withdrew,  and  though  some  of  the  few  worshippers  who 
had  assisted  at  the  solemnity  remained  telling  their  beads,  and 
occupied  with  the  performance  of  their  private  devotions,  far  the 
greater  part  left  the  chapel  to  visit  other  shrines,  or  to  return 
to  the  prosecution  of  their  secular  affairs. 

But  Arthur  Philipson  remarked,  that  whilst  they  dropped  off 
one  after  another,  the  tall  woman  who  had  received  his  father's 
alms  continued  to  kneel  near  the  altar  ;  and  he  was  yet  more 
surprised  to  see  that  his  father  himself,  who,  he  had  many 


28o 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


reasons  to  know,  was  desirous  to  spend  in  the  church  no  mow 
time  then  the  duties  of  devotion  absolutely  claimed,  remained 
also  on  his  knees,  with  his  eyes  resting  on  the  form  of  the 
veiled  devotee  (such  she  seemed  from  her  dress),  as  if  his  own 
motions  were  to  be  guided  by  hers.  By  no  idea  which  occurred 
to  him,  was  Arthur  able  to  form  the  least  conjecture  as  to  his 
father's  motives — he  only  knew  that  he  was  engaged  in  a  critical 
and  dangerous  negotiation,  liable  to  influence  or  interruption 
from  various  quarters  ;  and  that  political  suspicion  was  so  gen- 
erally awake  both  in  France,  Italy,  and  Flanders,  that  the  most 
important  agents  were  often  obliged  to  assume  the  most  impen 
etrable  disguises,  in  order  to  insinuate  themselves  without  sus- 
picion into  the  countries  where  their  services  were  required. 
Louis  XL  in  particular,  whose  singular  policy  seemed  in  some 
degree  to  give  a  character  to  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  was  well 
known  to  have  disguised  his  principal  emissaries  and  envoys  in 
the  fictitious  garbs  of  medicant  monks,  minstrels,  g3^psies,  and 
other  privileged  wanderers  of  the  meanest  description. 

Arthur  concluded,  therefore,  that  it  was  not  improbable  that 
this  female  might,  like  themselves,  be  something  more  than  her 
dress  imported  ;  and  he  resolved  to  observe  his  father's  deport- 
ment toward  her,  and  regulate  his  own  actions  accordingly, 
A  bell  at  last  announced  that  mass,  upon  a  more  splendid  scale, 
was  about  to  be  celebrated  before  the  high  altar  of  the  cathe- 
dral 'itself,  and  its  sound  withdrew  from  the  sequestered  chapel 
of  St.  George  the  few  who  had  remained  at  the  shrine  of  the 
military  saint,  excepting  the  father  and  son,- and  the  female  pen- 
itent who  kneeled  opposite  to  them.  When  the  last  of  the  wor- 
shippers had  retired,  the  female  arose  and  advanced  toward  the 
elder  Philipson,  who,  folding  his  arms  on  his  bosom,  and  stoop- 
ing his  head,  in  an  attitude  of  obeisance  which  his  son  had 
never  before  seen  him  assume,  appeared  rather  to  wait  what  she 
had  to  say,  than  to  propose  addressing  her. 

There  was  a  pause.  Four  lamps,  lighted  before  the  shrine 
of  the  saint,  cast  a  dim  radiance  on  his  armor  and  steed,  repre- 
sented as  he  was  in  the  act  of  transfixing  with  his  lance  the 
prostrate  dragon,  whose  outstretched  wings  and  writhing  neck 
were  in  part  touched  by  their  beams.  The  rest  of  the  chapel 
was  dimly  ilhuninated  by  the  autumnal  sun,  which  could  scarce 
find  its  way  through  the  stained  panes  of  the  small  lanceolated 
window,  which  was  its  only  aperture  to  the  open  air.  The 
light  fell  doubtful  and  gloomy,  tinged  with  the  various  hues 
through  which  it  passed,  upon  the  stately,  yet  somewhat  broken 
and  (iejected  form  of  the  female,  and  on  those  of  the  melancholy 
and  anxious  father,  and  his  son,  who,  with  all  the  eager  inter- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


est  of  youth,  suspected  and  anticipated  extraordinary  conse- 
quences from  so  singular  an  interview. 

At  length  the  female  approached  to  the  same  side  of  the 
shrine  with  Arthur  and  his  father,  as  if  to  be  more  distinctly 
heard,  without  being  obliged  to  raise  the  slow  solemn  voice  in 
which  she  had  spoken. 

"  Do  you  here  worship,''  she  said,  "the  St.  George  of  Bur- 
gundy, or  the  St.  George  of  merry  England,  the  flower  of 
chivalry  t  " 

"  I  serve,"  said  Philipson,  folding  his  hands  humbly  on 
his  bosom,  "  the  saint  to  whom  this  chapel  is  dedicated,  and 
the  Deity  with  whom  I  hope  for  his  holy  intercession,  whether 
here  or  in  my  native  country." 

"  Ay — you,"  said  the  female,  "  even  you  can  forget — you, 
even  you,  who  have  been  numbered  among  the  mirror  of  knight- 
hood— can  forget  that  you  have  worshipped  in  the  royal  fane 
of  Windsor — that  you  have  there  bent  a  gartered  knee,  where 
kings  and  princes  kneeled  around  you — you  can  forget  this, 
and  make  your  orisons  at  a  foreign  shrine,  with  a  heart  undis- 
turbed with  the  thoughts  of  what  you  have  been, — praying,  like 
some  poor  peasant,  for  bread  and  life  during  the  day  that 
passes  over  you." 

"  Lady,"  replied  Philipson,  "  in  my  proudest  hours,  I  was, 
before  the  Being  to  whom  I  preferred  my  prayers,  but  as  a 
worm  in  the  dust — In  His  eyes  I  am  now  neither  less  nor  more, 
degraded  as  I  may  be  in  the  opinion  of  my  fellow  reptiles." 

"  How  canst  thou  think  thus  ?  "  said  the  devotee  ;  "  and  yet 
it  is  well  with  thee  that  thou  canst.  But  what  have  thy  losses 
been,  compared  to  mine  ! " 

She  put  her  hand  to  her  brow,  and  seemed  for  a  moment 
overpowered  by  agonizing  recollections. 

Arthur  pressed  to  his  father's  side,  and  inquired,  in  a  tone 
of  interest  which  could  not  be  repressed,  "  Father,  who  is  this 
lady  ? — Is  it  my  mother  t  " 

"  No,  my  son,"  answered  Philipson ; — "peace,  for  the  sake 
of  all  you  hold  dear  or  holy  !  " 

The  singular  female,  however,  heard  both  the  question  and 
answer,  though  expressed  in  a  whisper. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  young  man — I  am — I  should  say  I  was 
— your  mother  ;  the  mother,  the  protectress,  of  all  that  was 
noble  in  England — I  am  Margaret  of  Anjou." 

Arthur  sank  on  his  knees  before  the  dauntless  widow  of 
Henry  the  Sixth,  who  so  long,  and  in  such  desperate  circum- 
stances, upheld  by  unyielding  courage  and  deep  policy  the 
sinking  cause  of  her  feeble  husband;  and  who,  if  she  occa- 


282 


ANNJ^  OF  GEIERSTEW. 


sionally  abused  victory  by  cruelty  and  revenge,  had  made  some 
atonement  by  the  indomitable  resolution  with  which  she  had 
supported  the  fiercest  storms  of  adversity.  Arthur  had  been 
bred  in  devoted  adherence  to  the  now  dethroned  line  of  Lan- 
caster, of  which  his  father  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
supporters ;  and  his  earliest  deeds  of  arms,  which,  though  un 
fortunate,  were  neither  obscure  nor  ignoble,  had  been  done  in 
their  cause.  With  an  enthusiasm  belonging  to  his  age  and 
education,  he  in  the  same  instant  flung  his  bonnet  on  the  pave- 
ment, and  knelt  at  the  feet  of  his  ill-fated  sovereign. 

Margaret  threw  back  the  veil,  which  concealed  those  noble 
and  majestic  features,  which  even  yet, — though  rivers  of  tears 
had  furrowed  her  cheeks — though  care,  disappointment,  domes- 
tic grief,  and  humbled  pride,  had  quenched  the  fire  of  her  eye, 
and  wasted  the  smooth  dignity  of  her  forehead — even  yet 
showed  the  remains  of  that  beauty  which  once  was  held  un- 
eqiialed  in  Europe.  The  apathy  with  which  a  succession  of 
misfortunes  and  disappointed  hopes  had  chilled  the  feelings  of 
the  unfortunate  Princess,  was  for  a  moment  melted  by  the  sight 
of  the  fair  youth^s  enthusiasm.  She  abandoned  one  hand  to 
him,  which  he  covered  with  tears  and  kisses,  and  with  the  other 
stroked  with  maternal  tenderness  his  curled  locks,  as  she  en- 
deavored to  raise  him  from  the  posture  he  had  assumed.  His 
father,  in  the  meanwhile,  shut  the  door  of  the  chapel,  and 
placed  his  back  against  it,  withdrawing  himself  thus  from  the 
group,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  stranger  from 
entering  during  a  scene  so  extraordinary. 

"  And  thou,  then,''  said  Margaret,  in  a  voice  where  female 
tenderness  combated  strangely  with  her  natural  pride  of  rank, 
and  with  the  calm,  stoical  mdifference  induced  by  the  intensity 
of  her  personal  misfortunes ;  "  thou,  fair  youth,  art  the  last 
scion  of  the  noble  stem,  so  many  fair  boughs  of  which  have 
fallen  in  our  hapless  cause.  Alas,  alas  !  what  can  I  do  for  thee  } 
Margaret  has  not  even  a  blessing  to  bestow  !  So  wayward  is 
her  fate,  that  her  benedictions  are  curses,  and  she  has  but  to 
look  on  you,  and  wish  you  well,  to  ensure  your  speedy  and  utter 
ruin.  I — I  have  been  the  fatal  poison-tree,  whose  influence  has 
blighted  and  destroyed  all  the  fair  plants  that  arose  beside  and 
around  me,  and  brought  death  upon  every  one,  yet  am  myself 
unable  to  find  it  !  " 

"  Noble  and  royal  mistress,''  said  the  elder  Englishman, 
**  let  not  your  princely  courage,  which  has  borne  such  extrem- 
ities, be  dismayed,  now  that  they  are  passed  over,  and  that  a 
chance  at  least  of  happier  times  is  approaching  to  you  and  to 
England." 


Ai^m  OP  GEtEksmm.  283 

"  To  England,  to  me^  noble  Oxford  !  said  the  forlorn  and 
widowed  Queen. — "  If  to-morrow's  sun  could  place  me  once 
more  on  the  throne  of  England,  could  it  give  back  to  me  what 
I  have  lost  ?  I  speak  not  of  wealth  or  power — they  are  as 
nothing  in  the  balance — I  speak  not  of  the  hosts  of  noble 
friends  who  have  fallen  in  defence  of  me  and  mine — Somersets, 
Percys,  Staffords,  Cliffords — they  have  found  their  place  in 
fame,  in  the  annals  of  their  country — I  speak  not  of  my  hus 
band,  he  has  exchanged  the  state  of  a  suffering  saint  upon 
earth,  for  that  of  a  glorified  saint  in  Heaven — But  O  Oxford  ! 
my  son — my  Edward  ! — Is  it  possible  for  me  to  look  on  this 
youth,  and  not  remember  that  thy  countess  and  I  on  the  same 
night  gave  birth  to  two  fair  boys  ?  How  oft  we  endeavored  to 
prophesy  their  future  fortunes,  and  to  persuade  ourselves  that 
the  same  constellation  which  shone  on  their  birth,  would  in- 
fluence their  succeeding  life,  and  hold  a  friendly  and  equal  bias 
till  they  reached  some  destined  goal  of  happiness  and  honor  ? 
Thy  Arthur  lives ;  but,  alas  !  my  Edward,  born  under  the  same 
auspices,  fills  a  bloody  grave  ! '' 

She  wrapped  her  head  in  her  mantle,  as  if  to  stifle  the  com- 
plaints  and  groans  which  maternal  affection  poured  forth  at 
these  cruel  recollections.  Philipson,  or  the  exiled  Earl  of 
Oxford,  as  we  may  now  term  him,  distinguished  in  those 
changeful  times  by  the  steadiness  with  which  he  had  always 
maintained  his  loyalty  to  the  line  of  Lancaster,  saw  the 
imprudence  of  indulging  his  sovereign  in  her  weakness. 

Royal  mistress,"  he  said,  "  life's  journey  is  that  of  a  brief 
winter's  day,  and  its  course  will  run  on,  whether  we  avail  our- 
selves of  its  progress  or  no.  My  sovereign  is,  I  trust,  too  much 
mistress  of  herself  to  suffer  lamentation  for  what  is  past  to 
deprive  her  of  the  power  of  using  the  present  time.  I  am  here 
in  obedience  to  your  command  ;  I  am  to  see  Burgundy  forth- 
with, and  if  I  find  him  pliant  to  the  purpose  to  which  we  would 
turn  him,  events  may  follow  which  will  change  into  gladness 
our  present  mourning.  But  we  must  use  our  opportunity  with 
speed  as  well  as  zeal.  Let  me  know  then,  madam,  for  what 
reason  your  Majesty  hath  come  hither,  disguised  and  in  danger  } 
Surely  it  was  not  merely  to  weep  over  this  young  man,  that  the 
high-minded  Queen  Margaret  left  her  father's  court,  disguised 
herself  in  mean  attire,  and  came  from  a  place  of  safety  to  one 
of  doubt  at  least,  if  not  of  danger  ?  " 

*'You  mock  me,  Oxford,"  said  the  unfortunate  Queen,  "or 
you  deceive  yourself,  if  you  think  you  still  serve  that  Margaret 
whose  word  was  never  spoken  without  a  reason,  and  whose 
slightest  action  was  influenced  by  a  motive.    Alas  !  I  am  nQ 


AmR  OP  CElEkSTEIN. 


longer  the  same  firm  and  rational  being.  The  feverish  char* 
acter  of  grief,  while  it  makes  one  place  hateful  to  me,  drives 
me  to  another  in  very  impotence  and  impatience  of  spirit.  My 
father's  residence,  thou  say'st,  is  safe  ;  but  is  it  tolerable  for 
such  a  soul  as  mine  ?  Can  one  who  has  been  deprived  of  the 
noblest  and  richest  kingdom  of  Europe — one  who  has  lost 
hosts  of  noble  friends — one  who  is  a  widowed  consort,  a  child- 
less mother — one  upon  whose  head  Heaven  hath  poured  forth 
its  last  vial  of  unmitigated  wrath — can  she  stoop  to  be  the  com- 
panion of  a  weak  old  man,  who,  in  sonnets  and  in  music,  in 
mummery  and  folly,  in  harping  and  rhyming,  finds  a  comfort 
for  all  that  poverty  has  that  is  distressing ;  and,  what  is  still 
worse,  even  a  solace  in  all  that  is  ridiculous  and  contemptible  ?  " 

"  Nay,  with  your  leave,  madam,"  said  her  counselor,  ''blame 
not  the  good  King  Rene,  because,  persecuted  by  fortune,  he 
has  been  able  to  find  out  for  himself  humbler  sources  of  solace 
which  your  prouder  spirit  is  disposed  to  disdain.  A  contention 
among  his  minstrels  has  for  him  the  animation  of  a  knightly 
combat ;  and  a  crown  of  flowers,  twined  by  his  troubadours, 
and  graced  by  their  sonnets,  he  accounts  a  valuable  compen- 
sation for  the  diadems  of  Jerusalem,  of  Naples,  and  of  both 
Sicilies,  of  which  he  only  possesses  the  empty  titles." 

Speak  not  to  me  of  the  pitiable  old  man,"  said  Margaret ; 
"  sunk  below  even  the  hatred  of  his  worst  enemies,  and  never 
thought  worthy  of  anything  more  than  contempt.  I  tell  thee, 
noble  Oxford,  I  have  been  driven  nearly  mad  with  my  forced 
residence  at  Aix,  in  the  paltry  circle  which  he  calls  his  court, 
My  ears,  turned  as  they  now  are  only  to  sounds  of  affliction,  are 
not  so  weary  of  the  eternal  tinkling  of  harps,  and  squeaking  of 
rebecks,  and  snapping  of  castanets — my  eyes  are  not  so  tired  of 
the  beggarly  affectation  of  court  ceremonial, which  is  only  respect- 
able when  it  implies  wealth  and  expresses  power — as  my  very 
soul  is  sick  of  the  paltry  ambition  which  can  find  pleasure  in 
spangles,  tassels,  and  trumpery,  when  the  reality  of  all  that  is 
great  and  noble  hath  passed  away.  No,  Oxford,  if  I  am  doomed 
to  lose  the  last  cast  which  fickle  fortune  seems  to  offer  me,  I  will 
retreat  into  the  meanest  convent  in  the  Pyrenean  hills,  and  at 
least  escape  the  insult  of  the  idiot  gayety  of  my  father. — Let  him 
pass  from  our  memory  as  from  the  page  of  history,  in  which  his 
name  will  never  be  recorded.  I  have  much  of  more  importance 
both  to  hear  and  to  tell. — And  now,  my  Oxford,  what  news  from 
Italy  ?  Wilt  the  Duke  of  Milan  afford  us  assistance  with  his 
counsels  or  with  his  treasures  1  " 

"With  his  counsels  willingly,  madam  ;  but  how  you  will 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


28s 


relish  them  I  know  not,  since  he  recommends  to  us  submission 
to  our  hapless  fate,  and  resignation  to  the  will  of  Providence/' 

"The  wily  Italian  I  Will  not,  then,  Galeasso  advance  any 
part  of  his  hoards,  or  assist  a  friend,  to  whom  he  hath  in  his 
time  full  often  sworn  faith  ?  " 

"  Not  even  the  diamonds  which  I  offered  to  deposit  in  his 
hands,"  answered  the  earl,  "  could  make  him  unlock  his 
treasury  to  supply  us  with  ducats  for  our  enterprise.  Yet  he 
said  if  Charles  of  Burgundy  should  think  seriously  of  an  exer- 
tion in  our  favor,  such  was  his  regard  for  that  great  prince, 
and  his  deep  sense  of  your  majesty's  misfortunes,  that  he  would 
consider  what  the  state  of  his  exchequer,  though  much  ex- 
hausted, and  the  condition  of  his  subjects,  though  impoverished 
by  taxes  and  talliages,  would  permit  him  to  advance  in  your 
behalf/' 

The  double-faced  hypocrite  ! ''  said  Margaret.  "  If  the 
assistance  of  the  princely  Burgundy  lends  us  a  chance  of 
regaining  what  is  our  own,  then  he  will  give  us  some  paltry 
parcel  of  crowns,  that  our  restored  prosperity  may  forget  his 
indifference  to  our  adversity  ! — But  what  of  Burgundy  ?  I  have 
ventured  hither  to  tell  you  what  I  have  learned,  and  to  hear 
report  of  your  proceedings — a  trusty  watch  provides  for  the 
secrecy  of  our  interview.  My  impatience  to  see  you  brought 
me  hither  in  this  mean  disguise.  I  have  a  small  retinue  at  a 
convent  a  mile  beyond  the  town — I  have  had  your  arrival 
watched  by  the  faithful  Lambert — and  now  I  come  to  know 
your  hopes  or  your  fears,  and  to  tell  you  my  own." 

"Royal  lady,"  said  the  Earl,  "I  have  not  seen  the  Duke. 
You  know  his  temper  to  be  wilful,  sudden,  haughty  and  un- 
persuadable. If  he  can  adopt  the  calm  and  sustained  policy 
which  the  times  require,  I  little  doubt  his  obtaining  full  amends 
of  Louis,  his  sworn  enemy,  and  even  of  Edward  his  ambitious 
brother-in-law.  But  if  he  continues  to  yield  to  extravagant 
fits  of  passion,  with  or  without  provocation,  he  may  hurry  into 
a  quarrel  with  the  poor  but  hardy  Helvetians,  and  is  likely  to 
engage  in  a  perilous  contest,  in  which  he  cannot  be  expected  to 
gain  anything,  while  he  undergoes  a  chance  of  the  most  serious 
losses." 

"  Surely,"  replied  the  Queen,  "  he  will  not  trust  the  usurper 
Edward,  even  in  the  very  moment  when  he  is  giving  the  greatest 
proof  of  treachery  to  his  alliance  } " 

"  In  what  respect,  madam  ?  "  replied  Oxford.  "  The  news  you 
allude  to  has  not  reached  me." 

"  How,  my  lord  ?  Am  I  then  the  first  to  tell  you,  that 
Edward  of  York  has  crossed  the  sea  with  such  an  army,  as 


286 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


scarce  even  the  renowned  Henry  V.,  my  father-in-law,  evef 
transported  from  France  to  Italy  ? 

So  much  I  have  indeed  heard  was  expected/'  said  Oxford, 
and  I  anticipated  the  effect  as  fatal  to  our  cause/' 

Edward  is  arrived,"  said  Margaret,  and  the  traitor  and 
usurper  hath  sent  defiance  to  Louis  of  France,  and  demanded 
of  him  the  crown  of  that  kingdom  as  his  own  right — that  crown 
which  was  placed  on  the  head  of  my  unhappy  husband,  when 
he  was  yet  a  child  in  the  cradle.'' 

"  It  is  then  decided — the  English  are  in  France  ?  "  answered 
Oxford,  in  a  tone  expressive  of  the  deepest  anxiety. — "  And 
whom  brings  Edward  with  him  on  this  expedition  ?  " 

All — all  the  bitterest  enemies  of  our  house  and  cause — The 
false,  the  traitorous,  the  dishonored  George,  whom  he  calls 
Duke  of  Clarence — the  blood-drinker,  Richa^rd — the  licentious 
Hastings — Howard — Stanley — in  a  word,  the  leaders  of  all 
those  traitors  whom  I  would  not  name,  unless  by  doing  so  my 
curses  could  sweep  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth." 

And — I  tremble  to  ask,"  said  the  Earl — "  Does  Burgundy 
prepare  to  join  them  as  a  brother  of  the  war,  and  make  common 
cause  with  this  Yorkish  host  against  King  Louis  of  France  " 

"  By  my  advices,"  replied  the  Queen,  and  they  are  both 
private  and  sure,  besides  that  they  are  confirmed  by  the  bruit 
of  common  fame — No,  my  good  Oxford,  no  !  " 

For  that  may  the  saints  be  praised ! "  answered  Oxford. 
"  Edward  of  York — I  will  not  malign  even  an  enemy — is  a 
bold  and  fearless  leader — But  he  is  neither  Edward  the  Third, 
nor  the  heroic  Black  Prince — nor  is  he  that  fifth  Henry  of 
Lancaster,  under  whom  I  won  my  spurs,  and  to  whose  lineage 
the  thoughts  of  his  glorious  memory  would  have  made  me 
faithful,  had  my  plighted  vows  of  allegiance  ever  permitted 
me  to  entertain  a  thought  of  varying,  or  of  defection.  Let 
Edward  engage  in  war  with  Louis  without  the  aid  of  Bur- 
gundy, on  which  he  has  reckoned.  Louis  is  indeed  no  hero, 
but  he  is  a  cautious  and  skilful  general,  more  to  be  dreaded, 
perhaps,  in  these  politic  days,  than  if  Charlemagne  could  again 
raise  the  Oriflamme,  surrounded  by  Roland  and  all  his  pala- 
dins. Louis  will  not  hazard  such  fields  as  those  of  Cressy,  of 
Poictiers,  or  of  Agincourt.  With  a  thousand  lances  from  Hain- 
ault,  and  twenty  thousand  crowns  from  Burgundy,  Edward  shall 
risk  the  loss  of  P^ngland,  while  he  is  engaged  in  a  protracted 
struggle  for  the  recovery  of  Normandy  and  Guienne.  But  what 
are  the  movements  of  Burgundy.*^'* 

"He  has  menaced  Germany,"  said  Margaret,  ''and  his 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN  287 

troops  are  now  employed  in  overrunning  Lorraine,  of  which  he 
has  seized  the  principal  towns  and  castles.'' 

"  Where  is  Ferrand  de  Vaudemont — a  youth,  it  is  said,  of 
courage  and  enterprise,  and  claiming  Lorraine  in  right  of  his 
mother,  Yolande  of  Anjou,  the  sister  of  your  Grace  ? " 

"  Fled,"  replied  the  Queen,  "  into  Germany  or  Helvetia." 

"  Let  Burgundy  beware  of  him,"  said  the  experienced  Earl.- 
*'for  should  the  disinherited  youth  obtain  confederates  in  Ger- 
many, and  allies  among  the  hardy  Swiss,  Charles  of  Burgundy 
may  find  him  a  far  more  formidable  enemy  than  he  expects. 
We  are  strong  for  the  present,  only  in  the  Duke's  strength,  and 
if  it  is  wasted  in  idle  and  desultory  efforts,  our  hopes,  alas! 
vanish  with  his  power,  even  if  he  should  be  found  to  have  the 
decided  will  to  assist  us.  My  friends  in  England  are  resolute 
not  to  stir  without  men  and  money  from  Burgundy." 

It  is  a  fear,"  said  Margaret,  "  but  not  our  worst  fear.  I 
dread  more  the  policy  of  Louis,  who,  unless  my  espials  have 
grossly  deceived  me,  has  even  already  proposed  a  secret  peace 
to  Edward,  offering  with  large  sums  of  money  to  purchase  Eng- 
land to  the  Yorkists,  and  a  truce  of  seven  years." 

"  It  cannot  be,"  said  Oxford.  "  No  Englishman,  command- 
ing such  an  army  as  Edward  must  now  lead,  dares  for  very 
shame  to  retire  from  France  without  a  manly  attempt  to  recover 
his  lost  provinces." 

"  Such  would  have  been  the  thoughts  of  a  rightful  prince," 
said  Margaret,  "  who  left  behind  him  an  obedient  and  faithful 
kingdom.  Such  may  not  be  the  thoughts  of  this  Edward,  mis- 
named Plantagenet,  base  perhaps  in  mind  as  in  blood,  since 
they  say  his  real  father  was  one  Blackburn,  an  archer  of  Mid- 
dleham — usurper,  at  least,  if  not  bastard — such  will  not  be  his 
thoughts."*  Every  breeze  that  blows  from  England  will  bring 
with  it  apprehensions  of  defection  amongst  those  over  whom 
he  has  usurped  authority.  He  will  not  sleep  in  peace  till  he 
returns  to  England  with  those  cut-throats,  whom  he  relies  upon 
for  the  defence  of  his  stolen  crown.  He  will  engage  in  no  war 
with  Louis,  for  Louis  will  not  hesitate  to  soothe  his  pride  by 
humiliation — to  gorge  his  avarice  and  pamper  his  voluptuous 
prodigality  by  sums  of  gold — and  I  fear  much  we  shall  soon 
hear  of  the  English  army  retiring  from  France  with  the  idle 
boast,  that  they  have  displayed  their  banners  once  more,  for  a 
week  or  two,  in  the  provinces  which  were  formerly  their  own." 

"  It  the  more  becomes  us  to  be  speedy  in  moving  Burgundy 
to  decision,"  replied  Oxford;     and  for  that  purpose  I  post  to 

*  The  Lancastrian  party  threw  the  imputation  of  bastardy  (which  was 
totally  unfounded)  upon  Edward  IV. 


288 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


Dijon  Such  an  army  as  Edward's  cannot  be  transported  over 
the  narrow  seas  in  several  weeks.  The  probability  is,  that  they 
must  winter  in  France,  even  if  they  should  have  truce  with 
King  Louis.  With  a  thousaad  Hainault  lances  from  the  east- 
ern part  of  Flanders  I  can  be  soon  in  the  North,  where  we  have 
many  friends,  besides  the  assurance  of  help  from  Scotland. 
The  faithful  west  will  rise  at  a  signal — a  Clifford  can  be  found, 
though  the  mountain  mists  have  hid  him  from  Edward's  re* 
searches — the  Welsh  will  assemble  at  the  rallying  word  of 
Tudor — the  Red  Rose  raises  its  head  once  more — and  so,  God 
save  King  Henry  !  " 

"  Alas  ! "  said  the  Queen — "  But  no  husband — no  friend  of 
mine — the  son  but  of  my  mother-in-law  by  a  Welsh  chieftain 
— cold,  they  say,  and  crafty — But  be  it  so — let  me  only  see 
Lancaster  triumph,  and  obtain  revenge  upon  York,  and  I  will 
die  contented  ! " 

It  is  then  your  pleasure  that  I  should  make  the  proffers 
expressed  by  your  Grace's  former  mandates,  to  induce  Burgundy 
to  stir  himself  in  our  cause  ?  If  he  learns  the  proposal  of  a 
truce  betwixt  France  and  England,  it  will  sting  sharper  than 
aught  I  can  say." 

Promise  all,  however,"  said  the  Queen.  I  know  his  in- 
most soul — it  is  set  upon  extending  the  dominions  of  his  House 
in  every  direction.  For  this  he  has  seized  Gueldres — for  this 
he  now  overruns  and  occupies  Lorraine — for  this  he  covets  such 
poor  remnants  of  Provence  as  my  father  still  calls  his  own. 
With  such  augmented  territories,  he  proposes  to  exchange  his 
ducal  diadem  for  an  arched  crown  of  independent  sovereignty. 
Tell  the  Duke,  Margaret  can  assist  his  views — tell  him,  that 
my  father  Ren^  shall  disown  the  opposition  made  to  the  Duke's 
seizure  of  Lorraine — He  shall  do  more — he  shall  declare  Charles 
his  heir  in  Provence,  with  my  ample  consent — tell  him,  the  old 
man  shall  cede  his  dominions  to  him  upon  the  instant  that  his 
Hainaulters  embark  for  England,  some  small  pension  deducted 
to  maintain  a  concert  of  fiddlers,  and  a  troop  of  morrice-dancers. 
These  are  Rent's  only  earthly  wants.  Mine  are  still  fewer- 
Revenge  upon  York,  and  a  speedy  grave ! — For  the  paltry  gold 
which  we  may  need,  thou  hast  jewels  to  pledge — For  the  other 
conditions,  security  if  required." 

"  For  these,  madam,  I  can  pledge  my  knightly  word,  in  ad- 
dition to  your  royal  faith  ;  and  if  more  is  required,  my  son 
shall  be  a  hostage  with  Burgundy." 

"  Oh,  no — no  !  "  exclaimed  the  dethroned  Queen,  touched  by 
perhaps  the  only  tender  feeling,  which  repeated  and  extraordi- 
nary misfortunes  had  not  chilled  into  insensibility, — Hazard 


not  the  life  of  the  noble  youth — he  that  is  the  last  of  the  loyal 
and  faithful  House  of  Vere — he  that  should  have  been  the 
brother-in-arms  of  my  beloved  Edward — he  that  had  so  nearly 
been  his  companion  in  a  bloody  and  untimely  grave  !  Do  not 
involve  this  poor  child  in  these  fatal  intrigues,  which  have  been 
so  baneful  to  his  family.  Let  him  go  with  me.  Him  at  least 
I  will  shelter  from  danger  whilst  I  live,  and  provide  for  when  I 
am  no  more.'* 

Forgive  me,  madam/'  said  Oxford,  with  the  firmness  which 
distinguished  him.  "  My  son,  as  you  deign  to  recollect,  is  a  De 
Vere,  destined,  perhaps,  to  be  the  last  of  his  name.  Fall  he 
may,  but  it  must  not  be  without  honor.  To  whatever  dangers 
his  duty  and  allegiance  call  him,  be  it  from  sword  or  lance,  axe 
or  gibbet,  to  these  he  must  expose  himself  frankly,  when  his 
doing  so  can  mark  his  allegiance.  His  ancestors  have  shown 
him  how  to  brave  them  all.* 

True,  true,"  exclaimed  the  unfortunate  Queen,  raising  her 
0.rms  wildly, — "  All  must  perish — all  that  have  honored  Lan* 
caster — all  that  have  loved  Margaret,  or  whom  she  has  loved ! 
The  destruction  must  be  universal — the  young  must  fall  with 
the  old — not  a  lamb  of  the  scattered  flock  shall  escape  !  " 

"  For  God's  sake,  gracious  madam,"  said  Oxford,  "  compose 
jourself  ! — I  hear  them  knock  on  the  chapel  door." 

"  It  is  the  signal  of  parting,"  said  the  exiled  Queen,  collect- 
ing herself.  "  Do  not  fear,  noble  Oxford,  I  am  not  often  thus  ; 
but  how  seldom  do  I  see  those  friends,  whose  faces  and  voices 
can  disturb  the  composure  of  my  despair  !  Let  me  tie  this  relic 
about  thy  neck,  good  youth,  and  fear  not  its  evil  influence, 
though  you  receive  it  from  an  ill-omened  hand.  It  was  my 
husband's,  blessed  by  many  a  prayer,  and  sanctified  by  many  a 
holy  tear  ;  even  my  unhappy  hands  cannot  pollute  it.  I  should 
have  bound  it  on  my  Edward's  bosom  on  the  dreadful  morning 
of  Tewkesbury  fight ;  but  he  armed  early — went  to  the  field 
without  seeing  me,  and  all  my  purpose  was  vain." 

She  passed  a  golden  chain  round  Arthur's  neck  as  she  spoke, 
which  contained  a  small  gold  crucifix  of  rich  but  barbarous 
manufacture.  It  had  belonged,  said  tradition,  to  Edward  the 
Confessor.    The  knock  at  the  door  of  the  chapel  was  repeated. 

**  We  must  not  tarry,"  said  Margaret ;  "let  us  part  here — 
you  for  Dijon — I  to  Aix,  my  abode  of  unrest  in  Provence. 
Farewell — we  may  meet  in  a  better  hour — yet  how  can  I  hope 
it  t  Thus  I  said  on  the  morning  before  the  fight  of  St.  Albans 
— thus  on  the  dark  dawning  of  Towton — thus  on  the  yet  more 
bloody  field  of  Tewkesbury — and  what  was  the  event  ?  Yet 


ANNE  OP  CEIERSTEIN 


hope  is  a  plant  which  cannot  be  rooted  out  of  a  noble  breast, 
till  the  last  heart-string  crack  as  it  is  pulled  away.'* 

So  saying,  she  passed  through  the  chapel  door,  and  mingled 
in  the  miscellaneous  assemblage  of  personages  who  worshipped 
or  indulged  in  their  curiosity,  or  consumed  their  idle  hours 
amongst  the  aisles  of  the  cathedral. 

Philipson  and  his  son,  both  deeply  impressed  with  the 
singular  interview  which  had  just  taken  place,  returned  to  their 
inn,  where  they  found  a  pursuivant,  with  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy's badge  and  livery,  who  informed  them  that  if  they  were 
the  English  merchants  who  were  carrying  wares  of  value  to  the 
court  of  the  Duke,  he  had  orders  to  afford  them  the  counte- 
nance of  his  escort  and  inviolable  character.  Under  his 
protection  they  set  out  from  Strassburg ;  but  such  was  the  un- 
certainty of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  motions,  and  such  the 
numerous  obstacles  which  occurred  to  interrupt  their  journey, 
in  a  country  disturbed  by  the  constant  passage  of  troops  and 
preparations  for  war,  that  it  was  evening  on  the  second  day  ere 
they  reached  the  plain  near  Dijon,  on  which  the  whole,  or  great 
part  of  his  power,  lay  encamped. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

Thus  said  the  Duke — thus  did  the  Duke  infer. 

Richard  III. 

The  eyes  of  the  elder  traveler  was  well  accustomed  to 
sights  of  martial  splendor,  yet  even  he  was  dazzled  with  the  rich 
and  glorious  display  of  the  Burgundian  camp,  in  which,  near 
the  walls  of  Dijon,  Charles,  the  wealthiest  prince  in  Europe, 
had  displayed  his  own  extravagance,  and  encouraged  his  fol- 
lowers to  similar  profusion.  The  pavilions  of  the  meanest 
officers  were  of  silk  and  samite,  while  those  of  the  nobility  and 
great  leaders  glittered  with  cloth  of  silver,  cloth  of  gold,  varie- 
gated tapestry,  and  other  precious  materials,  which  in  no  other 
situation  would  have  been  employed  as  a  cover  from  the 
weather,  but  would  themselves  have  been  thought  worthy  of 
the  most  careful  protection.  The  horsemen  and  infantry  who 
mounted  guard,  were  arrayed  in  the  richest  and  most  gorgeous 
armor.  A  beautiful  and  very  numerous  train  of  artillery  was 
drawn  up  near  the  entrance  of  the  camp,  and  in  its  commander, 
Philipson  (to  give  the  Earl  the  traveling  name  to  which  our 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


readers  are  accustomed)  recognized  Henry  Colvin,  an  English 
man  of  inferior  birth,  but  distinguished  for  his  skill  in  conduct- 
ing these  terrible  engines,  which  had  of  late  come  into  general 
use  in  war.  The  banners  and  pennons  which  were  displayed 
by  every  knight,  baron,  and  man  of  rank,  floated  before  their 
tents,  and  the  owners  of  these  transitory  dwellings  sat  at  the 
door  half-armed,  and  enjoyed  the  military  contests  of  the 
soldiers,  in  wrestling,  pitching  the  bar,  and  other  athletic 
exercises. 

Long  rows  of  the  noblest  horses  were  seen  at  picket,  pranc- 
ing and  tossing  their  heads,  as  impatient  of  the  inactivity 
to  which  they  were  confined,  or  were  heard  neighing  over  the 
provender,  which  was  spread  plentifully  before  them.  The 
soldiers  formed  joyous  groups  around  the  minstrels  and  stroll- 
ing jugglers,  or  were  engaged  in  drinking  parties  at  the  sutlers' 
tent ;  others  strolled  about  with  folded  arms,  casting  their  eyes 
now  and  then  to  the  sinking  sun,  as  if  desirous  that  the  hour 
should  arrive  which  would  put  an  end  to  a  day  unoccupied,  and 
therefore  tedious. 

At  length  the  travelers  reached,  amidst  the  dazzling  varie- 
ties of  this  military  display,  the  pavilion  of  the  Duke  himself, 
before  which  floated  heavily  in  the  evening  breeze  the  broad 
and  rich  banner,  in  which  glowed  the  armorial  bearings  and 
quarterings  of  a  prince,  Duke  of  six  provinces,  and  Count  of 
fifteen  counties,  who  was,  from  his  power,  his  disposition,  and 
the  success  which  seemed  to  attend  his  enterprise,  the  general 
dread  of  Europe.  The  pursuivant  made  himself  known  to 
some  of  the  household,  and  the  Englishmen  were  immediately 
received  with  courtesy,  though  not  such  as  to  draw  attention 
upon  them,  and  conveyed  to  a  neighboring  tent,  the  residence 
of  a  general  oflicer,  which  they  were  given  to  understand  was 
destined  for  their  accommodation,  and  where  their  packages 
accordingly  were  deposited,  and  refreshments  offered  them. 

''As  the  camp  is  filled,"  said  the  domestic  who  waited  upon 
them,  "  with  soldiers  of  different  nations  and  uncertain  disposi- 
tions, the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  for  the  safety  of  your  merchan- 
dise, has  ordered  you  the  protection  of  a  regular  sentinel.  In 
the  meantime,  be  in  readiness  to  wait  on  his  Highness,  seeing 
you  may  look  to  be  presently  sent  for." 

Accordingly,  the  elder  Philipson  was  shortly  after  summoned 
to  the  Duke's  presence,  introduced  by  a  back  entrance  into  the 
ducal  pavilion,  and  into  that  part  of  it  which,  screened  by  close 
curtains  and  wooden  barricades,  formed  Charles's  own  separate 
apartment.  The  plainness  of  the  furniture,  and  the  coarse 
apparatus  of  the  Duke's  toilet,  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


appearance  of  the  exterior  of  the  pavilion  ;  for  Charles,  whose 
character  was  in  that,  as  in  other  things,  far  from  consistent, 
exhibited  in  his  own  person  during  war  an  austerity,  or  rather 
coarseness  of  dress,  and  sometimes  of  manners  also,  which  was 
more  like  the  rudeness  of  a  German  lanz-knecht,  than  the 
bearing  of  a  prince  of  exalted  rank ;  while,  at  the  same  time, 
he  encouraged  and  enjoined  a  great  splendor  of  expense  and 
display  amongst  his  vassals  and  courtiers,  as  if  to  be  rudely 
attired,  and  to  despise  every  restraint,  even  of  ordinary  cere- 
mony, were  a  privilege  of  the  sovereign  alone.  Yet,  when  it 
pleased  him  to  assume  state  in  person  and  manners,  none  knew 
better  than  Charles  of  Burgundy  how  he  ought  to  adorn  and 
demean  himself. 

Upon  his  toilet  appeared  brushes  and  combs  which  might 
have  claimed  dismissal  as  past  the  term  of  service,  over-worn 
hats  and  doublets,  dog-leashes,  leather  belts,  and  other  such 
paltry  articles  ;  amongst  which  lay  at  random,  as  it  seemed, 
the  great  diamond  called  Sanci, — the  three  rubies  termed  the 
Three  Brothers  of  Antwerp,  another  great  diamond  called  the 
Lamp  of  Flanders,  and  other  precious  stones  of  scarcely  inferior 
value  and  rarity.  This  extraordinary  display  somewhat  re- 
sembled the  character  of  the  Duke  himself  who  mixed  cruelty 
with  justice,  magnanimity  with  meanness  of  spirit,  economy 
with  extravagance,  and  liberality  with  avarice  ;  being,  in  fact, 
consistent  in  nothing  excepting  in  his  obstinate  determination 
to  follow  the  opinion  he  had  once  formed,  in  every  situation  of 
things,  and  through  all  variety  of  risks. 

In  the  midst  of  the  valueless  and  inestimable  articles  of  his 
wardrobe  and  toilet,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  called  out  to  the 
English  traveler,  "  Welcome,  Herr  Philipson — welcome,  you 
of  a  nation  whose  traders  are  princes,  and  their  merchants  the 
mighty  ones  of  the  earth.  What  new  commodities  have  you 
brought  to  gull  us  with  ?  You  merchants,  by  St.  George,  are  a 
wily  generation. 

"  Faith,  no  new  merchandise  I,  my  lord,'^  answered  the  elder 
ICnglishman ;  I  bring  but  the  commodities  which  I  showed 
your  Highness  the  last  time  I  communicated  with  you,  in  the 
hope  of  a  poor  trader,  that  your  Grace  may  find  them  more 
acceptable  upon  a  review,  than  when  you  first  saw  them." 

"It  is  well,  Sir — Philipville,  I  think  they  call  you? — you 
are  a  simple  trader,  or  you  take  me  for  a  silly  purchaser,  that 
you  think  to  gull  me  with  the  same  wares  which  I  fancied  not 
formerly.  Change  of  fashion,  man, — novelty — is  the  motto  of 
commerce  ;  your  Lancaster  wares  have  had  their  day,  and  I 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


293 


have  bought  of  them  like  others,  and  was  like  enough  to  have 
paid  dear  for  them  too.    York  is  all  the  vogue  now/* 

"  It  may  be  so  among  the  vulgar,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford; 
"  but  for  souls  like  your  Highness,  faith,  honor,  and  loyalty 
are  jewels  which  change  of  fancy  or  mutability  of  taste  cannot 
put  out  of  fashion." 

"Why,  it  may  be,  noble  Oxford,"  said  the  Duke,  "that  I 
preserve  in  my  secret  mind  some  veneration  for  these  old- 
fashioned  qualities,  else  how  should  I  have  such  regard  for 
your  person,  in  which  they  have  ever  been  distinguished  ? 
But  my  situation  is  painfully  urgent,  and  should  I  make  a 
false  step  at  this  crisis,  I  might  break  the  purposes  of  my  whole 
life.  Observe  me,  Sir  Merchant.  Here  has  come  over  your  old 
competitor,  Blackburn,  whom  some  call  Edward  of  York  and 
of  London,  with  a  commodity  of  bows  and  bills  such  as  never 
entered  France  since  King  Arthur's  time  ;  and  he  offers  to 
enter  into  joint  adventure  with  me,  or  in  plain  speech,  to 
make  common  cause  with  Burgundy,  till  we  smoke  out  of  his 
earths  the  old  fox  Louis,  and  nail  his  hide  to  the  stable-door. 
In  a  word,  England  invites  me  to  take  part  with  him  against 
my  most  wily  and  inveterate  enemy  the  King  of  France  ;  to 
rid  myself  of  the  chain  of  vassalage,  and  to  ascend  into  the 
rank  of  independent  princes  ; — how  think  you,  noble  Earl,  can 
I  forego  this  seducing  temptation  }  " 

"  You  must  ask  this  of  some  of  your  counselors  of  Bur- 
gundy," said  Oxford  ;  "  it  is  a  question  fraught  too  deeply  with 
ruin  to  my  cause,  for  me  to  give  a  fair  opinion  on  it." 

"  Nevertheless,"  said  Charles,  "  I  ask  thee  as  an  honorable 
man,  what  objections  you  see  to  the  course  proposed  to  me  } 
Speak  your  mind,  and  speak  it  freely." 

"  My  lord,  I  know  it  is  in  your  Highness's  nature  to  enter- 
tain no  doubts  of  the  facility  of  executing  anything  which  you 
have  once  determined  shall  be  done.  Yet,  though  this  prince- 
like disposition  may  in  some  cases  prepare  for  its  own  success, 
and  has  often  done  so,  there  are  others,  in  which  persisting  in 
our  purpose,  merely  because  we  have  once  willed  it,  leads  not 
to  success,  but  to  ruin.  Look,  therefore,  at  this  English  army ; 
winter  is  approaching,  where  are  they  to  be  lodged  ?  how  are 
they  to  be  victualed  t  by  whom  are  they  to  be  paid  1  Is  your 
Highness  to  take  all  the  expense  and  labor  of  fitting  them  for 
the  summer  campaign  ?  for,  rely  on  it,  an  English  army  never 
was,  nor  will  be,  fit  for  service,  till  they  have  been  out  of  their 
own  island  long  enough  to  accustom  them  to  military  duty. 
They  are  men,  I  grant,  the  fittest  for  soldiers  in  the  world ; 


294 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


but  they  are  not  soldiers  as  yet,  and  must  be  trained  to  become 
such  at  your  Highness's  expense." 

"  Be  it  so/'  said  Charles ;  "  I  think  the  Low  Countries  can 
find  food  for  the  beef-consuming  knaves  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
villages  for  them  to  lie  in,  and  officers  to  train  their  sturdy 
limbs  to  war,  and  provost-marshals  enough  to  reduce  their  re- 
fractory spirit  to  discipline." 

"  What  happens  next  ? "  said  Oxford.  "  You  march  to 
Paris,  add  to  Edward's  usurped  power  another  kingdom ;  re- 
store to  him  all  the  possessions  which  England  ever  had  in 
France,  Normandy,  Maine,  Anjou,  Gascony,  and  all  besides. — 
Can  you  trust  this  Edward  when  you  shall  have  thus  fostered 
his  strength,  and  made  him  far  stronger  than  this  Louis  whom 
you  have  united  to  pull  down  ?  " 

"  By  St.  George,  I  will  not  dissemble  with  you  1  It  is  in 
that  very  point  that  my  doubts  trouble  me.  Edward  is  indeed 
my  brother-in-law,  but  I  am  a  man  little  inclined  to  put  my 
head  under  my  wife's  girdle." 

"  And  the  times,"  said  Philipson,  "  have  too  often  shown 
the  inefficiency  of  family  alliances  to  prevent  the  most  gross 
breaches  of  faith." 

"  You  say  well,  Earl.  Clarence  betrayed  his  father-in-law  ; 
Louis  poisoned  his  brother — Domestic  affections,  pshaw  !  they 
sit  warm  enough  by  a  private  man's  fireside,  but  they  cannot 
come  into  fields  of  battle,  or  princes'  halls,  where  the  wind 
blows  cold.  No,  my  alliance  with  Edward  by  marriage  were 
little  succor  to  me  in  time  of  need.  I  would  as  soon  ride  an 
unbroken  horse,  with  no  better  bridle  than  a  lady's  garter.  But 
what  then  is  the  result  1  He  wars  on  Louis  ;  whichever  gains 
the  better,  I,  who  must  be  strengthened  in  their  mutual  weak- 
ness, receive  the  advantage — The  Englishmen  slay  the  French 
with  their  cloth-yard  shafts,  and  the  Frenchmen,  by  skirmishes, 
waste,  weaken,  and  destroy  the  English.  With  spring  I  take 
the  field  with  an  army  superior  to  both,  and  then,  St.  George 
for  Burgundy ! " 

"And  if,  in  the  meanwhile,  your  Highness  will  deign  to 
assist,  even  in  the  most  trifling  degree,  a  cause  the  most  hon- 
orable that  ever  knight  laid  lance  in  rest  for, — a  moderate  sum 
of  money,  and  a  small  body  of  Hainault  lances,  who  may  gain 
both  fame  and  fortune  by  the  service,  may  replace  the  injured 
heir  of  Lancaster  in  the  possession  of  his  native  and  rightful 
dominion." 

"  Ay,  marry,  Sir  Earl,"  said  the  Duke,  "  you  come  roundly 
to  the  point;  but  we  have  seen,  and  indeed  partly  assisted  ai, 
so  many  turns  betwixt  York  and  Lancaster,  that  we  have  some 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


29  s 


doubt  which  is  the  side  to  which  Heaven  has  given  the  right, 
and  the  inclinations  of  the  people  the  effectual  power ;  we  are 
surprised  into  absolute  giddiness  by  so  many  extraordinary 
revolutions  of  fortune  as  England  has  exhibited." 

"  A  proof,  my  lord,  that  these  mutations  are  not  yet  ended, 
and  that  your  generous  aid  may  give  to  the  better  side  an 
effectual  turn  of  advantage. 

"  And  lend  my  cousin,  Margaret  of  Anjou,  my  arm  to  de- 
throne my  wife's  brother  ?  Perhaps  he  deserves  small  good- 
will at  my  hands,  since  he  and  his  insolent  nobles  have  been 
urging  me  with  remonstrances,  and  even  threats,  to  lay  aside 
all  my  own  important  affairs,  and  join  Edward,  forsooth,  in  his 
knight-errant  expedition  against  Louis.  I  will  march  against 
Louis  at  my  own  time,  and  not  sooner;  and,  by  St.  George! 
neither  island  king,  nor  island  noble,  shall  dictate  to  Charles  of 
Burgundy.  You  are  fine  conceited  companions,  you  English 
of  both  sides,  that  think  the  matters  of  your  own  bedlam  island 
are  as  interesting  to  all  the  world  as  to  yourselves.  But  neither 
York  nor  Lancaster;  neither  brother  Blackburn,  nor  cousin 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  not  with  John  de  Vere  to  back  her,  shall 
gull  me.    Men  lure  no  hawks  with  empty  hands." 

Oxford,  familiar  with  the  Duke's  disposition,  suffered  him  to 
exhaust  himself  in  chafing,  that  any  one  should  pretend  to 
dictate  his  course  of  conduct,  and,  when  he  was  at  length  silent, 
replied  with  calmness — Do  I  live  to  hear  the  noble  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  the  mirror  of  European  chivalry,  say  that  no  reason 
has  been  shown  to  him  for  an  adventure  where  a  helpless  queen 
is  to  be  redressed — a  royal  house  raised  from  the  dust  Is 
there  not  immortal  los  and  honor — the  trumpet  of  fame  to  pro- 
claim the  sovereign,  who,  alone  in  a  degenerate  age,  has  united 
the  duties  of  a  generous  knight  with  those  of  a  princely  sov- 
ereign. 

The  Duke  interrupted  him,  striking  him  at  the  same  time  on 
the  shoulder — "  And  King  Rene's  five  hundred  fiddlers  to  tune 
their  cracked  violins  in  my  praise  !  and  King  Rene  himself  to 
hsten  to  them,  and  say — *  Well  fought,  Duke — well  played, 
fiddler  1 '  I  tell  thee,  John  of  Oxford,  when  thou  and  I  wore 
maiden  armor,  such  words  as  fame,  honor,  los^  knightly  glory, 
lady's  love,  and  so  forth,  were  good  mottoes  for  our  snow-white 
shields,  and  a  fair  enough  argument  for  splintering  lances — Ay, 
and  in  tilt-yard,  though  somewhat  old  for  these  fierce  follies,  I 
would  jeopard  my  person  in  such  a  quarrel  yet,  as  becomes  a 
knight  of  the  order.  But  when  we  come  to  paying  down  of 
crowns,  and  embarking  of  large  squadrons,  we  must  have  to 
propose  to  our  subjects  some  substantial  excuse  for  plunging 


296 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


them  in  war ;  some  proposal  for  the  public  good — or,  by  St 
George  !  for  our  own  private  advantage,  which  is  the  same 
thing.  This  is  the  course  the  world  runs,  and  Oxford,  to  tell 
the  plain  truth,  I  mean  to  hold  the  same  bias." 

Heaven  forbid  that  I  should  expect  your  Highness  to  act 
otherwise  than  with  a  view  to  your  subjects*  welfare — the  in- 
crease, that  is,  as  your  Grace  happily  expresses  it,  of  your  own 
power  and  dominion.  The  money  we  require  is  not  in  benevo- 
lence, but  in  loan  ;  and  Margaret  is  willing  to  deposit  these 
jewels,  of  which  I  think  your  Grace  knows  the  value,  till  she 
shall  repay  the  sum  which  your  friendship  may  advance  in  her 
necessity." 

Ha,  ha  !  "  said  the  Duke,  "  would  our  cousin  make  a  pawn- 
broker of  us,  and  have  us  deal  with  her  like  a  Jewish  usurer 
with  his  debtor  ? — Yet,  in  faith,  Oxford,  we  may  need  the 
diamonds,  for  if  this  business  were  otherwise  feasible,  it  is  pos- 
sible that  I  myself  must  become  a  borrower  to  aid  my  cousin's 
necessities.  I  have  applied  to  the  States  of  the  Duchy,  who 
are  now  sitting,  and  expect,  as  is  reasonable,  a  large  supply. 
But  there  are  restless  heads  and  close  hands  among  them,  and 
they  may  be  niggardly — So  place  the  jewels  on  the  table  in  the 
meanwhile. — Well,  say  I  am  to  be  no  sufferer  in  purse  by  this 
feat  of  knight-errantry  which  you  propose  to  me,  still  princes 
enter  not  into  war  without  some  view  of  advantage  ?  " 

Listen  to  me,  noble  sovereign.  You  are  naturally  bent  to 
unite  the  great  estates  of  your  father,  and  those  you  have 
acquired  by  your  own  arms,  into  a  compact  and  firm  duke- 
dom "  

"  Call  it  kingdom,"  said  Charles  ;  "it  is  the  w^orthier  word.'* 
"  Into  a  kingdom,  of  which  the  crown  shall  sit  as  fair  and 
even  on  your  Grace's  brow  as  that  of  France  on  your  present 
suzerain,  Louis." 

"  It  needs  not  such  shrewdness  as  yours  to  descry  that  such 
is  my  purpose,"  said  the  Duke ;  else,  wherefore  am  I  here 
with  helm  on  my  head,  and  sword  by  my  side  }  And  wherefore 
are  my  troops  seizing  on  the  strong  places  in  Lorraine,  and 
chasing  before  them  the  beggarly  De  Vaudemont,  who  has  the 
insolence  to  claim  it  as  his  inheritance  1  Yes,  my  friend,  the 
aggrandizement  of  Burgundy  is  a  theme  for  which  the  duke  of 
that  fair  province  is  bound  to  fight,  while  he  can  put  foot  in 
stirrup." 

But  think  you  not,"  said  the  English  Earl,  ''since  you 
allow  me  to  speak  freely  with  your  Grace,  on  the  footing  of  old 
acquaintanceship,  think  you  not  that  in  this  chart  of  your 
dominions,  otherwise  so  fairly  bounded,  there  is  something  on 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


297 


the  southern  frontier  which  might  be  arranged  more  advanta 
geously  for  a  King  of  Burgundy  ? 

"  I  cannot  guess  whither  you  would  lead  me,"  said  the  Duke, 
looking  at  a  map  of  the  Duchy  and  his  other  possessions,  to 
which  the  Englishman  had  pointed  his  attention,  and  then  turn- 
ing his  broad  keen  eye  upon  the  face  of  the  banished  Earl. 

"  I  would  say,'^  replied  the  latter,  "  that,  to  so  powerful  a 
prince  as  your  Grace,  there  is  no  safe  neighbor  but  the  sea. 
Here  is  Provence,  which  interferes  betwixt  you  and  the  Medit- 
erranean ;  Provence,  with  its  princely  harbors,  and  fertile  corn- 
fields and  vineyards.  Were  it  not  well  to  include  it  in  your 
map  of  sovereignty,  and  thus  touch  the  middle  sea  with  one 
hand,  while  the  other  rested  on  the  sea-coast  of  Flanders  ? " 

"  Provence,  said  you  ?  " — replied  the  Duke,  eagerly  ;  why, 
man,  my  very  dreams  are  of  Provence.  I  cannot  smell  an 
orange  but  it  reminds  me  of  its  perfumed  woods  and  bowers, 
its  olives,  citrons,  and  pomegranates.  But  how  to  frame  pre- 
tensions to  it }  Shame  it  were  to  disturb  Rene,  the  harmless 
old  man,  nor  would  it  become  a  near  relation.  Then  he  is  the 
uncle  of  Louis  ;  and  most  probably,  failing  his  daughter  Mar- 
garet, or  perhaps  in  preference  to  her,  he  hath  named  the 
French  King  his  heir." 

"  A  better  claim  might  be  raised  up  in  your  Grace's  own 
person,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  "  if  you  will  afford  Margaret 
of  Anjou  the  succor  she  requires  by  me." 

"  Take  the  aid  thou  requirest,"  replied  the  Duke  ;  "  take 
double  the  amount  of  it  in  men  and  money  !  Let  me  but 
have  a  claim  upon  Provence,  though  thin  as  a  single  thread  of 
thy  Queen  Margaret's  hair,  and  let  me  alone  for  twisting  it  into 
the  tough  texture  of  a  quadruple  cable. — But  I  am  a  fool  to 
listen  to  the  dreams  of  one,  who,  ruined  himself,  can  lose  little 
by  holding  forth  to  others  the  most  extravagant  hopes." 

Charles  breathed  high,  and  changed  complexion  as  he 
spoke. 

"  I  am  not  such  a  person,  my  Lord  Duke,"  said  the  Earl. 
"  Listen  to  me — Ren^  is  broken  with  years,  fond  of  repose,  and 
too  poor  to  maintain  his  rank  with  the  necessary  dignity;  too 
good-natured,  or  too  feeble-minded,  to  lay  further  imposts  on 
his  subjects  ;  weary  of  contending  with  bad  fortune,  and  desir- 
ous to  resign  his  territories  "  

"  His  territories  !  "  said  Charles. 

"Yes,  all  he  actually  possesses;  and  the  much  more  exten- 
sive dominions  which  he  had  claim  to,  but  which  have  passed 
from  his  sway." 

You  take  away  my  breath !  "  said  the  Duke,    "  Rend 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN 


resign  Provence  !  and  what  says  Margaret — the  proud,  the 
high-minded  Margaret — will  she  subscribe  to  so  humiliating 
a  proceeding  ? " 

For  the  chance  of  seeing  Lancaster  triumph  in  England, 
she  would  resign,  not  only  dominion,  but  life  itself.  And  in 
truth,  the  sacrifice  is  less  than  it  may  seem  to  be.  It  is  certain 
that,  when  Rene  dies,  the  King  of  France  will  claim  the  old 
man's  county  of  Provence  as  a  male  fief,  and  there  is  no  one 
strong  enough  to  back  Margaret's  claim  of  inheritance,  however 
just  it  may  be." 

It  is  just,"  said  Charles  ;  "  it  is  undeniable  !  I  will  not 
hear  of  its  being  denied  or  challenged — that  is,  when  once  it  is 
established  in  our  own  person.  It  is  the  true  principle  of  the 
war  for  the  public  good,  that  none  of  the  great  fiefs  be  suffered 
to  revert  again  to  the  crown  of  France,  least  of  all  while  it 
stands  on  a  brow  so  astucious  and  unprincipled  as  that  of  Louis. 
Burgundy  joined  to  Provence — a  dominion  from  the  German 
Ocean  to  the  Mediterranean  !  Oxford — thou  art  my  better 
angel !  " 

Your  Grace  must,  however,  reflect,"  said  Oxford,  "  that 
honorable  provision  must  be  made  for  King  Rene." 

Certainly,  man,  certainly  ;  he  shall  have  a  score  of  fiddlers 
and  jugglers  to  play,  roar,  and  recite  to  him  from  morning  till 
night.  He  shall  have  a  court  of  Troubadours,  who  shall  do 
nothing  but  drink,  flute,  and  fiddle  to  him,  and  pronounce 
arrests  of  love^  to  be  confirmed  or  reversed  by  an  appeal  to  him- 
self, the  supreme  Roi  d'A?7tour,  And  Margaret  shall  also  be 
honorably  sustained,  in  the  manner  you  may  point  out." 

"  That  will  be  easily  settled,"  answered  the  English  Earl. 
"  If  our  attempts  on  England  succeed,  she  will  need  no  aid 
from  Burgundy.  If  she  fails,  she  retires  into  a  cloister,  and  it 
will  not  be  long  that  she  will  need  the  honorable  maintenance 
which,  I  am  sure,  your  Grace's  generosity  will  willingly  assign 
her." 

"  Unquestionably,"  answered  Charles  ;  and  on  a  scale  which 
will  become  us  both  ; — but,  by  my  halidome,  John  of  Vere,  the 
abbess  into  whose  cloister  Margaret  of  Anjou  shall  retire,  will 
have  an  ungovernable  penitent  under  her  charge.  Well  do  I 
know  her  ;  and,  Sir  Earl,  I  will  not  clog  our  discourse  by  ex- 
pressing any  doubts,  that  if  she  pleases,  she  can  compel  her 
father  to  resign  his  estates  to  whomsoever  she  will.  She  is  like 
my  brache,  Gorgon,  who  compels  whatsoever  hound  is  coupled 
with  her  to  go  the  way  she  chooses,  or  she  strangles  him  if  he 
resists.  So  has  Margaret  acted  with  her  simj)lc-minded  husband, 
and  I  am  aware  that  her  father,  a  fool  of  a  different  cast,  must 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


299 


of  necessity  be  equally  tractable.  I  think /could  have  matched 
her, — though  my  very  neck  aches  at  the  thought  of  the  struggles 
we  should  have  had  for  mastery.  But  you  look  grave,  because 
I  jest  with  the  pertinacious  temper  of  my  unhappy  cousin.'' 

"  My  lord,"  said  Oxford,  "  whatever  are  or  have  been  the  de* 
fects  of  my  mistress,  she  is  in  distress,  and  almost  in  desolation. 
She  is  my  sovereign,  and  your  Highness's  cousin  not  the  less." 

"  Enough  said.  Sir  Earl,"  answered  the  Duke.  Let  us 
speak  seriously.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  abdication  of 
King  Rene,  I  fear  we  shall  find  it  difficult  to  make  Louis  XL 
see  the  matter  as  favorably  as  we  do.  He  will  hold  that  the 
county  of  Provence  is  a  male  fief,  and  that  neither  the  resigna- 
tion of  Rene,  nor  the  consent  of  his  daughter,  can  prevent  its 
reverting  to  the  crown  of  France,  as  the  King  of  Sicily,  as  they 
call  him,  hath  no  male  issue." 

That,  may  it  please  your  Grace,  is  a  question  for  battle  to 
decide  ;  and  your  Highness  has  successfully  braved  Louis  for  a 
less  important  stake.  All  I  can  say  is,  that  if  your  Grace's 
active  assistance  enables  the  young  Earl  of  Richmond  to  suc- 
ceed in  his  enterprise,  you  shall  have  the  aid  of  three  thousand 
English  archers,  if  old  John  of  Oxford,  for  want  of  a  better 
leader,  were  to  bring  them  over  himself." 

"  A  noble  aid,"  said  the  Duke  ;  "  graced  still  more  by  him 
who  promises  to  lead  them.  Thy  succor,  noble  Oxford,  were 
precious  to  me,  did  you  but  come  with  your  sword  by  your  side, 
and  a  single  page  at  your  back.  I  know  you  well,  both  heart 
and  head.  But  let  us  to  this  gear  ;  exiles,  even  the  wisest,  are 
privileged  in  promises,  and  sometimes — excuse  me,  noble  Ox- 
ford— impose  on  themselves  as  well  as  on  their  friends.  What 
are  the  hopes  on  which  you  desire  me  again  to  embark  on  so 
troubled  and  uncertain  an  ocean,  as  these  civil  contests  of 
yours  ? " 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  produced  a  schedule,  and  explained  to 
the  Duke  the  plan  of  his  expedition,  to  be  backed  by  an  insur- 
rection of  the  friends  of  Lancaster,  of  which  it  is  enough  to  say 
that  it  was  bold  to  the  verge  of  temerity  ;  but  yet  so  well  com- 
pacted and  put  together  as  to  bear  in  those  times  of  rapid  rev- 
olution, and  under  a  leader  of  Oxford's  approved  military  skill 
and  political  sagacity,  a  strong  appearance  of  probable  success. 

While  Duke  Charles  mused  over  the  particulars  of  an  enter- 
prise attractive  and  congenial  to  his  own  disposition, — while  he 
counted  over  the  affronts  which  he  had  received  from  his 
brother-in-law,  Edward  IV.,  the  present  opportunity  for  taking 
a  signal  revenge,  and  the  rich  acquisition  which  he  hoped  to 
make  in  Provence  by  the  cession  in  his  favor  of  Rend  of  Anjou 


300 


ANNE  OF  GETERSTEIN, 


and  his  daughter,  the  Englishman  failed  not  to  press  on  his 
consideration  the  urgent  necessity  of  suffering  no  time  to 
escape. 

"  The  accomplishment  of  this  scheme/'  he  said,  "  demands 
the  utmost  promptitude.  To  have  a  chance  of  success,  I  must 
be  in  England,  with  your  Grace's  auxiliary  forces,  before  Ed- 
ward of  York  can  return  from  France  with  his  army." 

"  And,  having  come  hither,"  said  the  Duke,  "  our  worthy 
brother  will  be  in  no  hurry  to  return  again.  He  will  meet 
with  black-eyed  French  women  and  ruby-colored  French  wine, 
and  brother  Blackburn  is  no  man  to  leave  such  commodities  in 
a  hurry." 

"  My  Lord  Duke,  I  will  speak  truth  of  my  enemy.  Edward 
is  indolent  and  luxurious  when  things  are  easy  around  him, 
but  let  him  feel  the  spur  of  necessity  and  he  becomes  as 
eager  as  a  pampered  steed.  Louis,  too,  who  seldom  fails  in 
finding  means  to  accomplish  his  ends,  is  bent  on  determin- 
ing the  English  king  to  recross  the  sea  ;  therefore  speed, 
noble  Prince,  speed  is  the  soul  of  your  enterprise." 

Speed  ! "  said  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,—"  Why,  I  will 
go  with  you  and  see  the  embarkation  myself ;  and  tried, 
approved  soldiers  you  shall  have,  such  as  are  nowhere  to  be 
found  save  in  Artois  and  Hainault." 

"  But  pardon  yet,  noble  Duke,  the  impatience  of  a  drown- 
ing wretch  urgently  pressing  for  assistance.  When  shall  we 
to  the  coast  of  Flanders  to  order  ,  this  important  measure  }  " 

"  Why,  in  a  fortnight,  or  perchance  a  week,  or,  in  a  word', 
so  soon  as  I  shall  have  chastised  to  purpose  a  certain  gang 
of  thieves  and  robbers  who,  as  the  scum  of  the  caldron  will 
always  be  uppermost,  liave  got  up  into  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Alps,  and  from  thence  annoy  our  frontiers  by  contra- 
band traffic,  pillage  and  robbery." 

"  Your  highness  means  the  Swiss  Confederates  1  " 

"  Ay,  the  peasant  churls  give  themselves  such  a  name. 
They  are  a  sort  of  manumitted  slaves  of  Austria,  and  like 
a  ban-dog  whose  chain  is  broken,  they  avail  themselves  of 
their  liberty  to  annoy  and  rend  whatever  comes  in  their  way." 

"  I  traveled  through  their  country  from  Italy,"  said  the 
exiled  Earl,  and  I  heard  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Can- 
tons to  send  envoys  to  solicit  peace  of  your  Highness." 

"  Peace  !  "  exclaimed  Charles  ;  "  a  proper  sort  of  peaceful 
proceedings  those  of  their  embassy  have  been  !  Availing 
themselves  of  a  mutiny  of  the  burghers  of  La  Fcrette,  the 
first  garrison  town  they  entered,  they  stormed  it,  seized  on 
Archibald  de  Hagenbach,  who  commanded  the  place,  on 


ANNE  OP  CBlEkSTkM. 


my  part,  and  put  him  to  death  in  the  market-place.  Such  an 
insult  must  be  punished,  Sir  John  de  Vere  ;  and  if  you  do  not 
see  me  in  the  storm  of  passion  which  it  well  deserves,  it  is 
because  I  have  already  given  orders  to  hang  up  the  base  run- 
agates who  call  themselves  ambassadors." 

"  For  God's  sake,  noble  Duke,'*  said  the  Englishman,  throw- 
ing himself  at  Charles's  feet — "  for  your  own  character,  for  the 
sake  of  the  peace  of  Christendom,  revoke  such  an  order  if  it  is 
really  given  !  " 

"  What  means  this  passion  ?  "  said  Duke  Charles. — What 
are  these  men's  lives  to  thee,  excepting  that  the  consequences 
of  a  war  may  delay  your  expedition  for  a  few  days  ? " 

May  render  it  altogether  abortive,"  said  the  Earl ;  nay, 
must  needs  do  so. — Hear  me,  Lord  Duke.  I  was  with  these 
men  on  a  part  of  their  journey." 

"You!"  said  the  Duke — "you  a  companion  of  the  paltry 
Swiss  peasants  }  Misfortune  has  sunk  the  pride  of  English 
nobility  to  a  low  ebb,  when  you  selected  such  associates." 

"  I  was  thrown  amongst  them  by  accident,"  said  the  Earl. 
"  Some  of  them  are  of  noble  blood,  and  are,  besides,  men  for 
whose  peaceable  intentions  I  ventured  to  constitute  myself  their 
warrant." 

"  On  my  honor,  my  Lord  of  Oxford,  you  graced  them  highly, 
and  me  no  less,  in  interfering  between  the  Swiss  and  myself ! 
Allow  me  to  say  that  I  condescend,  when,  in  deference  to  past 
friendship,  I  permit  you  to  speak  to  me  of  your  own  English 
aflairs.  Methinks  you  might  well  spare  me  your  opinion  upon 
topics  with  which  you  have  no  natural  concern." 

"  My  Lord  of  Burgundy,"  replied  Oxford,  "  I  followed  your 
banner  to  Paris,  and  had  the  good  luck  to  rescue  you  in  the 
fight  at  Mont  L'Hery,  when  you  were  beset  by  the  French 
men-at-arms  "  

"We  have  not  forgot  it,"  said  Duke  Charles;  "and  it  is  a 
sign  that  we  keep  the  action  in  remembrance  that  you  have 
been  suffered  to  stand  before  us  so  long,  pleading  the  cause  of 
a  set  of  rascals,  whom  we  are  required  to  spare  from  the  gal- 
lows that  groans  for  them,  because  forsooth  they  have  been  the 
fellow-travelers  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford  !  " 

"  Not  so,  my  lord.  I  ask  their  lives  only  because  they  are 
upon  a  peaceful  errand,  and  the  leaders  amongst  them,  at  least, 
have  no  accession  to  the  crime  of  which  you  complain." 

The  Duke  traversed  the  apartment  with  unequal  steps,  in 
much  agitation,  his  large  eyebrows  drawn  down  over  his  eyes, 
his  hands  clenched,  and  his  teeth  set,  until  at  length  he  seemed 


302 


AA'NE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


to  take  a  resolution.  He  rung  a  hand-bell  of  silver  which 
stood  upon  his  table. 

"  Here,  Contay,"  he  said  to  the  gentleman  of  his  chamber 
who  entered,  "  are  these  mountain  fellows  yet  executed  1  ^' 

"  No,  may  it  please  your  Highness ;  but  the  executioner 
waits  them  so  soon  as  the  priest  hath  confessed  them.'' 

"Let  them  live,"  said  the  Duke.  "  We  will  hear  to-morrow 
in  what  manner  they  propose  to  justify  their  proceedings 
towards  us." 

Contay  bowed  and  left  the  apartment ;  then,  turning  to  the 
Englishman,  the  Duke  said,  with  an  indescribable  mixture  of 
haughtiness  with  familiarity  and  even  kindness,  but  having  his 
brows  cleared,  and  his  looks  composed, — "We  are  now  clear 
of  obligation,  my  Lord  of  Oxford — you  have  obtained  life  for 
life — nay,  to  make  up  some  inequality  which  there  may  be 
betwixt  the  value  of  the  commodities  bestowed,  you  have  ob- 
tained six  lives  for  one.  I  will,  therefore,  pay  no  more  atten- 
tion to  you,  should  you  again  upbraid  me  with  the  stumbling 
horse  at  Mont  L'Hery  or  you  own  achievements  on  that  occa- 
sion. Most  princes  are  contented  with  privately  hating  such 
men  as  have  rendered  them  extraordinary  services — I  feel  no 
such  disposition — I  only  detest  being  reminded  of  having  had 
occasion  for  them. — Pshaw  !  I  am  half-choked  with  the  effort 
of  foregoing  my  own  fixed  resolution. — So  ho  !  who  waits  there  ? 
Bring  me  to  drink." 

An  usher  entered,  bearing  a  large  silver  flagon,  which, 
instead  of  wine,  was  filled  with  tisanne,  slightly  flavored  by 
aromatic  herbs. 

"  I  am  so  hot  and  choleric  by  nature,"  said  the  Duke,  "  that 
our  leeches  prohibit  me  from  drinking  wine.  But  you,  Oxford, 
are  bound  by  no  such  regimen.  Get  thee  to  thy  countryman, 
Colvin,  the  general  of  our  artillery.  We  commend  thee  to  his 
custody  and  hospitality  till  to-morrow,  which  must  be  a  busy 
day,  since  I  expect  to  receive  the  answer  of  these  wiseacres  of 
the  Dijon  assembly  of  estates  ;  and  have  also  to  hear  (thanks 
to  your  lordship's  interference)  these  miserable  Swiss  envoys, 
as  they  call  themselves.  Well,  no  more  on't. — Good  night, 
You  may  communicate  freely  with  Colvin,  who  is,  like  your- 
self, an  old  Lancastrian. — But  hark  ye  not  a  word  respecting 
Provence — not  even  in  your  sleep. — Contay,  conduct  this  Eng- 
lish gentleman  to  Colvin's  tent.  He  knows  my  pleasure  respect- 
ing him." 

"  So  please  your  Grace,"  answered  Contay,  "  I  left  the 
English  gentleman's  son  with  Monsieur  de  Colvin." 

"  What !  thine  own  son,  Oxford  ?    And  with  thee  here  ? 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


Why  did  you  not  tell  me  of  him  ?  Is  he  a  true  scion  of  the 
ancient  tree  ? 

"  It  is  my  pride  to  believe  so,  my  lord.  He  has  been  the 
faithful  companion  of  all  my  dangers  and  wanderings.'^ 

"  Happy  man  !  "  said  the  Duke  with  a  sigh.  "  You,  Oxford, 
have  a  son  to  share  your  poverty  and  distress — I  have  none  to 
be  partner  and  successor  to  my  greatness. 

You  have  a  daughter,  my  lord,''  said  the  noble  De  Vere, 
*^  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  she  will  one  day  wed  some  powerful 
prince,  who  may  be  the  stay  of  your  Highness's  house." 

"  Never !  By  Saint  George,  never !  "  answered  the  Duke, 
sharply  and  shortly.  "  I  will  have  no  son-in-law,  who  may 
make  the  daughter's  bed  a  stepping-stone  to  reach  the  father's 
crown.  Oxford,  I  have  spoken  more  freely  than  I  am  wont, 
perhaps  more  freely  than  I  ought — but  I  hold  some  men 
trustworthy,  and  believe  you.  Sir  John  de  Vere,  to  be  one  of 
them." 

The  English  nobleman  bowed,  and  was  about  to  leave  his 
presence,  but  the  Duke  presently  recalled  him. 

"  There  is  one  thing  more,Oxford. — The  cession  of  Provence 
is  not  quite  enough.  Rene  and  Margaret  must  disavow  this 
hot-brained  Ferrand  de  Vaudemont,  who  is  making  some 
foolish  stir  in  Lorraine,  in  right  of  his  mother  Yolande." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Oxford,  Ferrand  is  the  grandson  of  King 
Rene,  the  nephew  of  Queen  Margaret ;  but  yet  "  

"  But  yet,  by  Saint  George,  his  rights,  as  he  calls  them,  on 
Lorraine,  must  positively  be  disowned.  You  talk  of  their 
family  feelings,  while  you  are  urging  me  to  make  war  on  my 
own  brother-in-law  !  " 

"  Rene's  best  apology  for  deserting  his  grandson,"  answered 
Oxford,  "  will  be  his  total  inability  to  support  and  assist  him. 
I  will  communicate  your  Grace's  condition,  though  it  is  a  hard 
one." 

So  saying,  he  left  the  pavilion. 


304 


OP  GMIEHSTEW. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

I  humbly  thank  your  Highness  ; 
And  am  right  glad  to  catch  this  good  occasion 
Most  thoroughly  to  be  winnow'd,  where  my  chaff 
And  corn  shall  fly  asunder. 

King  Henry  VIII. 

CoLViN,  the  English  officer  to  whom  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy,  with  splendid  pay  and  appointments,  committed  the 
charge  of  his  artillery,  was  owner  of  the  tent  assigned  for  the 
Englishman's  lodging,  and  received  the  Earl  of  Oxford  with 
the  respect  due  to  his  rank,  and  to  the  Duke's  especial  orders 
upon  that  subject.  He  had  been  himself  a  follower  of  the 
Lancaster  faction,  and  of  course  was  well  disposed  toward  one 
of  the  very  few  men  of  distinction  whom  he  had  known  person- 
ally, and  who  had  constantly  adhered  to  that  family  through 
the  train  of  misfortunes  by  wdiich  they  seemed  to  be  totally 
overwhelmed.  A  repast,  of  which  his  son  had  already  par- 
taken, was  offered  to  the  Earl  by  Colvin,  who  omitted  not  to 
recommend,  by  precept  and  example,  the  good  wine  of  Bur- 
gundy, from  which  the  sovereign  of  the  province  was  himself 
obliged  to  refrain. 

"  His  Grace  shows  command  of  passion  in  that,"  said  Colvin. 
For,  sooth  to  speak,  and  only  conversing  betwixt  friends,  his 
temper  grows  too  headlong  to  bear  the  spur  which  a  cup  of 
cordial  beverage  gives  to  the  blood,  and  he,  therefore,  wisely 
restricts  himself  to  such  liquid  as  may  cool  rather  than  inflame 
his  natural  fire  of  disposition.'' 

"  I  can  perceive  as  much,"  said  the  Lancastrian  noble. 
"When  I  first  knew  the  noble  Duke,  who  was  then  Earl  of 
Charolois,  his  temper,  though  always  sufficie^ntly  fiery,  was 
calmness  to  the  impetuosity  which  he  now  displays  on  the 
smallest  contradiction.  Such  is  the  course  of  an  uninterrupted 
flow  of  prosperity.  He  has  ascended,  by  his  own  courage  and 
the  advantage  of  circumstances,  from  the  doubtful  place  of  a 
feudatory  and  tributary  prince,  to  rank  with  the  most  powerful 
sovereigns  in  Europe,  and  to  assume  independent  majesty. 
But  I  trust  the  noble  starts  of  generosity,  which  atoned  for  his 
wilful  and  wayward  temper,  are  not  more  few  than  formerly  ? " 

"  I  have  good  right  to  say  that  they  are  not,"  replied  the 
soldier  of  fortune,  who  understood  generosity  in  the  restricted 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


sense  of  liberality,  The  Duke  is  a  noble  and  open-handed 
master." 

*'  I  trust  his  bounty  is  conferred  on  men  who  are  as  faith- 
ful and  steady  in  their  service  as  you,  Colvin,  have  ever  been. 
But  I  see  a  change  in  your  army.  I  know  the  banners  of  most 
of  the  old  houses  in  Burgundy — How  is  it  that  I  observe  so 
few  of  them  in  the  Duke's  camp?  I  see  flags,  and  pennons, 
and  pennoncelles  ;  but  even  to  me,  who  have  been  so  many 
years  acquainted  with  the  nobility  both  of  France  and  Flan- 
ders, their  bearings  are  unknown." 

"  My  noble  Lord  of  Oxford,"  answered  the  officer,  it  ill 
becomes  a  man  who  lives  on  the  Duke's  pay  to  censure  his  con- 
duct ;  but  his  Highness  hath  of  late  trusted  too  much,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  to  the  hired  arms  of  foreign  levies,  and  too  little 
to  his  own  native  subjects  and  retainers.  He  holds  it  better 
to  take  into  his  pay  large  bands  of  German  and  Italian  mer- 
cenary soldiers,  than  to  repose  confidence  in  the  knights  and 
squires,  who  are  bound  to  him  by  allegiance  and  feudal  faith. 
He  uses  the  aid  oi  his  own  subjects  but  as  the  means  of  produc- 
ing him  sums  of  money,  which  he  bestows  on  his  hired  troops. 
The  Germans  are  honest  knaves  enough  while  regularly  paid ; 
but  Heaven  preserve  me  from  the  Duke's  Italian  bands,  and 
that  Campo-Basso  their  leader,  who  waits  but  the  highest  price 
to  sell  his  Highness  like  a  sheep  for  the  shambles  !  " 

"Think  you  so  ill  of  him  1  '*  demanded  the  Earl. 

"So  very  ill  indeed,  that  I  believe,"  replied  Colvin,  "there 
is  no  sort  of  treachery  which  the  heart  can  devise,  or  the  arm 
perpetrate,  that  hath  not  ready  reception  in  his  breast,  and 
prompt  execution  at  his  hand.  It  is  painful,  my  lord,  for  an 
honest  Englishman  like  me  to  serve  in  an  army  where  such 
traitors  have  command.  But  what  can  I  do,  unless  I  could  once 
more  find  me  a  soldier's  occupation  in  my  native  country  ? 
I  often  hope  it  will  please  merciful  Heaven  again  to  awaken 
those  brave  civil  wars  in  my  own  dear  England,  where  all  was 
fair  fighting,  and  treason  was  unheard  of." 

Lord  Oxford  gave  his  host  to  understand  that  there  was  a 
possibility  that  his  pious  wish  of  living  and  dying  in  his  own 
country,  and  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  was  not  to  be 
despaired  of.  Meantime  he  requested  of  him,  that  early  on  the 
next  morning  he  would  procure  him  a  pass  and  an  escort  for 
his  son,  whom  he  was  compelled  to  despatch  forthwith  to  Nancy, 
the  residence  of  King  Rene. 

"  What !  "  said  Colvin,  is  my  young  Lord  of  Oxford  to  take 
a  degree  in  the  Court  of  Love  ?  for  no  other  business  is  listened 
to  at  King  Rent's  capit^lj  savQ  love  and  poetry/ 


3o6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


"  I  am  not  ambitious  of  such  distinction  for  him,  my  good 
host/'  answered  Oxford  ;  but  Queen  Margaret  is  with  her 
father,  and  it  is  but  fitting  that  the  youth  should  kiss  her 
hand." 

Enough  spoken,"  said  the  veteran  Lancastrian.  "  I  trust, 
though  winter  is  fast  approaching,  the  Red  Rose  may  bloom 
in  spring." 

He  then  ushered  the  Earl  of  Oxford  to  the  partition  of  the 
tent  which  he  was  to  occupy,  in  which  there  was  a  couch  for 
Arthur  also — their  host,  as  Colvin  might  be  termed,  assuring 
them  that,  with  peep  of  day,  horses  and  faithful  attendants 
should  be  ready  to  speed  the  youth  on  his  journey  to  Nancy. 

"  And  now,  Arthur,"  said  his  father,  we  must  part  once 
more.  I  dare  give  thee,  in  this  land  of  danger,  no  written 
communication  to  my  mistress.  Queen  Margaret ;  but  say  to 
her,  that  I  have  found  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  wedded  to  his 
own  views  of  interest,  but  not  averse  to  combine  them  with 
hers.  Say,  that  I  have  little  doubt  that  he  will  grant  us  the  re- 
quired aid,  but  not  without  the  expected  resignation  in  his 
favor  by  herself  and  King  Rene.  Say,  I  would  never  have  rec- 
ommended such  a  sacrifice  for  the  precarious  chance  of  over- 
throwing the  House  of  York,  but  that  I  am  satisfied  that  France 
and  Burgundy  are  hanging  like  vultures  over  Provence,  and 
that  the  one  or  other,  or  both  princes,  are  ready,  on  her  father's 
demise,  to  pounce  on  such  possessions  as  they  have  reluctantly 
spared  to  him  during  his  life.  An  accommodation  with  Burgundy 
may  therefore,  on  the  one  hand,  ensure  his  active  co-opera- 
tion in  the  attempt  on  England ;  and,  on  the  other,  if  our  high- 
spirited  princess  complies  not  with  the  Duke's  request,  the  jus- 
tice of  her  cause  will  give  no  additional  security  to  her  hereditary 
claims  on  her  father's  dominion.  Bid  Queen  Margaret,  therefore, 
unless  she  should  have  changed  her  views,  obtain  King  Rene's 
formal  deed  of  cession,  conveying  his  estates  to  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, with  her  Majesty's  consent.  The  necessary  provisions  to 
the  King  and  to  herself  may  be  filled  up  at  her  Grace's  pleasure, 
or  they  may  be  left  blank.  I  can  trust  to  the  Duke's  generosity 
to  their  being  suitably  arranged.  All  that  I  fear  is,  that 
Charles  may  embroil  himself  "  

"  In  some  silly  exploit,  necessary  for  his  own  honor  and  the 
safety  of  his  dominions,"  answered  a  voice  behind  the  lining  of 
the  tent ;  "  and,  by  doing  so,  attend  to  his  own  affairs  more 
than  to  ours  ?    Ha,  Sir  P:arl  !  " 

At  the  same  time  the  curtain  was  drawn  aside,  and  a  person 
entered,  in  whom,  though  clothed  with  the  jerkin  and  bonnet 
of  a  private  soldier  of  the  Walloon  guard,  Oxford  instantly 


LIBRARY 
U:^1VERS1TY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


recognized  the  Duke  of  Burgundy^s  harsh  features  and  fierce 
eyes  as  they  sparkled  from  under  the  fur  and  feather  with  which 
the  cap  was  ornamented. 

Arthur,  who  knew  not  the  Prince's  person,  started  at  the 
intrusion,  and  laid  his  hand  on  his  dagger ;  but  his  father  made 
a  signal  which  stayed  his  hand,  and  he  gazed  with  wonder  on 
the  solemn  respect  with  which  the  Earl  received  the  intrusive 
soldier.    The  first  word  informed  him  of  the  cause. 

If  this  masking  be  done  in  proof  of  my  faith,  noble  Duke, 
permit  me  to  say  it  is  superfluous." 

"  Nay,  Oxford,"  answered  the  Duke,  "  I  was  a  courteous 
spy;  for  I  ceased  to  play  the  eavesdropper  at  the  very  moment 
when  I  had  reason  to  expect  you  were  about  to  say  something 
to  anger  me." 

"As  1  am  a  true  Knight,  my  Lord  Duke,  if  you  had  re- 
mained behind  the  arras,  you  would  only  have  heard  the  same 
truths  which  I  am  ready  to  tell  in  your  Grace's  presence, 
though  it  may  have  chanced  they  might  have  been  more  bluntly 
expressed." 

Well,  speak  them  then,  in  whatever  phrase  thou  wilt — • 
they  lie  in  their  throats  that  say  Charles  of  Burgundy  was  ever 
offended  by  advice  from  a  well-meaning  friend." 

"  I  would,  then,  have  said,"  replied  the  English  Earl,  *Hhat 
all  which  Margaret  of  Anjou  had  to  apprehend  was,  that  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  when  buckling  on  his  armor  to  win  Pro- 
vence for  himself,  and  to  afford  to  her  his  powerful  assistance 
to  assert  her  rights  in  England,  was  likely  to  be  withdrawn  from 
such  high  objects  by  an  imprudently  eager  desire  to  avenge 
himself  of  imaginary  affronts,  offered  to  him,  as  he  supposed, 
by  certain  confederacies  of  Alpine  mountaineers,  over  whom  it 
is  impossible  to  gain  any  important  advantage,  or  acquire  rep- 
utation, while  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a  risk  of  losing  both. 
These  men  dwell  amongst  rocks  and  deserts  which  are  almost 
inaccessible,  and  subsist  in  a  manner  so  rude,  that  the  poorest 
of  your  subjects  would  starve  if  subjected  to  such  diet.  They 
are  formed  by  nature  to  be  the  garrison  of  the  mountain  fort- 
resses in  which  she  has  placed  them  ; — for  Heaven's  sake  med- 
dle not  with  them,  but  follow  forth  your  own  nobler  and  more 
important  objects,  without  stirring  a  nest  of  hornets,  which,  once 
in  motion,  may  sting  you  into  madness." 

The  Duke  had  promised  patience,  and  endeavored  to  keep 
his  word ;  but  the  swollen  muscles  of  his  face,  and  his  flashing 
eyes,  showed  how  painful  to  him  it  was  to  suppress  his  resent- 
ment. 

"  You  are  misinformed,  my  lord,"  he  said ;  "  these  men  are 


3o8  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 

not  the  inoffensive  herdsmen  and  peasants  you  are  pleased  to 
suppose  them.  If  they  were,  I  might  afford  to  despise  them. 
But,  flushed  with  some  victories  over  the  sluggish  Austrians, 
they  have  shaken  off  all  reverence  for  authority,  assume  airs  of 
independence,  form  leagues,  make  inroads,  storm  towns,  doom 
and  execute  men  of  noble  birth  at  their  pleasure. — Thou  art 
dull,  and  look'st  as  if  thou  dost  not  apprehend  me.  To  rouse 
thy  English  blood,  and  make  thee  sympathize  with  my  feelings 
to  these  mountaineers,  know  that  these  Swiss  are  very  Scots  to 
my  dominions  in  their  neighborhood — poor,  proud,  ferocious  ; 
easily  offended,  because  they  gain  by  war  \  ill  to  be  appeased, 
because  they  nourish  deep  revenge  ;  ever  re^dy  to  seize  the 
moment  of  advantage,  and  attack  a  neighbor  when  he  is 
engaged  in  other  affairs.  The  same  unquiet,  perfidious,  and 
inveterate  enemies  that  the  Scots  are  to  England,  are  the  Swiss 
to  Burgundy  and  to  my  allies.  What  say  you  Can  I  under- 
take anything  of  consequence  till  I  have  crushed  the  pride  of 
such  a  people  ?  It  will  be  but  a  few  days'  work.  I  will  grasp 
the  mountain-hedgehog,  prickles  and  all,  with  mv  steel  gaunt- 
let." 

Your  Grace  will  then  have  shorter  work  with  them,"  re- 
plied the  disguised  nobleman,  "  than  our  English  Kings  have 
had  with  Scotland.  The  wars  there  have  lasted  so  long,  and 
proved  so  bloody,  that  wise  men  regret  we  ever  began  them." 

"  Nay,"  said  the  Duke,  I  will  not  dishonor  the  Scots  by 
comparing  them  in  all  respects  to  these  mountain  churls  of  the 
Cantons.  The  Scots  have  blood  and  gentry  among  them,  and 
we  have  seen  many  examples  of  both  ;  these  Swiss  are  a  mere 
brood  of  peasants,  and  the  few  gentlemen  of  birth  they  can 
boast  must  hide  their  distinction  in  the  dress  and  manners  of 
clowns.  They  will,  I  think,  scarce  stand  against  a  charge  of 
Hainaulters." 

"  Not  if  the  Hainaulters  find  ground  to  ride  upon.  But"  

"  Nay,  to  silence  your  scruples,"  said  the  Duke,  interrupt- 
ing him,  "  know,  that  these  people  encourage,  by  their  coun- 
tenance and  aid,  the  formation  of  the  most  dangerous  conspira- 
cies in  my  dominions.  Look  here — I  told  you  that  my  officer, 
Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach,  was  murdered  when  the  town  of 
Breisach  was  treacherously  taken  by  these  harmless  Switzersof 
yours.  And  here  is  a  scroll  of  parchment,  which  announces 
that  my  servant  was  murdered  by  doom  of  the  Vehme-gericht, 
a  band  of  secret  assassins,  whom  I  will  not  permit  to  meet  in 
any  part  of  my  dominions.  Oh,  could  I  but  catch  them  above 
ground  as  they  are  found  lurking  below,  they  should  know 


what  the  life  of  a  nobleman  is  worth  !  Then,  look  at  the  in-- 
solence  of  their  attestation." 

The  scroll  bore,  with  the  day  and  date  adjected,  that  judg- 
ment had  been  done  on  Archibald  de  Hagenbach,  for  tyranny, 
violence,  and  oppression,  by  order  of  the  Holy  Vehme,  and 
that  it  was  executed  by  their  officials,  who  were  responsible  for 
the  same  to  their  tribunal  alone.  It  was  countersigned  in  red 
ink,  with  the  badges  of  the  Secret  Society,  a  coil  of  ropes  and  a 
drawn  dagger. 

"  This  document  I  found  stuck  to  my  toilet  with  a  knife." 
said  the  Duke  ;  another  trick  by  which  they  give  mystery  to 
their  murderous  jugglery." 

The  thought  of  what  he  had  undergone  in  John  Mengs^s 
house,  and  reflections  upon  the  extent  and  omnipresence  of 
these  Secret  Associations,  struck  even  the  brave  Englishman 
with  an  involuntary  shudder. 

"  For  the  s^ke  of  every  saint  in  heaven,"  he  said,  forbear, 
my  lord,  to  speak  of  these  tremendous  societies,  whose  creat- 
ures are  above,  beneath,  and  around  us.  No  man  is  secure  of 
his  life,  however  guarded,  if  it  be  sought  by  a  man  who  is  care- 
less of  his  own.  You  are  surrounded  by  Germans,  Italians,  and 
other  strangers — How  many  amongst  these  may  be  bound  by 
the  secret  ties  which  withdraw  men  from  every  other  social 
bond,  to  unite  them  together  in  one  inextricable,  though  secret 
compact  ?  Beware,  noble  Prince,  of  the  situation  on  which  your 
throne  is  placed,  though  it  still  exhibits  all  the  splendor  of 
power,  and  all  the  solidity  of  foundation  that  belongs  to  so 
august  a  structure.  I — the  friend  of  thy  house — were  it  with 
my  dying  breath — must  needs  tell  thee,  that  the  Swiss  hang 
like  an  avalanche  over  thy  head  ;  and  the  Secret  Associations 
work  beneath  thee  like  the  first  throes  of  the  coming  earthquake. 
Provoke  not  the  contest,  and  the  snow  will  rest  undisturbed  on 
the  mountain-side — the  agitation  of  the  subterranean  vapors 
will  be  hushed  to  rest  ;  but  a  single  word  of  defiance,  or  one 
flash  of  indignant  scorn,  may  call  their  terrors  into  instant 
action." 

"  You  speak,"  said  the  Duke,  with  more  awe  of  a  pack  of 
naked  churls,  and  a  band  of  midnight  assassins,  than  I  have 
seen  you  show  for  real  danger.  Yet  I  will  not  scorn  your  coun- 
sel— I  will  hear  the  Swiss  envoys  patiently,  and  I  will  not,  if  I 
can  help  it,  show  the  contempt  with  which  I  cannot  but  regard 
their  pretensions  to  treat  as  independent  States.  On  the 
Secret  Associations  I  will  be  silent,  till  time  gives  me  the  means 
of  acting  in  combination  with  the  Emperor,  the  Diet,  and  the 


AistNE  OF  GEIERSTMW, 


Princes  of  the  Empire,  that  they  may  be  driven  from  all  theii 
burrows  at  once. — Ha,  Sir  Earl,  said  I  well? 

*'  It  is  well  thought,  my  lord,  but  it  may  be  unhappily 
spoken.  You  are  in  a  position,  where  one  word,  overheard  by 
a  traitor  might  produce  death  and  ruin." 

"  I  keep  no  traitor.s  about  me,''  said  Charles.  "  If  I  thought 
there  was  such  in  my  camp,  I  would  rather  die  by  them  at 
once,  than  live  in  perpetual  terror  and  suspicion.'' 

"  Your  Highness's  ancient  followers  and  servants,"  said  the 
Earl,  "  speak  unfavorably  of  the  Count  of  Campo-Basso,  who 
holds  so  high  a  rank  in  your  confidence.*' 

Ay,"  replied  the  Duke,  with  composure,  it  is  easy  to 
decry  the  most  faithful  servant  in  a  court  by  the  unanimous 
hatred  of  all  the  others.  I  warrant  me  your  bull-headed  country- 
man, Colvin,  has  been  railing  against  the  Count  like  the  rest  of 
them,  for  Campo-Basso  sees  nothing  amiss  in  any  department, 
but  he  reports  it  to  me  without  fear  or  favor.  And  then  his 
opinions  are  cast  so  much  in  the  same  mould  with  my  own, 
that  I  can  hardly  get  him  to  enlarge  upon  what  he  best  under- 
stands, if  it  seems  in  any  respect  different  from  my  sentiments. 
Add  to  this,  a  noble  person,  grace,  gayety,  skill  in  the  exercises 
of  war,  and  in  the  courtly  arts  of  peace — such  is  Campo-Basso ; 
and  being  such,  is  he  not  a  gem  for  a  prince's  cabinet  1 " 

"  The  very  materials  out  of  which  a  favorite  is  formed," 
answered  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  but  something  less  adapted  for 
making  a  faithful  counselor." 

"  Why,  thou  mistrustful  fool,"  said  the  Duke,  "must  I  tell 
thee  the  very  inmost  secret  respecting  this  man,  Campo-Basso, 
and  will  nothing  short  of  it  stay  these  imaginary  suspicions 
which  thy  new  trade  of  an  itinerant  merchant  hath  led  thee  to 
entertain  so  rashly  ?  " 

"  If  your  Highness  honors  me  with  your  confidence,"  said 
the  Earl  of  Oxford,  "  I  can  only  say  that  my  fidelity  shall  de- 
serve it." 

"Know,  then,  thou  misbelieving  mortal,  that  my  good  friend 
and  brother,  Louis  of  France,  sent  me  private  information, 
through  no  less  a  person  than  his  famious  barber,  Oliver  le 
Diable,  that  Campo-]>asso  had  for  a  certain  sum  offered  to  put 
my  person  into  his  hands,  alive  or  dead. — You  start  !  " 

"  1  do  indeed — recollecting  your  Highness's  practice  of  rid- 
ing out  lightly  armed,  and  with  a  very  small  attendance,  to  re« 
connoitre  the  ground,  and  visit  the  outposts,  and  therefore  how 
easily  such  a  treacherous  device  might  be  carried  into  execu- 
tion." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  answered  the  Duke. — "Thou  seest  the  danger 


ANNE  OF  GElEkSTEIN 


as  if  it  were  real,  whereas  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than 
that,  if  my  cousin  of  France  had  ever  received  such  an  offer,  he 
would  have  been  the  last  person  to  have  put  me  on  my  guard 
against  the  attempt.  No — he  knows  the  value  I  set  on  Campo- 
Basso's  services,  and  forged  the  accusation  to  deprive  me  of 
them/' 

"And  yet,  my  lord,"  replied  the  English  Earl,  "your  High- 
ness, by  my  counsel,  will  not  unnecessarily  or  impatiently  fling 
aside  your  armor  of  proof,  or  ride  without  the  escort  of  some 
score  of  your  trusty  Walloons." 

Tush,  man,  thou  wouldst  make  a  carbonado  of  a  fever- 
stirred  wretch  like  myself,  betwixt  the  bright  iron  and  the  burn- 
ing sun.  But  I  will  be  cautious  though  I  jest  thus — and  you, 
young  man,  may  assure  rfiy  cousin,  Margaret  of  Anjou,  that  I 
will  consider  her  affairs  as  my  own.  And  remember,  youth, 
that  the  secrets  of  princes  are  fatal  gifts,  if  he  to  whom  they  are 
imparted  blaze  them  abroad  ;  but  if  duly  treasured  up,  they  en- 
rich the  bearer.  And  thou  shalt  have  cause  to  say  so,  if  thou 
canst  bring  back  with  thee  from  Aix  the  deed  of  resignation  of 
which  thy  father  hath  spoken. — Good-night — good-night  !  " 

He  left  the  apartment. 

"You  have  just  seen,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford  to  his  son, 
"  a  sketch  of  this  extraordinary  prince,  by  his  own  pencil.  It 
is  easy  to  excite  his  ambition  or  thirst  of  power,  but  well-nigh 
impossible  to  limit  him  to  the  just  measures  by  which  it  is  most 
likely  to  be  gratified.  He  is  ever  like  the  young  archer,  startled 
from  his  mark  by  some  swallow  crossing  his  eye,  even  careless 
as  he  draws  the  string.  Now  irregularly  and  offensively  suspi- 
cious— now  unreservedly  lavish  of  his  confidence — not  long  since 
the  enemy  of  the  line  of  Lancaster,  and  the  ally  of  her  deadly 
foe — now  its  last  and  only  stay  and  hope.  God  mend  all ! — it 
is  a  weary  thing  to  look  on  the  game  and  see  how  it  might  be 
won,  while  we  are  debarred  by  the  caprice  of  others  from  the 
power  of  playing  it  according  to  our  own  skill.  How  much 
must  depend  on  the  decision  of  Duke  Charles  upon  the  morrow, 
and  how  little  do  I  possess  the  power  of  influencing  him,  either 
for  his  own  safety  or  our  advantage  !  Good-night,  my  son,  and 
let  us  trust  events  to  Him  who  alone  can  control  them," 


AmE  OP  GEtERsmW. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

My  blood  hath  been  too  cold  and  temperate, 
Unapt  to  stir  at  these  indignities, 
And  you  have  found  me ;  for  accordingly, 
You  tread  upon  my  patience. 

Henry  IV. 

The  dawn  of  morning  roused  the  banished  Earl  of  Oxford 
and  his  son,  and  its  lights  were  scarce  abroad  on  the  eastern 
heaven  ere  their  host,  Colvin,  entered  with  an  attendant,  bear- 
ing some  bundles,  which  he  placed  on  the  floor  of  the  tent,  and 
instantly  retired.  The  officer  of  the  Duke's  ordnance  then  an- 
nounced that  he  came  with  a  message  from  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy. 

"His  Highness,''  he  said, has  sent  four  stout  yeomen, 
with  a  commission  of  credence  to  my  young  master  of  Oxford, 
and  an  ample  purse  of  gold,  to  furnish  his  expenses  to  Aix,  and 
while  his  affairs  may  detain  him  there.  Also  a  letter  of  cre- 
dence to  King  Ren^,  to  ensure  his  reception,  and  two  suits  of 
honor  for  his  use,  as  for  an  English  gentleman  desirous  to 
witness  the  festive  solemnities  of  Provence,  and  in  whose  safety 
the  Duke  deigns  to  take  deep  interest.  His  further  affairs 
there,  if  he  hath  any,  his  Highness  recommends  to  him  to 
manage  with  prudence  and  secrecy.  His  Highness  hath  also 
sent  a  couple  of  horses  for  his  use, — one  an  ambling  jennet  for 
the  road,  and  another  a  strong  barbed  horse  of  Flanders,  in 
case  he  hath  aught  to  do.  It  will  be  fitting  that  my  young 
master  change  his  dress,  and  assume  attire  more  near  his  proper 
rank.  His  attendants  know  the  road,  and  have  power,  in  case 
of  need,  to  summon,  in  the  Duke's  name,  assistance  from  all 
faithful  Burgundians.  I  have  but  to  add,  the  sooner  the  young 
gentleman  sets  forward,  it  will  be  the  better  sign  of  a  successful 
journey." 

I  am  ready  to  mount  the  instant  that  I  have  changed  my 
dress,"  said  Arthur. 

"  And  I,"  said  his  father,  "  have  no  wish  to  detain  him  on 
the  service  in  which  he  is  now  employed.  Neither  he  nor  I 
will  say  more  than  God  be  with  you.  How  and  where  we  are 
to  meet  again,  who  can  tell  1  " 

"  I  believe,"  said  Colvin,  "  that  must  rest  on  the  motions  of 
the  Duke,  which,  perchance,  are  not  yet  determined  upon  ;  but 
his  Highness  depends  upon  your  remaining  with  him,  my  noble 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


lord,  till  the  affairs  of  which  you  come  to  treat  may  be  more 
fully  decided.  Something  I  have  for  your  lordship's  private 
ear,  when  your  son  hath  parted  on  his  journey/' 

While  Colvin  was  thus  talking  with  his  father,  Arthur,  who 
was  not  above  half  dressed  when  he  entered  the  tent,  had 
availed  himself  of  an  obscure  corner,  in  which  he  exchanged  the 
plain  garb  belonging  to  his  supposed  condition  as  a  merchant, 
for  such  a  riding  suit  as  became  a  young  man  of  some  quality 
attached  to  the  Court  of  Burgundy.  It  was  not  without  a 
natural  sensation  of  pleasure  that  the  youth  resumed  an  apparel 
suitable  to  his  birth,  and  which  no  one  was  personally  more 
fitted  to  become  ;  but  it  was  with  much  deeper  feeling  that  he 
hastily,  and  as  secretly  is  possible,  flung  round  his  neck,  and 
concealed  under  the  collar  and  folds  of  his  ornamented  doublet, 
a  small  thin  chain  of  gold,  curiously  linked  in  what  was  called 
Morisco  work.  This  was  the  contents  of  the  parcel  which  Anne 
of  Geierstein  had  indulged  his  feelings,  and  perhaps  her  own, 
by  putting  into  his  hands  as  they  parted.  The  chain  was 
secured  by  a  slight  plate  of  gold,  on  which  a  bodkin,  or  a  point 
of  a  knife,  had  traced  on  the  one  side,  in  distinct  though  light 
characters.  Adieu  for  ever  !  while,  on  the  reverse,  there 
was  much  more  obscurely  traced  the  word  Remember  ! — - 
A.  VON  G. 

All  who  may  read  this  are,  have  been,  or  will  be,  lovers  ; 
and  there  is  none,  therefore,  who  may  not  be  able  to  compre- 
hend why  this  token  was  carefully  suspended  around  Arthur's 
neck,  so  that  the  inscription  might  rest  on  the  region  of  his 
heart,  without  the  interruption  of  any  substance  which  could 
prevent  the  pledge  from  being  agitated  by  every  throb  of  that 
busy  organ. 

This  being  hastily  ensured,  a  few  minutes  completed  the  rest 
of  his  toilet  ;  and  he  kneeled  before  his  father  to  ask  his  bless- 
ing, and  his  further  commands  for  Aix. 

His  father  blessed  him  almost  inarticulately,  and  then  said, 
with  recovered  firmness,  that  he  was  already  possessed  of  all 
the  knowledge  necessary  for  success  on  his  mission. 

"  When  you  can  bring  me  the  deeds  wanted,"  he  whispered 
with  more  firmness,  "  you  will  find  me  near  the  person  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy." 

They  went  forth  of  the  tent  in  silence,  and  found  before  it 
the  four  Burgundian  yeomen,  tall  and  active-looking  men,  ready 
mounted  themselves,  and  holding  two  saddled  horses — the  one 
accoutred  for  war,  the  other  a  spirited  jennet,  for  the  purposes 
of  the  journey.  One  of  them  led  a  sumpter-horse,  on  which 
Colvin  informed  Arthur  he  would  find  the  change  of  habit 


314 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


jiecessary  when  he  should  arrive  at  Aix  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
delivered  to  him  a  heavy  purse  of  gold. 

*'  Thiebault/*  he  continued,  pointing  out  the  eldest  of  the 
attendant  troopers,  may  be  trusted — I  will  be  warrant  for  his 
sagacity  and  fidelity.  The  other  three  are  picked  men,  who  will 
not  fear  their  skin-cutting." 

Arthur  vaulted  into  the  saddle  with  a  sensation  of  pleasure, 
which  was  natural  to  a  young  cavalier  who  had  not  for  many 
months  felt  a  spirited  horse  beneath  him.  The  lively  jennet 
reared  with  impatience.  Arthur,  sitting  firm  on  his  seat,  as 
if  he  had  been  a  part  of  the  animal,  only  said,  "  Ere  we  are 
long  acquainted,  thy  spirit,  my  fair  roan,  will  be  something 
more  tamed." 

"  One  word  more,  my  son,"  said  his  father,  and  whispered 
in  Arthur^s  ear,  as  he  stooped  from  the  saddle  ;  "  If  you  receive 
a  letter  from  me,  do  not  think  yourself  fully  acquainted  with 
the  contents  till  the  paper  has  been  held  opposite  to  a  hot 
fire." 

Arthur  bowed,  and  motioned  to  the  elder  trooper  to  lead  the 
way,  when  all,  giving  rein  to  their  horses,  rode  off  through  the 
encampment  at  a  round  pace,  the  young  leader  signing  an  adieu 
to  his  father  and  Colvin. 

The  Earl  stood  like  a  man  in  a  dream,  following  his  son 
with  his  eyes,  in  a  kind  of  reverie,  which  was  only  broken  when 
Colvin  said,  "  I  marvel  not,  my  lord,  that  you  are  anxious 
about  my  young  master;  he  is  a  gallant  youth,  well  worth  a 
father's  caring  for,  and  the  times  we  live  in  are  both  false  and 
bloody." 

"God  and  St.  Mary  be  my  witness,"  said  the  Earl,  ''that 
if  I  grieve,  it  is  not  for  my  own  house  only  ; — if  I  am  anxious, 
it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  my  own  son  alone  ; — but  it  is  hard  to 
risk  a  last  stake  in  a  cause  so  perilous. — What  commands 
brought  you  from  the  Duke  ?  " 

"  His  Grace,"  said  Colvin,  will  get  on  horseback  after  he 
has  breakfasted.  He  sends  you  some  garments,  which,  if  not 
fitting  your  quality,  are  yet  nearer  to  suitable  apparel  than 
those  you  now  wear,  and  he  desires  that,  observing  your  incog- 
nito as  an  English  merchant  of  eminence,  you  will  join  him  in 
his  cavalcade  to  Dijon,  where  he  is  to  receive  the  answer  of  the 
Estates  of  Burgundy  concerning  matters  submitted  to  their  con- 
sideration, and  thereafter  give  public  audience  to  the  Deputies 
from  Switzerland.  His  Highness  has  charged  me  with  the  care 
of  finding  you  suitable  accommodation  during  the  ceremonies 
of  the  day,  which,  he  thinks,  you  will,  as  a  stranger,  be  pleased 
to  look  upon.    But  he  probably  told  you  all  this  himself,  for  I 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


think  you  saw  him  last  night  in  disguise — Nay,  look  as  strange 
as  you  will — the  Duke  plays  that  trick  too  often  to  be  able  to 
do  it  with  secrecy ;  the  very  horse-boys  know  him  while  he  tra- 
verses the  tents  of  the  common  soldiery,  and  sutler  women  give 
him  the  name  of  the  spied  spy.  If  it  were  only  honest  Harry 
Colvin  who  knew  this,  it  should  not  cross  his  lips.  But  it  is 
practiced  too  openly,  and  too  widely  known.  Come,  noble 
lord,  though  I  must  teach  my  tongue  to  forego  that  courtesy, 
will  you  along  to  breakfast  ? 

The  meal,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  time,  was  a  solemn 
and  solid  one  ;  and  a  favored  officer  of  the  great  duke  of  Bur- 
gundy lacked  no  means,  it  may  be  believed,  of  rendering  due 
hospitality  to  a  guest  having  claims  of  such  high  respect.  But 
ere  the  breakfast  was  over  a  clamorous  flourish  of  trumpets 
announced  that  the  Duke,  with  his  attendants  and  retinue,  was 
sounding  to  horse.  Philipson,  as  he  was  still  called,  was,  in 
the  name  of  the  Duke,  presented  with  a  stately  charger,  and 
with  his  host  mingled  in  the  splendid  assembly  which  began  to 
gather  in  front  of  the  Duke's  pavilion.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
Prince  himself  issued  forth,  in  the  superb  dress  of  the  Order 
of  the  Golden  Fleece,  of  which  his  father  Philip  had  been  the 
founder,  and  Charles  was  himself  the  patron  and  sovereign. 
Several  of  his  courtiers  were  dressed  in  the  same  magnificent 
robes,  and  with  their  followers  and  attendants  displayed  so 
much  wealth  and  splendor  of  appearance  as  to  warrant  the 
common  saying,  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  maintained  the 
most  magnificent  court  in  Christendom.  The  officers  of  his 
household  attended  in  their  order,  together  with  heralds  and 
pursuivants,  the  grotesque  richness  of  whose  habits  had  a  sin- 
gular effect  among  those  of  the  high  clergy  in  their  albes  and 
dalmatiques,  and  of  the  knights  and  crown  vassals  who  were 
arrayed  in  armor.  Among  these  last,  who  were  variously 
equipped,  according  to  the  different  character  of  their  service, 
rode  Oxford,  but  in  a  peaceful  habit,  neither  so  plain  as  to  be 
out  of  place  among  such  splendor,  nor  so  rich  as  to  draw  on 
him  a  special  or  particular  degree  of  attention.  He  rode  by 
the  side  of  Colvin,  his  tall  muscular  figure,  and  deep-marked 
features,  forming  a  strong  contrast  to  the  rough,  almost  ignoble 
cast  of  countenance,  and  stout  thick-set  form,  of  the  less  dis- 
tinguished soldier  of  fortune. 

Ranged  into  a  solemn  procession,  the  rear  of  which  was 
closed  by  a  guard  of  two  hundred  picked  arquebusiers,  a  de- 
scription of  soldiers  who  were  just  then  coming  into  notice,  and 
as  many  mounted  men-at-arms,  the  Duke  and  his  retinue,  leav- 
ing the  barriers  of  the  camp,  directed  their  march  to  the  town, 


3i6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


or  rather  city,  of  Dijon,  in  those  days  the  capital  of  all  Bur- 
gundy. 

It  was  a  town  well  secured  with  walls  and  ditches,  which 
last  were  filled  by  means  of  a  small  river,  named  the  Ousche, 
which  combines  its  waters  for  that  purpose  with  a  torrent  called 
Suzon.  Four  gates,  with  appropriate  barbicans,  outworks,  and 
drawbridges,  corresponded  nearly  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass,  and  gave  admission  to  the  city.  The  number  of  towers, 
which  stood  high  above  its  walls,  and  defended  them  at  different 
angles,  was  thirty-three  ;  and  the  walls  themselves,  which  exceed- 
ed in  most  places  the  height  of  thirty  feet,  were  built  of  stones 
hewn  and  squared,  and  were  of  great  thickness.  This  stately  city 
was  surrounded  on  the  outside  with  hills  covered  with  vineyards, 
while  from  within  its  walls  rose  the  towers  of  many  noble  build- 
ings, both  public  and  private,  as  well  as  the  steeples  of  magnifi- 
cent churches,  and  of  well-endowed  convents,  attesting  the 
wealth  and  devotion  of  the  House  of  Burgundy. 

When  the  trumpets  of  the  Duke's  procession  had  summoned 
the  burgher  guard  at  the  gate  of  St.  Nicholas,  the  drawbridge 
fell,  the  portcullis  rose,  the  people  shouted  joyously,  the  windows 
were  hung  with  tapestry,  and  as,  in  the  midst  of  his  retinue, 
Charles  himself  came  riding  on  a  milk-white  steed,  attended 
only  by  six  pages  under  fourteen  years  old,  with  each  a  gilded 
partisan  in  his  hand,  the  acclamations  with  which  he  was  re- 
ceived on  all  sides  showed  that,  if  some  instances  of  misrule  had 
diminished  his  popularity,  enough  of  it  remained  to  render  his 
reception  into  his  capital  decorous  at  least,  if  not  enthusiastic. 
It  is  probable  that  the  veneration  attached  to  his  father's 
memory  counteracted  for  a  long  time  the  unfavorable  effect 
which  some  of  his  own  actions  were  calculated  to  produce  on 
the  public  mind. 

The  procession  halted  before  a  large  Gothic  building  in  the 
centre  of  Dijon.  This  was  then  called  Maison  du  Due,  as,  after 
the  union  of  Burgundy  with  France,  it  was  termed  Maison  du 
Roy.  The  Maire  of  Dijon  attended  on  the  steps  before  this 
palace,  accompanied  by  his  official  brethren,  and  escorted  by  a 
hundred  able-bodied  citizens,  in  black  velvet  cloaks,  bearing 
half-pikes  in  their  hands.  The  Maire  kneeled  to  kiss  the  stir- 
rup of  the  Duke,  and  at  the  moment  when  Charles  descended 
from  his  horse,  every  bell  in  the  city  commenced  so  thundering 
a  peal,  that  they  might  almost  have  awakened  the  dead  who 
slept  in  the  vicinity  of  the  steeples,  which  rocked  with  their 
clangor.  Under  the  influence  of  this  stunning  peal  of  welcome, 
the  Duke  entered  the  great  hall  of  the  building,  at  the  upper 
end  of  which  were  erected  a  throne  for  the  sovereign,  seats 


Al^NE  OP  GEIERSTE2N. 


for  his  more  distinguished  officers  of  state  and  higher  vassals, 
with  benches  behind  for  persons  of  less  note.  On  one  of 
these,  but  in  a  spot  from  which  he  might  possess  a  commanding 
view  of  the  whole  assembly,  as  well  as  of  the  Duke  himself, 
Colvin  placed  the  noble  Englishman ;  and  Charles,  whose 
quick  stern  eye  glanced  rapidly  over  the  party  when  they  were 
seated,  seemed,  by  a  nod  so  slight  as  to  be  almost  impercept- 
ible to  those  around  him,  to  give  his  approbation  of  the  ar- 
rangement  adopted. 

When  the  Duke  and  his  assistants  were  seated  and  in  order, 
the  Maire,  again  approaching,  in  the  most  humble  manner, 
and  kneeling  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  ducal  throne,  requested 
to  know  if  his  Highness's  leisure  permitted  him  to  hear  the 
inhabitants  of  his  capital  express  their  devoted  zeal  to  his 
person,  and  to  accept  the  benevolence  which,  in  the  shape  of  a 
silver  cup  filled  wdth  gold  pieces,  he  had  the  distinguished 
honor  to  place  before  his  feet,  in  name  of  the  citizens  and 
community  of  Dijon. 

Charles,  who  at  no  time  affected  much  courtesy,  answered, 
briefly  and  bluntly,  with  a  voice  which  was  naturally  harsh  and 
dissonant,  All  things  in  their  order,  good  Master  Maire.  Let 
us  first  hear  what  the  Estates  of  Burgundy  have  to  say  to  us ; 
we  will  then  listen  to  the  burghers  of  Dijon." 

The  Maire  rose  and  retired,  bearing  in  his  hand  the  silver 
cup,  and  experiencing  probably  some  vexation,  as  well  as  sur- 
prise, that  its  contents  had  not  secured  an  instant  and  gracious 
acceptance. 

"  I  expected,"  said  Duke  Charles,  to  have  met  at  this 
hour  and  place  our  Estates  of  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  or  a 
deputation  of  them,  with  an  answer  to  our  message  conveyed 
to  them  three  days  since  by  our  chancellor.  Is  there  no  one 
here  on  their  part  ?  " 

The  Maire,  as  none  else  made  any  attempt  to  answer,  said 
that  the  members  of  the  Estates  had  been  in  close  deliberation 
the  whole  of  that  morning,  and  doubtless  would  instantly  wait 
upon  his  Highness,  when  they  heard  that  he  had  honored  the 
town  with  his  presence. 

"  Go,  Toison  d'Or,"  said  the  Duke  to  the  herald  of  the  Order 
of  the  Golden  Fleece, *'bear  to  these  gentlemen  the  tidings 
that  we  desire  to  know  the  end  of  their  deliberations  ;  and  that 
neither  in  courtesy  nor  in  loyalty  can  they  expect  us  to  wait 
long.  Be  round  with  them,  Sir  Herald,  or  we  shall  be  as  round 
with  you." 

*  The  chief  order  of  knighthood  in  the  State  of  Burgundy. 


3i8 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


While  the  herald  was  absent  on  his  mission,  we  may  remind 
our  readers,  that  in  all  feudalized  countries  (that  is  to  say,  in 
almost  all  Europe  during  the  middle  ages),  an  ardent  spirit  of 
liberty  pervaded  the  constitution ;  and  the  only  fault  that  could 
be  found  was,  that  the  privileges  and  freedom  for  which  the 
great  vassals  contended  did  not  suiBciently  descend  to  the  low^er 
orders  of  society,  or  extend  protection  to  those  who  were  most 
likely  to  need  it.  The  two  first  ranks  in  the  State,  the  nobles 
and  clergy,  enjoyed  high  and  important  privileges ;  and  even  the 
third  estate,  or  citizens,  had  this  immunity  in  peculiar,  that  no 
new  duties,  customs,  or  taxes  of  any  kind,  could  be  exacted 
from  them  save  by  their  own  consent. 

The  memory  of  Duke  Philip,  the  father  of  Charles,  was  dear 
to  the  Burgundians  ;  for  during  twenty  years  that  sage  prince 
had  maintained  his  rank  amongst  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  with 
much  dignity,  and  had  accumulated  treasure  without  exacting 
or  receiving  any  great  increase  of  supplies  from  the  rich  countries 
which  he  governed.  But  the  extravagant  schemes  and  immode- 
rate expense  of  Duke  Charles  had  already  excited  the  suspicion 
of  his  Estates  ;  and  the  mutual  good-will  betwixt  the  prince  and 
people  began  to  be  exchanged  for  suspicion  and  distrust  on  the 
one  side,  and  defiance  on  the  other.  The  refractory  disposition 
of  the  Estates  had  of  late  increased  ;  for  they  had  disapproved 
of  various  wars  in  which  their  Duke  had  needlessly  embarked  ; 
and  from  his  levying  such  large  bodies  of  mercenary  troops, 
they  came  to  suspect  he  might  finally  employ  the  wealth  voted 
to  him  by  his  subjects,  for  the  undue  extension  of  his  royal  pre- 
rogative,  and  the  destruction  of  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

At  the  same  time  the  Duke's  uniform  success  in  enterprises 
which  appeared  desperate  as  well  as  difficult,  esteem  for  the 
frankness  and  openness  of  his  character,  and  dread  of  the 
obstinacy  and  headstrong  tendency  of  a  temper  which  could 
seldom  bear  persuasion,  and  never  endured  opposition,  still 
threw  awe  and  terror  around  the  throne,  which  was  materially 
aided  by  the  attachment  of  the  common  people  to  the  person  of 
the  present  Duke,  and  to  the  memory  of  his  father.  It  had 
been  understood,  that  upon  the  present  occasion  there  was 
strong  opposition  amongst  the  Estates  to  the  system  of  taxation 
.proposed  on  the  part  of  the  Duke,  and  the  issue  was  expected 
with  considerable  anxiety  by  the  Duke's  counselors,  and  with 
fretful  impatience  by  the  sovereign  himself. 

After  a  space  of  about  ten  minutes  had  elapsed,  the  Chan* 
cellor  of  Burgundy,  who  was  Archbishop  of  Vienna,  and  a 
prelate  of  high  rank,  entered  the  hall  with  his  train  ;  and  passing 
behind  the  ducal  throne  to  occupy  one  of  the  most  distinguished 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


places  in  the  assembly,  he  stopped  for  a  moment  to  urge  his 
master  to  receive  the  answer  of  his  Estates  in  a  private  manner, 
giving  him  at  the  same  time  to  understand  that  the  result  of  the 
deliberations  had  been  by  no  means  satisfactory. 

"  By  Saint  George  of  Burgundy,  my  Lord  Archbishop," 
answered  the  Duke,  sternly  and  loud,  we  are  not  a  prince  of  a 
mind  so  paltry  that  Ave  need  to  shun  the  moody  looks  of  a  dis- 
contented and  insolent  faction.  If  the  Estates  of  Burgundy 
send  a  disobedient  and  disloyal  answer  to  our  paternal  message, 
let  them  deliver  it  in  open  court,  that  the  assembled  people 
may  learn  how  to  decide  between  their  Duke  and  those  petty 
yet  intriguing  spirits,  who  would  interfere  with  our  authority." 

The  Chancellor  bowed  gravely,  and  took  his  seat ;  while  the 
English  Earl  observed  that  most  of  the  members  of  the  assem- 
bly, excepting  such  as  in  doing  so  could  not  escape  the  Duke's 
notice,  passed  some  observations  to  their  neighbors,  which  were 
received  with  a  half-expressed  nod,  shrug,  or  shake  of  the  head, 
as  men  treat  a  proposal  upon  which  it  is  dangerous  to  decide. 
At  the  same  time,  Toison  d'Or,  who  acted  as  master  of  the 
ceremonies,  introduced  into  the  hall  a  committee  of  the  Estates, 
consisting  of  twelve  members,  four  from  each  branch  of  the 
Estates,  announced  as  empowered  to  deliver  the  answer  of  that 
assembly  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

When  the  deputation  entered  the  hall,  Charles  arose  from 
his  throne  according  to  ancient  custom,  and  taking  from  his 
head  his  bonnet,  charged  with  a  huge  plume  of  feathers.  Health 
and  welcome,"  he  said,  to  my  good  subjects  of  the  Estates  of 
Burgundy !  "  All  the  numerous  train  of  courtiers  rose  and  un- 
covered their  heads  with  the  same  ceremony.  The  members 
of  the  states  then  dropped  on  one  knee,  the  four  ecclesiastics, 
among  whom  Oxford  recognized  the  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's, 
approaching  nearest  to  the  Duke's  person,  the  nobles  kneeling 
behind  them,  and  the  burgesses  in  the  rear  of  the  whole. 

"  Noble  Duke,"  said  the  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  "  will  it  best 
please  you  to  hear  the  answer  of  your  good  and  loyal  Estates 
of  Burgundy  by  the  voice  of  one  member  speaking  for  the  whole, 
or  by  three  persons,  each  delivering  the  sense  of  the  body  to 
which  he  belongs  ?  " 

"  As  you  will,"  said  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
A  Priest,  a  noble,  and  a  free  burgher,"  said  the  churchman, 
still  on  one  knee,  "  \^ill  address  your  Highness  in  succession.  * 
For  though,  blessed  be  the  God  who  leads  brethren  to  dwell 
together  in  unity  !  we  are  agreed  in  the  general  answer,  yet 
each  body  of  the  Estates  may  have  special  and  separate  reasons 
to  allege  for  the  common  opinion." 


Z20 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


"  We  will  hear  you  separately/'  said  Duke  CharleSp  casting 
his  hat  upon  his  head,  and  throwing  himself  carelessly  back 
into  his  seat.  At  the  same  time,  all  who  were  of  noble  blood, 
whether  in  the  committee  or  amongst  the  spectators,  vouched 
their  right  to  be  peers  of  their  sovereign  by  assuming  their 
bonnets ;  and  a  cloud  of  waving  plumes  at  once  added  grace 
and  dignity  to  the  assembly. 

\\  hen  the  Duke  resumed  his  seat,  the  deputation  arose  from 
their  knees,  and  the  Black  Priest  of  St.  PauFs,  again  stepping 
forth,  addressed  him  in  these  words  : — 

"  Aly  Lord  Duke,  your  royal  and  faithful  clergy  have  con- 
sidered your  Highness's  proposal  to  lay  a  talliage  on  your 
people,  in  order  to  make  war  on  the  Confederate  Cantons  in 
the  country  of  the  Alps.  The  quarrel,  my  liege  lord,  seems  to 
your  clergy  an  unjust  and  oppressive  one  on  your  Highness's 
part ;  nor  can  they  hope  that  God  will  bless  those  who  arm 
in  it.  They  are  therefore  compelled  to  reject  your  Highness's 
proposal." 

The  Duke's  eye  lowered  gloomily  on  the  deliverer  of  this 
unpalatable  message.  He  shook  his  head  with  one  of  those 
stern  and  menacing  looks  which  the  harsh  composition  of  his 
features  rendered  them  peculiarly  qualified  to  express.  You 
have  spoken.  Sir  Priest,"  was  the  only  reply  which  he  deigned 
to  make. 

One  of  the  four  nobles,  the  Sire  de  Myrebeau,  then  expressed 
himself  thus  : — 

"  Your  Highness  has  asked  of  your  faithful  nobles  to  consent 
to  new  imposts  and  exactions,  to  be  levied  through  Burgundy, 
for  the  raising  of  additional  bands  of  hired  soldiers  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  quarrels  of  the  state.  My  lord,  the  swords 
of  the  Burgundian  nobles,  knights,  and  gentlemen,  have  been 
ever  at  your  Highness's  command,  as  those  of  our  ancestors 
have  been  readily  wielded  for  your  predecessors.  In  your 
Highness's  just  quarrel  we  will  go  further,  and  fight  firmer, 
than  any  hired  fellows  who  can  be  procured,  whether  from 
France,  or  Germany,  or  Italy.  We  will  not  give  our  consent 
that  the  people  should  be  taxed  for  paying  mercenaries  to 
discharge  that  military  duty  which  it  is  alike  our  pride  and 
our  exclusive  privilege  to  render." 

"  \ow  have  spoken.  Sire  de  Myrebeau,"  were  again  the  only 
•words  of  the  Duke's  reply.  He  uttered  them  slowly  and  with 
deliberation,  as  if  afraid  lest  some  phrase  of  imprudent  violence 
should  escape  along  with  what  he  purposed  to  say.  Oxford 
thought  he  cast  a  glance  toward  him  before  he  spoke,  as  if  the 
consciousness  of  his  presence  was  some  additional  restraint  on 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTETN. 


3^1 


his  passion.  "  Now,  Heaven  grant/'  he  said  to  himself,  "  that 
this  opposition  may  work  its  proper  effect,  and  induce  the  Duke 
to  renounce  an  imprudent  attempt,  so  hazardous  and  so  unneces- 
sary  !  " 

While  he  muttered  these  thoughts,  the  Duke  make  a  sign  to 
one  of  the  tiers  etat,  or  commons,  to  speak  in  his  turn.  The  person 
who  obeyed  the  signal  was  Martin  Block,  a  wealthy  butcher  and 
grazier  of  Dijon.  His  words  were  these  : — Noble  Prince,  our 
fathers  were  the  dutiful  subjects  of  your  predecessors  ;  we  are  the 
same  to  you;  our  children  will  be  alike  the  liegemen  of  your 
successors.  But  touching  the  request  your  chancellor  has  made 
to  us,  it  is  such  as  our  ancestors  never  complied  with  ;  such  as 
we  are  determined  to  refuse,  and  such  as  will  never  be  conceded 
by  the  Estates  of  Burgundy,  to  any  prince  whatsoever,  even  to 
the  end  of  time." 

Charles  had  borne  with  impatient  silence  the  speeches  of  the 
two  former  orators,  but  this  blunt  and  hardy  reply  of  the  third 
Estate  excited  him  beyond  what  his  nature  could  endure.  He 
gave  way  to  the  impetuosity  of  his  disposition,  stamped  on  the 
floor  till  the  throne  shook,  and  the  high  vault  rung  over  their 
heads,  and  overwhelmed  the  bold  burgher  with  reproaches. 
"  Beast  of  burden,"  he  said,  am  I  to  be  stunned  with  thy 
braying,  too  ?  The  nobles  may  claim  leave  to  speak,  for  they 
can  fight ;  the  clergy  may  use  their  tongues,  for  it  is  their 
trade ;  but  thou,  that  hast  never  shed  blood,  save  that  of  bul- 
locks, less  stupid  than  thou  art  thyself — must  thou  and  thy  herd 
come  hither,  privileged,  forsooth,  to  bellow  at  a  prince's  foot- 
stool ?  Know,  brute  as  thou  art,  that  steers  are  never  intro- 
duced into  temples  but  to  be  sacrificed,  or  butchers  and  me- 
chanics brought  before  their  sovereign,  save  that  they  may  have 
the  honor  to  supply  the  public  wants  from  their  own  swelling 
hoards !  " 

A  murmur  of  displeasure,  which  even  the  terror  of  the 
Duke's  wrath  could  not  repress,  ran  through  the  audience  at 
these  words ;  and  the  burgher  of  Dijon,  a  sturdy  plebeian, 
replied,  with  little  reverence, — "  Our  purses,  my  Lord  Duke, 
are  our  own — we  will  not  put  the  strings  of  them  into  your 
Highness's  hands,  unless  we  are  satisfied  with  the  purposes  to 
which  the  money  is  to  be  applied  ;  and  we  know  well  how  to 
protect  our  persons  and  our  goods  against  foreign  rufiians  and 
plunderers." 

Charles  was  on  the  point  of  ordering  the  deputy  to  be 
arrested,  when,  having  cast  his  eye  toward  the  Earl  of  Oxford, 
whose  presence,  in  despite  of  himself,  imposed  a  certain  degree 


322 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


of  restraint  upon  him,  he  exchanged  that  piece  of  imprudence 
for  another. 

"  I  see,"  he  said,  addressing  the  committee  of  Estates,  "  that 
you  are  all  leagued  to  disappoint  my  purposes,  and  doubtless 
to  deprive  me  of  all  the  power  of  a  sovereign,  save  that  of 
wearing  a  coronet,  and  being  served  on  the  knee  like  a  second 
Charles  the  Simple,  while  the  Estates  of  my  kingdom  divide 
the  power  among  them.  But  you  shall  know  that  you  have  to 
do  with  Charles  of  Burgundy,  a  prince,  who,  though  he  hag 
deigned  to  consult  you,  is  fully  able  to  fight  battles  without 
the  aid  of  his  nobles,  since  they  refuse  him  the  assistance  of 
their  swords — to  defray  the  expense  without  the  help  of  his 
sordid  burghers — and,  it  may  be,  to  find  out  a  path  to  Heaven, 
without  the  assistance  of  an  ungrateful  priesthood.  I  will  show 
all  that  are  here  present,  how  little  my  mind  is  affected,  or  my 
purpose  changed,  by  your  seditious  reply  to  the  message  with 
which  I  honored  you. — Here,  Toison  d'Or,  admit  into  oui 
presence  these  men  from  the  confederated  towns  and  cantons, 
as  they  call  themselves,  of  Switzerland." 

Oxford,  and  all  who  really  interested  themselves  in  the 
Duke's  welfare,  heard,  with  the  utmost  apprehension,  his 
resolution  to  give  an  audience  to  the  Swiss  Envoys,  prepos- 
sessed as  he  was  against  them,  and  in  the  moment  when  his 
mood  was  chafed  to  the  uttermost  by  the  refusal  of  the  Estates 
to  grant  him  supplies.  They  were  aware  that  obstacles,  opposed 
to  the  current  of  his  passion,  were  like  rocks  in  the  bed  of  a 
river,  whose  course  they  cannot  interrupt,  while  they  provoke  it 
to  rage  and  foam.  All  were  sensible  that  the  die  was  cast,  but 
none  who  were  not  endowed  with  more  than  mortal  prescience, 
could  have  imagined  how  deep  was  the  pledge  which  depended 
upon  it.  Oxford,  in  particular,  conceived  that  the  execution  of 
his  plan  of  a  descent  upon  England  was  the  principal  point 
compromised  by  the  Duke  in  his  rash  obstinacy  ;  but  he  sus- 
pected not — he  dreamed  not  of  supposing — that  the  life  of 
Charles  himself,  and  the  independence  of  Burgundy  as  a  scpa' 
rate  kindom,  hung  quivering  in  the  same  scales. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

Why,  'tis  a  boisterous  and  cruel  style, 

A  style  tor  challengers.    Why,  she  defies  us, 

Like  Turk  to  Christian. 

As  You  Like  It. 

The  doors  of  the  hall  were  now  opened  to  the  Swiss  Depu- 
ties, who  for  the  preceding  hour  had  been  kept  in  attendance  on 
the  outside  of  the  building,  without  receiving  the  slightest  of 
those  attentions  which  among  civilized  nations  are  universally 
paid  to  the  representatives  of  a  foreign  State.  Indeed,  their 
very  appearance,  dressed  in  coarse  gray  frocks,  like  mountain 
hunters  or  shepherds,  in  the  midst  of  an  assembly  blazing  with 
divers-colored  garments,  gold  and  silver  lace,  embroidery,  and 
precious  stones,  served  to  confirm  the  idea  that  they  could  only 
have  come  hither  in  the  capacity  of  the  most  humble  peti- 
tioners, 

Oxford,  however,  who  watched  closely  the  deportment  of  his 
late  fellow-travelers,  failed  not  to  observe  that  they  retained 
each  in  his  own  person  the  character  of  firmness  and  indiffer- 
ence which  formerly  distinguished  them.  Rudolph  Donner- 
hugel  preserved  his  bold  and  haughty  look  ;  the  Banneret 
the  military  indifference  which  made  him  look  with  apparent 
apathy  on  all  around  him  ;  the  burgher  of  Soleure  was  as 
formal  and  important  as  ever ;  nor  did  any  of  the  three  show 
themselves  affected  in  the  slightest  degree  by  the  splendor  of 
the  scene  around  them,  or  embarrassed  by  the  consideration  of 
their  own  comparative  inferiority  of  appointments.  But  the 
noble  Landamman,  on  whom  Oxford  chiefly  bent  his  attention, 
seemed  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  the  precarious  state  in 
which  his  country  was  placed  ;  fearing,  from  the  rude  and 
unhonored  manner  in  which  they  were  received,  that  war  was 
unavoidable,  while,  at  the  same  time,  like  a  good  patriot,  he 
mourned  over  the  consequences  of  ruin  to  the  freedom  of  his 
country  by  defeat,  or  injury  to  her  simplicity  and  virtuous  in- 
difference of  wealth,  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  luxuries, 
and  the  evils  attending  on  conquest. 

Well  acquainted  with  the  opinions  of  Arnold  Biederman, 
Oxford  could  easily  explain  his  sadness,  while  his  comrade 
Bonstetten,  less  capable  of  comprehending  his  friend's  feelings, 
looked  at  him  with  the  expression  which  may  be  seen  in  the 


324 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


countenance  of  a  faithful  dog,  when  the  creature  indicates 
sympathy  with  his  master's  melancholy,  though  unable  to 
ascertain  or  appreciate  its  cause.  A  look  of  wonder  now  and 
then  glided  around  the  splendid  assembly  on  the  part  of  all  the 
forlorn  group,  excepting  Donnerhugel  and  the  Landamman ; 
for  the  indomitable  pride  of  the  one,  and  the  steady  patriotism 
of  the  other,  could  not  for  even  an  instant  be  diverted  by  ex- 
ternal objects  from  their  own  deep  and  stern  reflections. 

After  a  silence  of  nearly  five  minutes,  the  Duke  spoke,  with 
the  haughty  and  harsh  manner  which  he  might  imagine  belonged 
to  his  place,  and  which  certainly  expressed  his  character. 

Men  of  Berne,  of  Schwytz,  or  of  whatever  hamlet  and 
wilderness  you  may  represent,  know  that  we  had  not  honored 
you,  rebels  as  you  are  to  the  dominion  of  your  lawful  superiors, 
with  an  audience  in  our  own  presence,  but  for  the  intercession 
of  a  well-esteemed  friend,  who  has  sojourned  among  your 
mountains,  and  whom  you  may  know  by  the  name  of  Philipson, 
an  Englishman,  following  the  trade  of  a  merchant,  and  charged 
with  certain  valuable  matters  of  traffic  to  our  court.  To  his 
intercession  we  have  so  far  given  way,  that  instead  of  command- 
ing you,  according  to  your  demerits,  to  the  gibbet  and  the 
wheel  in  the  Place  de  Morimont,  we  have  condescended  to  re- 
ceive you  into  our  own  presence,  sitting  in  our  cour pleniere^  to 
hear  from  you  such  submission  as  you  can  offer  for  your  out- 
rageous storm  of  our  town  of  La  Ferette,  the  slaughter  of  many 
of  our  liege  men,  and  the  deliberate  murder  of  the  noble 
knight,  Archibald  of  Hagenbach,  executed  in  your  presence, 
and  by  your  countenance  and  device.  Speak — if  you  can  say 
aught  in  defence  of  your  felony  and  treason,  either  to  depre- 
cate just  punishment,  or  crave  undeserved  mercy." 

The  Landamman  seemed  about  to  answer ;  but  Rudolph 
Donnerhugel,  with  his  characteristic  boldness  and  hardihood, 
took  the  task  of  reply  on  himself.  He  confronted  the  proud 
Duke  with  an  eye  unappalled,  and  a  countenance  as  stern  as 
his  own. 

"  We  came  not  here,"  he  said,  "  to  compromise  our  own 
honor,  or  the  dignity  of  the  free  people  whom  we  represent, 
by  pleading  guilty  in  their  name,  or  our  own,  to  crimes  of 
which  we  are  innocent.  And  when  you  term  us  rebels,  you 
must  remember,  that  a  long  train  of  victories,  whose  history  is 
written  in  the  noblest  blood  of  Austria,  has  restored  to  the  con. 
federacy  of  our  communities  the  freedom,  of  which  an  unjust 
tyranny  in  vain  attempted  to  deprive  us.  While  Austria  was 
a  just  and  beneficent  mistress,  we  served  her  with  our  lives  ; — • 
when  she  became  oppressive  and  tyrannical,  we  assumed  inde- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


pendence.  If  she  has  aught  yet  to  claim  from  us,  the  descend- 
ants of  Tell,  Faust,  and  Stauffacher,  will  be  as  ready  to  assert 
their  liberties  as  their  fathers  were  to  gain  them.  Your  Grace 
— if  such  be  your  title — has  no  concern  with  any  dispute  be- 
twixt us  and  Austria.  For  your  threats  of  gibbet  and  wheel, 
we  are  here  defenceless  men,  on  whom  you  may  work  your 
pleasure  ;  but  we  know  how  to  die,  and  our  countrymen,  know 
how  to  avenge  us.'' 

The  fiery  Duke  would  have  replied  by  commanding  the 
instant  arrest,  and  probably  the  immediate  execution,  of  the 
whole  deputation.  But  his  chancellor,  availing  himself  of  the 
privilege  of  his  office,  rose,  and  doffiing  his  cap  with  a  deep 
reverence  to  the  Duke,  requested  leave  to  reply  to  the  mis- 
proud  young  man,  who  had,  he  said,  so  greatly  mistaken  the 
purpose  of  his  Highness's  speech. 

Charles,  feeling  perhaps  at  the  moment  too  much  irritated 
to  form  a  calm  decision,  threw  himself  back  in  his  chair  of 
state,  and  with  an  impatient  and  angry  nod  gave  his  chancellor 
permission  to  speak. 

Young  man,"  said  that  high  officer,  "  you  have  mistaken 
the  meaning  of  the  high  and  mighty  sovereign  in  whose  pres- 
ence you  stand.  Whatever  be  the  lawful  rights  of  Austria 
over  the  revolted  villages  which  have  flung  off  their  allegiance 
to  their  native  superior,  we  have  no  call  to  enter  on  that  ar- 
gument. But  that  for  which  Burgundy  demands  your  answer, 
is,  wherefore,  coming  here  in  the  guise,  and  with  the  character, 
of  peaceful  envoys,  on  affairs  touching  your  own  communities 
and  the  rights  of  the  Duke's  subjects,  you  have  raised  war  in  our 
peaceful  dominions,  stormed  a  fortress,  massacred  its  garrison, 
and  put  to  death  a  noble  knight,  its  commander  ? — all  of  them 
actions  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations,  and  highly  deserving  of 
the  punishment  with  which  you  have  been  justly  threatened, 
but  with  which  I  hope  our  gracious  sovereign  will  dispense,  if 
you  express  some  sufficient  reason  for  such  outrageous  inso- 
lence, with  an  offer  of  due  submission  to  his  Highness's  pleas- 
ure, and  satisfactory  reparation  for  such  a  high  injury." 

"  You  are  a  priest,  grave  sir  ?  "  answered  Rudolph  Donner- 
hugel,  addressing  the  Chancellor  of  Burgundy.  "  If  there  be  a 
soldier  in  this  assembly  who  will  avouch  your  charge,  I  chal- 
lenge him  to  the  combat,  man  to  man.  We  did  not  storm  the 
garrison  of  La  Ferette — we  were  admitted  into  the  gates  in  a 
peaceful  manner,  and  were  there  instantly  surrounded  by  the 
soldiers  of  the  late  Archibald  de  Hagenbach,  with  the  obvious 
purpose  of  assaulting  and  murdering  us  on  our  peaceful  mis- 
sion.   I  promise  you  there  had  been  news  of  more  men  dying 


326 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTMIN. 


than  us.  But  an  uproar  broke  out  among  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town,  assisted,  I  believe,  by  many  neighbors,  to  whom  the 
insolence  and  oppression  of  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  had 
become  odious,  as  to  all  who  were  within  his  reach.  We  ren- 
dered them  no  assistance  ;  and,  I  trust,  it  was  not  expected 
that  we  should  interfere  in  the  favor  of  men  who  had  stood 
prepared  to  do  the  worst  against  us.  But  not  a  pike  or  sword 
belonging  to  us  or  our  attendants  was  dipped  in  Burgundian 
blood.  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  perished,  it  is  true,  on  a 
scaffold,  and  I  saw  him  die  with  pleasure,  under  a  sentence 
pronounced  by  a  competent  court,  such  as  is  recognized  in 
Westphalia,  and  its  dependencies  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine.  I 
am  not  obliged  to  vindicate  their  proceedings  ;  but  I  aver,  that 
the  Duke  has  received  full  proof  of  his  regular  sentence  ;  and, 
in  fine,  that  it  was  amply  deserved  by  oppression,  tyranny,  and 
foul  abuse  of  his  authority,  I  will  uphold  against  all  gainsayers, 
with  the  body  of  a  man.    There  lies  my  glove.'' 

And  with  an  action  suited  to  the  language  he  used,  the 
stern  Swiss  flung  his  right-hand  glove  on  the  floor  of  the  hall. 
In  the  spirit  of  the  age,  with  the  love  of  distinction  in  arms 
which  it  nourished,  and  perhaps  with  the  desire  of  gaining  the 
Duke's  favor,  there  was  a  general  motion  among  the  young 
Burgundians  to  accept  the  challenge,  and  more  than  six  or 
eight  gloves  were  hastily  doffed  by  the  young  knights  present, 
those  who  were  more  remote  flinging  them  over  the  heads  of 
the  nearest,  and  each  proclaiming  his  name  and  title  as  he 
proffered  the  gage  of  combat. 

I  set  at  all,"  said  the  daring  young  Swiss,  gathering  the 
gauntlets  as  they  fell  clashing  around  him.  More,  gentle- 
men, more  !  a  glove  for  every  finger  !  come  on,  one  at  once — 
fair  lists,  equal  judges  of  the  field,  the  combat  on  foot,  and  the 
weapons  two-handed  swords,  and  I  will  not  budge  for  a  score 
of  you." 

Hold,  gentlemen  ;  on  your  allegiance,  hold  !  "  said  the 
Duke,  gratified  at  the  same  time,  and  somewhat  appeased,  by 
the  zeal  which  was  displayed  in  his  cause — moved  by  the  strain 
of  reckless  bravery  evinced  by  the  challenger,  with  a  hardihood 
akin  to  his  own — perhaps  also  not  unwilling  to  display,  in  the 
view  of  his  coiir plmih'c^  more  temperance  than  he  had  been  at 
first  capable  of.  "  Hold,  I  command  you  all. — Toison  d'Or, 
gather  up  these  gauntlets,  and  return  them  each  to  its  owner, 
(lod  and  St.  George  forbid  that  we  should  hazard  the  life  of 
even  the  least  of  our  noble  Burgundian  gentry  against  such  a 
churl  as  this  Swiss  peasant,  who  never  so  much  as  mounted  a 
liorse,  and  knows  not  a  jot  of  knightly  courtesy,  or  the  grace  of 


AMNE  OP  GElItRSTEIN. 


chivalry. — Carry  your  vulgar  brawls  elsewhere,  young  man,  and 
know  that,  on  the  present  occasion,  the  Place  Morimont  were 
your  only  fitting  lists,  and  the  hangman  your  meet  antagonist. 
And  you,  sirs,  his  companions — whose  behavior  in  suffering 
this  swaggerer  to  take  the  lead  amongst  you,  seems  to  show 
that  the  laws  of  nature,  as  well  as  of  society,  are  inverted,  and 
that  youth  is  preferred  to  age,  and  peasants  to  gentry — you 
white-bearded  men,  I  say,  is  there  none  of  you  who  can  speak 
your  errand  in  such  language  as  it  becomes  a  sovereign  prince 
to  listen  to  ?  " 

"God  forbid  else,''  said  the  Landamman,  stepping  forward 
and  silencing  Rudolph  Donnerhugel,  who  was  commencing  an 
answer  of  defiance — "  God  forbid,"  he  said,  "  noble  Duke,  that 
we  should  not  be  able  to  speak  so  as  to  be  understood  before 
your  Highness,  since,  I  trust,  we  shall  speak  the  language  of 
truth,  peace,  and  justice.  Nay,  should  it  incline  your  Highness 
to  listen  to  us  the  more  favorably  for  our  humility,  I  am  will- 
ing to  humble  myself  rather  than  you  should  shun  to  hear  us. 
For  my  own  part,  I  can  truly  say,  that  though  1  have  lived, 
and  by  free  choice  have  resolved  to  die,  a  husbandman  and  a 
hunter  on  the  Alps  of  the  Unterwald,  I  may  claim  by  birth  the 
hereditary  right  to  speak  before  Dukes  and  Kings,  and  the 
Emperor  himself.  There  is  no  one,  my  Lord  Duke,  in  this 
proud  assembly,  who  derives  his  descent  from  a  nobler  source 
than  Geierstein." 

"  We  have  heard  of  you,"  said  the  Duke.  "  Men  call  you 
the  peasant-count.  Your  birth  is  your  shame  ;  or  perhaps  your 
mother's,  if  your  father  had  happened  to  have  a  handsome 
ploughman,  the  fitting  father  of  one  who  has  become  a  willing 
serf." 

"  No  serf,  my  lord,"  answered  the  Landamman,  but  a  free 
man,  who  will  neither  oppress  others,  nor  be  himself  tyrannized 
over.  My  father  was  a  noble  lord,  my  mother  a  most  virtuous 
lady.  But  I  will  not  be  provoked,  by  taunt  or  scornful  jest,  to 
refrain  from  stating  with  calmness  what  my  country  has  given 
me  in  charge  to  say.  The  inhabitants  of  the  bleak  and  inhos- 
pitable  regions  of  the  Alps  desire,  mighty  sir,  to  remain  at  peace 
with  all  their  neighbors,  and  to  enjoy  the  government  they 
have  chosen,  as  best  fitted  to  their  condition  and  habits,  leaving 
all  other  states  and  countries  to  their  free-will  in  the  same  re- 
spects. Especially,  they  desire  to  remain  at  peace,  and  in  unity 
with  the  princely  House  of  Burgundy,  whose  dominions  approach 
their  possessions  on  so  many  points.  My  lord  they  desire  it, 
they  entreat  it,  they  even  consent  to  pray  for  it.  We  have  been 
iermed  stubborn,  intractable,  and  insolent  contemners  of  autho* 


328 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


rity,  and  headers  of  sedition  and  rebellion.  In  evidence  of  th6 
contrary,  my  Lord  Duke,  I,  who  never  bent  a  knee  but  to 
Heaven,  feel  no  dishonor  in  kneeling  before  your  Highness,  as 
before  a  sovereign  prince  in  the  cour pleniere  of  his  dominions, 
where  he  has  a  right  to  exact  homage  from  his  subjects  out  of 
duty,  and  from  strangers  out  of  courtesy.  No  vain  pride  of 
mine,"  said  the  noble  old  man,  his  eyes  swelling  with  tears,  as 
he  knelt  on  one  knee,  shall  prevent  me  from  personal  humilia- 
tion, when  peace — that  blessed  peace,  so  dear  to  God,  so  inap- 
preciably valuable  to  man — is  in  danger  of  being  broken  oflE." 

The  whole  assembly,  even  the  Duke  himself,  were  affected 
by  the  noble  and  stately  manner  in  which  the  brave  old  man 
made  a  genuflection,  which  was  obviously  dictated  by  neither 
meanness  nor  timidity.  *'  Arise,  sir,"  said  Charles  "  if  we  have 
said  aught  which  can  wound  your  private  feelings,  we  retract 
it  as  publicly  as  the  reproach  was  spoken,  and  sit  prepared  to 
hear  you  as  a  fair-meaning  envoy." 

For  that,  my  noble  lord,  thanks ;  and  I  shall  hold  it  a 
blessed  day,  if  I  can  find  words  worthy  of  the  cause  I  have  to 
plead.  My  lord,  a  schedule  in  your  Highnesses  hands  has  stated 
the  sense  of  many  injuries  received  at  the  hand  of  your  High- 
nesses officers,  and  those  of  Romont,  Count  of  Savoy,  your  strict 
ally  and  adviser,  we  have  a  right  to  suppose,  under  your  High- 
nesses countenance.  For  Count  Romont — he  has  already  felt 
with  whom  he  has  to  contend  ;  but  we  have  as  yet  taken  no 
measures  to  avenge  injuries,  affronts,  interruptions  to  our  com- 
merce, from  those  who  have  availed  themselves  of  your  High- 
ness's  authority  to  intercept  our  countrymen,  spoil  our  goods, 
impress  their  persons,  and  even  in  some  instances,  take  their 
lives.  The  affray  at  La  Ferette — I  can  vouch  for  what  I  saw — 
had  no  origin  or  abettance  from  us  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  impossible 
an  independent  nation  can  suffer  the  repetition  of  such  injuries, 
and  free  and  independent  we  are  determined  to  remain,  or  to 
die  in  defence  of  our  rights.  What  then  must  follow,  unless 
your  Highness  listens  to  the  terms  which  I  am  commissioned  to 
offer  ?  War,  a  war  to  extermination  ;  for  so  long  as  one  of  our 
Confederacy  can  wield  a  halberd,  so  long,  if  this  fatal  strife  once 
commences,  there  will  be  war  betwixt  your  powerful  realms  and 
our  poor  and  barren  states.  And  what  can  the  noble  Duke  of 
Burgundy  gain  by  such  a  strife  ? — is  it  wealth  and  plunder  ? 
Alas,  my  Lord,  there  is  more  gold  and  silver  on  the  very  bridlo- 
bits  of  your  Highnesses  household  troops,  than  can  be  found  in 
the  public  treasures  or  private  hordes  of  our  whole  Confederacy. 
Is  it  fame  and  glory  you  aspire  to  ?  There  is  little  honor  to 
be  won  by  a  numerous  army  over  a  few  scattered  bands,  by  men 


ANi^E  OF  GEIERSTElM. 


>*nid  in  mail  over  half-armed  husbandmen  and  shepherds — of 
such  conquest  small  were  the  glory.  But  if,  as  all  Christian 
men  believe,  and  as  it  is  the  constant  trust  of  my  countrymen, 
from  memory  of  the  times  of  our  fathers, — if  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
should  cast  the  balance  in  behalf  of  the  fewer  numbers  and 
worse-armed  party,  I  leave  it  with  your  Highness  to  judge, 
what  would,  in  that  event,  be  the  diminution  of  worship  and 
fame.  Is  it  extent  of  vassalage  and  dominion  your  Highness 
desires,  by  warring  with  your  mountain  neighbors  ?  Know 
that  you  may,  if  it  be  God^s  will,  gain  our  barren  and  rugged 
mountains ;  but,  like  our  ancestors  of  old,  we  will  seek  refuge 
in  wilder  and  more  distant  solitudes,  and  when  we  have  resisted 
to  the  last,  we  will  starve  in  the  icy  wastes  of  the  Glaciers. 
Ay,  men,  women,  and  children,  we  will  be  frozen  into  annihi- 
lation together,  ere  one  free  Switzer  will  acknowledge  a  foreign 
master." 

The  speech  of  the  Landamman  made  an  obvious  inpression 
on  the  assembly.  The  Duke  observed  it,  and  his  hereditary 
obstinacy  was  irritated  by  the  general  disposition  which  he  saw 
entertained  in  favor  of  the  ambassador.  This  evil  principle 
overcame  some  impression  which  the  address  of  the  noble  Bieder- 
man  had  not  failed  to  make  upon  him.  He  answered  with  a 
lowering  brow,  interrupting  the  old  man  as  he  was  about  to 
continue  his  speech — "  You  argue  falsely.  Sir  Count,  or  Sir 
Landamman,  or  by  whatever  name  you  call  yourself,  if  you 
think  we  war  on  you  from  any  hope  of  spoil,^  or  any  desire  ot 
glory.  We  know  as  well  as  you  can  tell  us,  that  there  is  neither 
profit  nor  fame  to  be  achieved  by  conquering  you.  But  sov- 
ereigns, to  whom  Heaven  has  given  the  power,  must  root  out  a 
band  of  robbers,  though  there  is  dishonor  in  measuring  swords 
with  them  ;  and  we  hunt  to  death  a  herd  of  wolves,  though  their 
flesh  is  carrion,  and  their  skins  are  nought." 

The  Landamman  shook  his  gray  head,  and  replied,  without 
testifying  emotion,  and  even  with  something  approaching  to  a 
smile — "  I  am  an  older  woodsman  than  you,  my  Lord  Duke — 
and,  it  may  be,  a  more  experienced  one.  The  boldest,  the 
hardiest  hunter,  will  not  safely  drive  the  wolf  to  his  den.  I 
have  shown  your  Highness  the  poor  chance  of  gain  and  the  great 
risk  of  loss,  which  even  you,  powerful  as  you  are,  must  incur  by 
risking  a  war  with  determined  and  desperate  men.  Let  me  now 
tell  what  we  are  willing  to  do  to  secure  a  sincere  and  lasting 
peace  with  our  powerful  neighbor  of  Burgundy.  Your  Grace 
is  in  the  act  of  engrossing  Lorraine,  and  it  seems  probable,  under 
so  vigorous  and  enterprising  a  Prince,  your  authority  may  be 
extended  to  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean — be  our  noble 


330 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTEIN. 


friend  and  sincere  ally,  and  our  mountains,  defended  by  war- 
riors familiar  with  victory,  will  be  your  barriers  against  Germany 
and  Italy.  For  your  sake  we  will  admit  the  Count  of  Savoy  to 
terms,  and  restore  to  him  our  conquests,  on  such  conditions  as 
your  Highness  shall  yourself  judge  reasonable.  Of  past  subjects 
of  offence  on  the  part  of  your  lieutenants  and  governors  upon  the 
frontier,  we  will  be  silent,  so  we  have  assurance  of  no  such  ag- 
gressions in  future.  Nay,  more,  and  it  is  my  last  and  proudest 
offer,  we  will  send  three  thousand  of  our  youth  to  assist  your 
Highness  in  any  war  which  you  may  engage  in,  whether  against 
Louis  of  France,  or  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  They  are  a  dif- 
ferent set  of  men — proudly  and  truly  may  I  state  it — from  the 
scum  of  Germany  and  Italy,  who  form  themselves  into  merce- 
nary bands  of  soldiers.  And  if  Heaven  should  decide  your 
Highness  to  accept  our  offer,  there  will  be  one  corps  in  your 
army  which  will  leave  their  carcasses  on  the  field  ere  a  man  of 
them  break  their  plighted  troth.'' 

A  swarthy,  but  tall  and  handsome  man,  wearing  a  corselet 
richly  engraved  with  arabasque  work,  started  from  his  seat  with 
the  air  of  one  provoked  beyond  the  bounds  of  restraint.  This 
was  the  Count  de  Campo-Basso,  commander  of  Charles's  Italian 
mercenaries,  who  possessed,  as  has  been  alluded  to,  much  influ- 
ence over  the  Duke's  mind,  chiefly  obtained  by  accommodating 
himself  to  his  master's  opinions  and  prejudices,  and  placing  be- 
fore the  Duke  specious  arguments  to  justify  him  for  following 
his  own  way. 

''This  lofty  presence  must  excuse  me,"  he  said,  "if  I  speak 
in  defence  of  my  honor,  and  those  of  my  bold  lances,  who  have 
followed  my  fortunes  from  Italy  to  serve  the  bravest  Prince  in 
Christendom.  I  might,  indeed,  pass  over  without  resentment 
the  outrageous  langUrige  of  this  gray-haired  churl,  whose  words 
cannot  affect  a  knight  and  a  nobleman  more  than  the  yelling  of 
a  peasant's  mastiff.  But  when  I  hear  him  propose  to  associate 
his  band  of  mutinous  misgoverned  ruffians  with  your  Highness's 
troops,  I  must  let  him  know  that  there  is  not  a  horse-boy  in  my 
ranks  who  would  fight  in  such  fellowship.  No,  even  I  myself, 
bound  by  a  thousand  ties  of  gratitude,  could  not  submit  to  strive 
abreast  with  such  comrades.  I  would  fold  up  my  banners,  and 
lead  five  thousand  men  to  seek,  not  a  nobler  master,  for  the 
world. has  none  such,  but  wars  in  which  we  might  not  be  obliged 
to  blush  for  our  assistants." 

"  Silence,  Campo-Basso,"  said  the  Duke,  "  and  be  assured 
you  serve  a  prince  who  knows  your  worth  too  well  to  exchange 
U  for  the  untried  and  untrustful  services  of  those,  whom  we 
have  only  known  as  vexatious  and  malignant  neighbors." 


ANNE  OF  GEIEkSTEiN, 


Then  addressing  himself  to  Arnold  Biederman,  he  said  coldly 
and  sternly,  "  Sir  Landamman,  we  have  heard  you  fairly.  We 
have  heard  you,  although  you  come  before  us  with  hands  dyed 
deep  in  the  blood  of  our  servant,  Sir  Archibald  de  Hagenbach  ; 
for,  supposing  he  was  murdered  by  a  villainous  association — 
which,  by  Saint  George  !  shall  never,  while  we  live  and  reign, 
raise  its  pestilential  head  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine — yet  it  is 
not  the  less  undeniable  and  undenied,  that  you  stood  by  in 
arms,  and  encouraged  the  deed  the  assassins  performed  under 
your  countenance.  Return  to  your  mountains,  and  be  thankful 
that  you  return  in  life.  Tell  those  who  sent  you  that  I  will  be 
presently  on  their  frontiers.  A  deputation  of  your  most  notable 
persons,  who  meet  me  with  halters  round  their  necks,  torches  in 
their  left  hands,  in  their  right  their  swords  held  by  the  point, 
may  learn  on  what  conditions  we  will  grant  you  peace.'' 

Then  farewell  peace,  and  welcome  war,"  said  the  Landam- 
man ;  "  and  be  its  plagues  and  curses  on  the  heads  of  those 
who  choose  blood  and  strife  rather  than  peace  and  union.  We 
will  meet  you  on  our  frontiers  with  our  naked  swords,  but  the 
hilts,  not  their  points,  shall  be  in  our  grasp.  Charles  of  Bur- 
gundy, Flanders,  and  Lorraine,  Duke  of  seven  dukedoms.  Count 
of  seventeen  earldoms,  I  bid  you  defiance  ;  and  declare  war 
against  you  in  the  name  of  the  Confederate  Cantons,  and  such 
others  as  shall  adhere  to  them.  There,"  he  said,  ^'  are  my  letters 
of  defiance." 

The  herald  took  from  Arnold  Biederman  the  fatal  denuncia- 
tion. 

Read  it  not,  Toison  d'Or  !  "  said  the  haughty  Duke.  Let 
the  executioner  drag  it  through  the  streets  at  his  horse's  tail, 
and  nail  it  to  the  gibbet,  to  show  in  what  account  we  hold  the 
paltry  scroll,  and  those  who  sent  it. — Away,  sirs,"  speaking  to 
the  Swiss,  trudge  back  to  your  wildernesses  with  such  haste 
as  your  feet  can  use.  When  we  next  meet,  you  shall  better 
know  whom  you  have  offended. — Get  our  horse  ready — the 
council  is  broken  up." 

The  Maire  of  Dijon,  when  all  were  in  motion  to  leave  the 
hall,  again  approached  the  Duke,  and  timidly  expressed  some 
hopes  that  his  Highness  would  deign  to  partake  of  a  banquet 
which  the  magistracy  had  prepared,  in  expectation  he  might  do 
them  such  an  honor. 

"  No,  by  Saint  George  of  Burgundy,  Sir  Maire,"  said  Charles, 
with  one  of  the  withering  glances  by  which  he  was  wont  to  ex- 
press indignation  mixed  with  contempt ;  you  have  not  pleased 
us  so  well  with  our  breakfast  as  to  induce  us  to  trust  our  dinner 
to  the  loyalty  of  our  good  town  of  Dijon," 


332 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


So  saying,  he  rudely  turned  off  from  the  mortified  chief 
magistrate,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  rode  back  to  his  camp, 
conversing  earnestly  on  the  way  with  the  Count  of  Campo- 
Basso. 

"  I  would  offer  you  dinner,  my  Lord  of  Oxford,*^  said  Colvin 
to  that  nobleman,  when  he  alighted  at  his  tent,  "  but  I  foresee, 
ere  you  could  swallow  a  mouthful,  you  will  be  summoned  to  the 
Duke^s  presence  ;  for  it  is  our  Charles's  way,  when  he  has  fixed 
on  a  wrong  course,  to  wrangle  with  his  friends  and  counselors, 
in  order  to  prove  it  is  a  right  one.  Marry,  he  always  makes  a 
convert  of  yon  supple  Italian." 

Colvin's  augury  was  speedily  realized  ;  for  a  page  almost 
immediately  summoned  the  English  merchant^  Philipson,  to 
attend  the  Duke.  Without  waiting  an  instant,  Charles  poured 
forth  an  incoherent  tide  of  reproaches  against  the  Estates  of 
his  dukedom,  for  refusing  him  their  countenance  in  so  slight  a 
matter,  and  launched  out  in  explanations  of  the  necessity  which 
he  alleged  there  was  for  punishing  the  audacity  of  the  Swiss. 
And  thou,  too,  Oxford,"  he  concluded,  "  art  such  an  impatient 
fool  as  to  wish  me  to  indulge  in  a  distant  war  with  England, 
and  transport  forces  over  the  sea,  when  I  have  such  insolent 
mutineers  to  chastise  on  my  own  frontiers  ? " 

When  he  was  at  length  silent,  the  English  Earl  laid  before 
him,  with  respectful  earnestness,  the  danger  that  appeared  to 
be  involved  in  engaging  with  a  people,  poor  indeed,  but  uni- 
versally dreaded,  from  their  discipline  and  courage,  and  that 
under  the  eye  of  so  dangerous  a  rival  as  Louis  of  France,  who 
was  sure  to  support  the  Duke's  enemies  underhand,  if  he  did 
not  join  them  openly.  On  this  point  the  Duke's  resolution  was 
immovable.  It  shall  never,"  he  said,  be  told  of  me,  that  I 
uttered  threats  which  I  dared  not  execute.  These  boors  have 
declared  war  against  me,  and  they  shall  learn  whose  wrath  it  is 
that  they  have  wantonly  provoked  ;  but  I  do  not,  therefore, 
renounce  thy  scheme,  my  good  Oxford.  If  thou  canst  procure 
me  this  same  cession  of  Provence,  and  induce  old  Rene  to  give 
up  the  cause  of  his  grandson,  Ferrand  of  Vaudemont,  in  Lor- 
raine, thou  wilt  make  it  well  worth  my  while  to  send  thee  brave 
aid  against  my  brother  Blackburn,  who,  while  he  is  drinking 
healths  pottle-deep  in  France,  may  well  come  to  lose  his  lands 
in  England.  And  be  not  impatient  because  I  cannot  at  this 
very  instant  send  men  across  the  seas.  The  march  which  I  am 
making  toward  Neufchatel,  which  is,  I  think,  the  nearest  point 
where  I  shall  find  these  churls,  will  be  but  like  a  morning's 
excursion.    I  trust  you  will  go  with  us,  old  companion.  1 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


333 


should  like  to  see  if  you  have  forgotten,  among  yonder  moun- 
tains, how  to  back  a  horse  and  lay  a  lance  in  rest/' 

"I  will  wait  on  your  Highness,*'  said  the  Earl,  "as  is  my 
duty,  for  my  motions  must  depend  upon  your  pleasure.  But  I 
will  not  carry  arms,  especially  against  those  people  of  Helvetia, 
from  whom  I  have  experienced  hospitality,  unless  it  be  for  my 
own  personal  defence.'' 

Well,"  replied  the  Duke,  e'en  be  it  so ;  we  shall  have  in 
you  an  excellent  judge,  to  tell  us  who  best  discharges  his  devoir 
against  the  mountain  clowns." 

At  this  point  in  the  conversation  there  was  a  knocking  at 
the  entrance  of  the  pavilion,  and  the  Chancellor  of  Burgundy 
presently  entered  in  great  haste  and  anxiety.  News,  my 
Lord — news  of  France  and  England,"  said  the  prelate,  and  then, 
observing  the  presence  of  a  stranger,  he  looked  at  the  Duke, 
and  was  silent. 

"  It  is  a  faithful  friend,  my  Lord  Bishop,"  said  the  Duke  ; 
'*you  may  tell  your  news  before  him." 

"  It  will  soon  be  generally  known,"  said  the  Chancellor — 
"  Louis  and  Edward  are  fully  accorded.  Both  the  Duke  and 
the  English  Earl  started. 

I  expected  this,"  said  the  Duke,  "  but  not  so  soon." 

"The  Kings  have  met,"  answered  his  minister. 

"  How — in  battle  1  "  said  Oxford,  forgetting  himself  in  his 
extreme  eagerness. 

The  chancellor  was  somewhat  surprised,  but  as  the  Duke 
seemed  to  expect  him  to  give  an  answer,  he  replied,  "  No,  Sir 
Stranger,  not  in  battle,  but  upon  appointment,  and  in  peace  and 
amity." 

"  The  sight  must  have  been  worth  seeing,"  said  the  Duke  ; 
"  when  the  old  fox  Louis,  and  my  brother  Black — I  mean  my 
brother  Edward — met.    Where  held  they  their  rendezvous  ?  " 

"  On  a  bridge  over  the  Seine,  at  Picquigny." 

"  I  would  thou  hadst  been  there,"  said  the  Duke,  looking  to 
Oxford,  "  with  a  good  axe  in  thy  hand,  to  strike  one  fair  blow 
for  England,  and  another  for  Burgundy.  My  grandfather  was 
treacherously  slain  at  just  such  a  meeting,  at  the  Bridge  of 
Montereau,  upon  the  Yonne." 

"To  prevent  a  similar  chance,"  said  the  chancellor,  "a 
strong  barricade,  such  as  closes  the  cages  in  which  men  keep 
wild  beasts,  was  raised  in  the  midst  of  the  bridge,  and  prevented 
the  possibility  of  their  even  touching  each  other's  hands." 

"  Ha,  ha  !  By  Saint  George,  that  smells  of  Louis's  craft  and 
caution  ;  for  the  Englishman,  to  give  him  his  due,  is  as  little 
acquainted  with  fear  as  with  policy.    But  what  terms  have  they 


334 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


made  ?  Where  do  the  English  army  winter  ?  What  towns, 
fortresses,  and  castles,  are  surrendered  to  them,  in  pledge  or  in 
perpetuity  ? 

None,  my  liege,"  said  the  chancellor.  ^'  The  English  army 
returns  into  England  as  fast  as  shipping  can  be  procured  to 
transport  them ;  and  Louis  will  accommodate  them  with  every 
sail  and  oar  in  his  dominions,  rather  than  they  should  not  in- 
stantly evacuate  France." 

"  And  by  what  confessions  has  Louis  bought  a  peace  so 
necessary  to  his  affairs  ?  " 

"  By  fair  words,"  said  the  chancellor,  "  by  liberal  presents, 
and  by  some  five  hundred  tuns  of  wine." 

"  Wine  !  "  exclaimed  the  Duke — "  Heard^st  thou  ever  the 
like,  Seignor  Philipson  ?  Why,  your  countrymen  are  little 
better  than  Esau  who  sold  his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
Marry,  I  must  confess  I  never  saw  an  Englishman  who  loved  a 
dry-lipped  bargain." 

"  I  can  scarce  believe  this  news,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford. 

"  If  this  Edward  were  content  to  cross  the  sea  with  fifty  thou- 
sand Englishmen  merely  to  return  again,  there  are  in  his  camp 
both  proud  nobles  and  haughty  commons  enough  to  resist  his 
disgraceful  purpose." 

"  The  money  of  Louis,"  said  the  statesman,  "  has  found  noble 
hands  willing  to  clutch  it.  The  wine  of  France  has  flooded  every 
throat  in  the  English  army — the  riot  and  uproar  was  unbounded 
— and  at  one  time  the  town  of  Amiens,  where  Louis  himself 
resided,  was  full  of  so  many  English  archers,  all  of  them  intoxi- 
cated, that  the  person,  of  the  King  of  France  was  almost  in  their 
hands.  Their  sense  of  national  honor  has  been  lost  in  the 
universal  revel,  and  those  amongst  them  who  would  be  more 
dignified  and  play  the  wise  politicians  say,  that  having  come  to 
France  by  connivance  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  that  prince 
having  failed  to  join  them  with  his  forces,  they  have  done  well, 
wisely,  and  gallantly,  considering  the  season  of  the  year, 
and  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  quarters,  to  take  tribute  of 
France,  and  return  home  in  triumph." 

And  leave  Louis,"  said  Oxford,  "  at  undisturbed  freedom 
to  attack  Burgundy  with  all  his  forces  ?  " 

"  Not  so,  friend  Philipson,"  said  Duke  Charles  ;  "  know,  that 
there  is  a  truce  betwixt  Burgundy  and  France  for  the  space  of 
seven  years,  and  had  not  this  been  granted  and  signed,  it  is 
probable  that  we  might  have  found  some  means  of  marring  the 
treaty  betwixt  Edward  and  Louis,  even  at  the  expense  of 
affording  those  voracious  islanders  beef  and  beer  during  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


335 


winter  months. — Sir  Chancellor,  you  may  leave  us,  but  be  within 
reach  of  a  hasty  summons/^ 

When  his  minister  left  the  pavilion,  the  Duke,  who,  with  his 
rude  and  imperious  character  united  much  kindness,  if  it  could 
not  be  termed  generosity  of  disposition,  came  up  to  the  Lancas- 
trian lord,  who  stood  like  one  at  whose  feet  a  thunderbolt  has 
just  broken,  and  who  is  still  appalled  by  the  terrors  of  the 
shock. 

"  My  poor  Oxford,''  he  said,  "  thou  art  stupefied  by  this 
news,  which  thou  canst  not  doubt  must  have  a  fatal  effect  on 
the  plan  which  thy  brave  bosom  cherishes  with  such  devoted 
fidelity.  I  would  for  thy  sake  I  could  have  detained  the  English 
a  little  longer  in  France ;  but  had  I  attempted  to  do  so,  there 
were  an  end  of  my  truce  with  Louis,  and  of  course  to  my  power 
to  chastise  these  paltry  Cantons,  or  send  forth  an  expedition  to 
England.  As  matters  stand,  give  me  but  a  week  to  punish 
these  mountaineers,  and  you  shall  have  a  larger  force  than 
your  modesty  has  requested  of  me  for  your  enterprise  ;  and,  in 
the  meanwhile,  I  will  take  care  that  Blackburn  and  his  cousin- 
archers  have  no  assistance  of  shipping  from  Flanders,  Tush, 
man,  never  fear  it — thou  wilt  be  in  England  long  ere  they  ; 
and,  once  more,  rely  on  my  assistance — always,  thou  knowest, 
the  cession  of  Provence  being  executed,  as  in  reason.  Our 
cousin  Margaret's  diamonds  we  must  keep  for  a  time  ;  and 
perhaps  they  may  pass  as  a  pledge,  with  some  of  our  own,  for 
the  godly  purpose  of  setting  at  freedom  the  imprisoned  angels 
of  our  Flemish  usurers,  who  will  not  lend  even  to  their  sov- 
ereign unless  on  good  current  security.  To  such  straits  has 
the  disobedient  avarice  of  our  estates  for  the  moment  reduced 
us." 

Alas  !  my  Lord,"  said  the  dejected  nobleman,  I  were 
ungrateful  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  your  good  intentions.  But 
who  can  presume  on  the  events  of  war,  especially  when  time 
presses  for  instant  decision  ?  You  are  pleased  to  trust  me.  Let 
your  Highness  extend  your  confidence  thus  far  :  I  will  take  my 
horse  and  ride  after  the  Landamman,  if  he  hath  already  set 
forth.  I  have  little  doubt  to  make  such  an  accommodation 
with  him  that  you  may  be  secure  on  all  your  south-eastern  fron- 
tiers. You  may  then  with  security  work  your  will  in  Lorraine 
and  Provence." 

Do  not  speak  of  it,"  said  the  Duke,  sharply;  **thou  for- 
get'st  thyself  and  me,  when  thou  supposest  that  a  prince,  who 
has  pledged  his  word  to  his  people,  can  recall  it  like  a  mer- 
chant chaffering  for  his  paltry  wares.  Go  to — we  will  assist  you, 
but  we  will  be  ourselves  judge  of  the  time  and  manner.  Yet^ 


33^ 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


having  botli  kind  will  to  our  distressed  cousin  of  Anjou,  and 
being  your  good  friend,  we  will  not  linger  in  the  matter.  Our 
host  have  orders  to  break  up  this  evening  and  direct  their 
march  against  Neufchatel,  where  these  proud  Swiss  shall  have 
a  taste  of  the  fire  and  sword  which  they  have  provoked." 

Oxford  sighed  deeply,  but  made  no  further  remonstrance  ; 
in  which  he  acted  wisely,  since  it  was  likely  to  have  exasper- 
ated the  fiery  temper  of  the  sovereign  to  whom  it  was  addressed, 
while  it  was  certain  that  it  would  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
alter  his  resolution. 

He  took  farewell  of  the  Duke,  and  returned  to  Colvin,  whom 
he  found  immersed  in  the  business  of  his  department,  and  pre- 
paring for  the  removal  of  the  artillery,  an  operation  which  the 
clumsiness  of  the  ordnance,  and  the  execrable  state  of  the 
roads,  rendered  at  that  time  a  much  more  troublesome  opera- 
tion than  at  present,  though  it  is  even  still  one  of  the  most  labor- 
ious movements  attending  the  march  of  an  army.  The  Master 
of  the  Ordnance  welcomed  Oxford  with  much  glee,  and  congratu- 
lated himself  on  the  distinguished  honor  of  enjoying  his  com- 
pany during  the  campaign,  and  acquainted  him,  that,  by  the 
especial  command  of  the  Duke,  he  had  made  fitting  preparations 
for  his  accommodation,  suitable  to  the  disguised  character  which 
he  meant  to  maintain,  but  in  every  other  respect  as  convenient 
as  a  camp  could  admit  of. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINTH. 

A  mirthful  man  he  was — the  snows  of  age 
Fell,  but  they  did  not  chill  him.  Gayety, 
Even  in  life's  closing,  touch'd  his  teeming  brain 
With  such  wild  visions  as  the  setting  sun 
Raises  in  front  of  some  hoar  glacier, 
Painting  the  bleak  ice  with  a  thousand  hues. 

Old  Play. 

Leaving  the  Earl  of  Oxford  in  attendance  on  the  stubborn 
Duke  of  Burgundy  during  an  expedition,  which  the  one  repre- 
sented as  a  brief  excursion  more  resembling  a  hunting  party 
than  a  campaign,  and  which  the  other  considered  in  a  much 
graver  and  more  perilous  light,  we  return  to  Arthur  de  Vere, 
or  the  younger  Philipson,  as  he  continued  to  be  called,  who  was 
conducted  by  his  guide  with  fidelity  and  success,  but  certainl 
very  slowly,  upon  his  journey  into  Provence. 


ANlSTE  OP  GEiERSTEm. 


The  state  of  Lorraine,  overrun  by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's 
army,  and  infested  at  the  same  time  by  different  scattered 
bands,  who  took  the  field,  or  held  out  the  castles,  as  they 
alleged,  for  the  interest  of  Count  Ferrand  de  Vaudemont,  ren- 
dered journeying  so  dangerous,  that  it  was  often  necessary  to 
leave  the  main  road,  and  to  take  circuitous  tracks,  in  order  to 
avoid  such  unfriendly  encounters  as  travelers  might  otherwise 
have  met  with. 

Arthur,  taught  by  sad  experience  to  distrust  strange  guides, 
found  himself  nevertheless,  in  this  eventful  and  perilous  jour- 
ney,  disposed  to  rest  considerable  confidence  in  his  present 
conductor,  Thiebault,  a  Provencal  by  birth,  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  the  roads  which  they  took,  and,  as  far  as  he  could 
judge,  disposed  to  discharge  his  ofhce  with  fidelity.  Prudence 
alike,  and  the  habits  which  he  had  acquired  in  traveling,  as 
well  as  the  charaqter  of  a  merchant  which  he  still  sustained, 
induced  him  to  waive  the  morgue^  or  haughty  superiority  of  a 
knight  and  noble  toward  an  inferior  personage,  especially  as  he 
rightly  conjectured  that  free  intercourse  with  this  man,  whose 
acquirements  seemed  of  a  superior  cast,  was  likely  to  render 
him  a  judge  of  his  opinions  and  disposition  toward  him.  In 
return  for  his  condescension,  he  obtained  a  good  deal  of  in- 
formation concerning  the  province  which  he  was  approaching. 

As  they  drew  near  the  boundaries  of  Provence,  the  com- 
munications of  Thiebault  became  more  fluent  and  interesting. 
He  could  not  only  tell  the  name  and  history  of  each  romantic 
castle  which  they  passed,  in  their  devious  and  doubtful  route, 
but  had  at  his  command  the  chivalrous  history  of  the  noble 
knights  and  barons  to  whom  they  now  pertained,  or  had  be- 
longed in  earlier  days,  and  could  recount  their  exploits  against 
the  Saracens,  by  repelling  their  attacks  upon  Christendom,  or 
their  efforts  to  recover  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  Pagan  hands. 
In  the  course  of  such  narrations,  Thiebault  was  led  to  speak  of 
the  Troubadours,  a  race  of  native  poets  of  Provencal  origin, 
differing  v/idely  from  the  minstrels  of  Normandy,  and  the  ad- 
jacent provinces  of  France,  with  whose  tales  of  chivalry,  as  well 
as  the  numerous  translations  of  their  works  into  Norman-French 
and  English,  Arthur,  like  most  of  the  noble  youth  of  his 
country,  was  intimately  acquainted  and  deeply  imbued.  Thie-  , 
bault  boasted  that  his  grandsire,  of  humble  birth  indeed,  but  of 
distinguished  talent,  was  one  of  this  gifted  race,  whose  com- 
positions produced  so  great  an  effect  on  the  temper  and 
manners  of  their  age  and  country.  It  was,  however,  to  be  re- 
gretted, that,  inculcating  as  the  prime  duty  of  life  a  fantastic 
spirit  of  gallantry,  which  sometimes  crossed  the  Platonic  b^^und 


43« 


ANJSrE  OF  GEIEkSTEIJSr. 


prescribed  to  it,  the  poetry  of  the  Troubadours  was  too  fre 
quently  used  to  soften  and  seduce  the  heart,  and  corrupt  the 
principles."^ 

Arthur's  attention  was  called  to  this  peculiarity,  by  Thiebault 
singing,  which  he  could  do  with  good  skill,  the  history  of  a 
Troubadour,  named  William  Cabestainy,  who  loved,  par 
amours^  a  noble  and  beautiful  lady,  Margaret,  the  wife  of  a 
baron  called  Raymond  de  Roussillon.  The  jealous  husband 
obtained  proof  of  his  dishonor,  and  having  put  Cabestainy  to 
death  by  assassination,  he  took  his  heart  from  his  bosom,  and 
causing  it  to  be  dressed  like  that  of  an  animal,  ordered  it  to  be 
served  up  to  his  lady  ;  and  when  she  had  eaten  of  the 
horrible  mess,  told  her  of  what  her  banquet  was  composed. 
The  lady  replied,  that  since  she  had  been  made  to  partake 
of  food  so  precious,  no  coarser  morsel  should  ever  after 
cross  her  lips.  She  persisted  in  her  resolution,  and  thus 
starved  herself  to  death.  The  Troubadour,  who  celebrated 
this  tragic  history,  had  displayed  in  his  composition  a  good 
deal  of  poetic  art.  Glossing  over  the  error  of  the  lovers 
as  the  fault  of  their  destiny,  dwelling  on  their  tragical 
fate  with  considerable  pathos,  and  finally,  execrating  the  blind 
fury  of  the  husband  vath  the  full  fervor  of  poetical  indignation, 
he  recorded,  with  vindictive  pleasure,  how  every  bold  knight 
and  true  lover  in  the  south  of  France  assembled  to  besiege  the 
baron's  castle,  stormed  it  by  main  force,  left  not  one  stone  upon 
another,  and  put  the  tyrant  himself  to  an  ignominious  death. 
Arthur  was  interested  m  the  melancholy  tale,  which  even 
beguiled  him  of  a  few  tears  ;  but  as  he  thought  further  on  its 
purport,  he  dried  his  eyes,  and  said  with  some  sternness— 
Thiebault,  sing  me  no  more  such  lays.  I  have  heard  my 
father  say,  that  the  readie3t  mode  to  corrupt  a  Christian  man, 
is  to  bestow  upon  vice  the  pity  and  the  praise  which  are  due 
only  to  virtue.  Your  Baron  of  Roussillon  is  a  monster  of 
cruelty  ;  but  your  unfortunate  lovers  were  not  the  less  guilty. 
It  is  by  giving  fair  names  to  foul  actions,  that  those  who  would 
start  at  real  vice  are  led  to  practice  its  lessons,  under  the  dis- 
guise of  virtue." 

I  would  you  knew,  Seignor,"  answered  Thiebault,  "  that 
this  Lay  of  Cabestainy  and  the  Lady  Margaret  of  Roussillon 
is  reckoned  a  masterpiece  of  the  joyous  science.  Fie,  sir,  you 
are  too  young  to  be  so  strict  a  censor  of  morals.  What  will 
you  do  when  your  head  is  gray,  if  you  are  thus  severe  when  it 
is  scarcely  brown  t " 


♦  Note  D.    Provengal  Troubadours. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSrElN. 


339 


A  head  which  listens  to  folly  in  youth  will  hardly  be 
honorable  in  old  age/'  answered  Arthur. 

Thiebault  had  no  mind  to  carry  the  dispute  further. 

"  It  is  not  for  me  to  contend  with  your  worship.  I  only 
think,  with  every  true  son  of  chivalry  and  song,  that  a  knight 
without  a  mistress  is  like  a  sky  without  a  star.'* 

"  Do  I  not  know  that  ?  "  answered  Arthur  ;  "  but  yet  better 
remain  in  darkness  than  be  guided  by  such  false  lights  as 
shower  down  vice  and  pestilence.** 

Nay,  it  may  be  your  seignorie  is  right,**  answered  the  guide. 
"  It  is  certain,  that  even  in  Provence  here  we  have  lost  much 
of  our  keen  judgment  on  matters  of  love, — its  difficulties,  its 
intricacies,  and  its  errors, — since  the  Troubadours  are  no  longer 
regarded  as  usual,  and  since  the  High  and  Noble  Parliament  of 
Love  ^  has  ceased  to  hold  its  sittings.'* 

"  But  in  these  latter  days,  **  continued  the  Provencal,  "  kings, 
dukes,  and  sovereigns,  instead  of  being  the  foremost  and  most 
faithful  vassals  of  the  Court  of  Cupid,  are  themselves  the  slaves 
of  selfishness  and  love  of  gain.  Instead  of  winning  hearts  by 
breaking  lances  in  the  lists,  they  are  breaking  the  hearts  of  their 
impoverished  vassals  by  the  most  cruel  exactions — instead  of 
attempting  to  deserve  the  smile  and  favors  of  their  lady-loves, 
they  are  meditating  how  to  steal  castles,  towns,  and  provinces 
from  their  neighbors.  But  long  life  to  the  good  and  venerable 
King  Rene !  While  he  has  an  acre  of  land  left,  his  residence 
will  be  the  resort  of  valiant  knights,  whose  only  aim  is  praise  in 
arms,  of  true  lovers  who  are  persecuted  by  fortune,  and  of  high- 
toned  harpers  who  know  how  to  celebrate  faith  and  valor.*' 

iVrthur,  interested  in  learning  something  more  precise  than 
common  fame  had  taught  him  on  the  subject  of  this  prince, 
easily  induced  the  talkaive  Provencal  to  enlarge  upon  the 
virtues  of  his  old  sovereign*s  character,  as  just,  joyous,  and 
debonair,  a  friend  to  the  most  noble  exercises  of  the  chase  and 
the  tilt-yard,  and  still  more  so  to  the  joyous  science  of  Poetry 
and  Music  ;  who  gave  away  more  revenue  that  he  received,  in 
largesses  to  knights-errant  and  itinerant  musicians,  with  whom 
his  petty  court  was  crowded,  as  one  of  the  very  few  in  which 
the  ancient  hospitality  was  still  maintained. 

Such  was  the  picture  which  Thiebault  drew  of  the  last 
minstrel-monarch  ;  and  though  the  eulogium  was  exaggerated, 
perhaps  the  facts  were  not  overcharged. 

Born  of  royal  parentage,  and  with  high  pretensions,  Rene 
had  at  no  period  of  his  life  been  able  to  match  his  fortunes  to 


*  Note  E.     Parliament  of  Love, 


ANNE  OF  GElEkSTEtN, 


his  claims.  Of  the  kingdoms  to  which  he  asserted  right,  noth- 
ing remained  in  his  possession  but  the  county  of  Provence  itself, 
a  fair  and  fertile  principality,  but  diminished  by  the  many  claims 
which  France  had  acquired  upon  portions  of  it  by  advances  of 
money  to  supply  the  personal  expenses  of  its  master,  and  by  other 
portions,  which  Burgundy,  to  whom  Rene  had  been  a  prisoner, 
held  in  pledge  for  his  ransom.  In  his  youth  he  engaged  in  more 
than  one  military  enterprise,  in  the  hope  of  attaining  some  part 
of  the  territory  of  which  he  was  styled  sovereign.  His  courage 
is  not  impeached,  but  fortune  did  not  smile  on  his  military 
adventures  and  he  seems  at  last  to  have  become  sensible,  that 
the  power  of  admiring  and  celebrating  warlike  merit  is  very 
different  from  possessing  that  quality.  In  fact,  Rene  was  a 
prince  of  very  moderate  parts,  endowed  with  a  love  of  the  fine 
arts,  which  he  carried  to  extremity,  and  a  degree  of  good 
humor,  which  never  permitted  him  to  repine  at  fortune,  but 
rendered  its  possessor  happy,  when  a  prince  of  keener  feelings 
would  have  died  of  despair.  This  insouciant,  light-tempered, 
gay,  and  thoughtless  disposition,  conducted  Rene,  free  from  all 
the  passions  which  embitter  life,  and  often  shorten  it,  to  a  hale 
and  mirthful  old  age.  Even  domestic  losses,  which  often  affect 
those  who  are  proof  against  mere  reverses  of  fortune,  made  no 
deep  impression  on  the  feelings  of  this  cheerful  old  monarch. 
Most  of  his  children  had  died  young  ;  Rene  took  it  not  to 
heart.  His  daughter  Margaret's  marriage  with  the  powerful 
Henry  of  England  was  considered  a  connection  much  above 
the  fortunes  of  the  King  of  the  Troubadours.  But  in  the  issue, 
instead  of  Rene  deriving  any  splendor  from  the  match,  he  was 
involved  in  the  misfortunes  of  his  daughter,  and  repeatedly 
obliged  to  impoverish  himself  to  supply  her  ransom.  Perhaps  in 
his  private  soul  the  old  king  did  not  think  these  losses  so  morti- 
fying, as  the  necessity  of  receiving  Margaret  into  his  court  and 
family.  On  fire  when  reflecting  on  the  losses  she  had  sustained, 
mourning  over  friends  slain  and  kingdoms  lost,  the  proudest  and 
most  passionate  of  princesses  was  ill  suited  to  dwell  with  the 
gayest  and  best-humored  of  sovereigns,  whose  pursuits  she 
contemned,  and  whose  lightness  of  temper,  for  finding  comfort 
in  such  trifles,  she  could  not  forgive.  The  discomfort  attached 
to  her  presence  and  vindictive  recollections,  embarrassed  the 
good-humored  old  monarch,  though  it  was  unable  to  drive  him 
beyond  his  equanimity. 

Another  distress  pressed  him  more  sorely. — Yolande,  a 
daughter  of  his  first  wife,  Isabella,  had  succeeded  to  his  claims 
upon  the  Duchy  of  Lorraine,  and  transmitted  them  to  her  son, 
Ferrand,  Count  of  Vaudemont,  a  young  man  of  courage  and 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN. 


spirit,  engaged  at  this  time  in  the  apparently  desperate  under- 
taking of  making  his  title  good  against  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
who,  with  little  right,  but  great  power,  was  seizing  upon  and 
overrunning  this  rich  Duchy,  which  he  laid  claim  to  as  a  male 
fief.  And  to  conclude,  while  the  aged  king  on  one  side  beheld 
his  dethroned  daughter  in  hopeless  despair,  and  on  the  other 
his  disinherited  grandson,  in  vain  attempting  to  recover  part  of 
their  rights,  he  had  the  additional  misfortune  to  know,  that  his 
nephew,  Louis  of  France,  and  his  cousin,  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, were  secretly  contending  which  should  succeed  him  in 
that  portion  of  Provence  which  he  still  continued  to  possess ; 
and  that  it  was  only  jealousy  of  each  other  which  prevented  his 
being  despoiled  of  this  last  remnant  of  his  territory.  Yet  amid 
all  this  distress,  Rene  feasted  and  received  guests,  danced, 
sang,  composed  poetry,  used  the  pencil  or  brush  with  no  small 
skill,  devised  and  conducted  festivals  and  processions,  and, 
studying  to  promote,  as  far  as  possible,  the  immediate  mirth 
and  good-humor  of  his  subjects,  if  he  could  not  materially  en- 
large their  more  permanent  prosperity,  was  never  mentioned  by 
them,  excepting  as  Le  hon  Roi  Rene\  a  distinction  conferred  on 
him  down  to  the  present  day,  and  due  to  him  certainly  by  the 
qualities  of  his  heart,  if  not  by  those  of  his  head. 

Whilst  Arthur  was  receiving  from  his  guide  a  full  account 
of  the  peculiarities  of  King  Rene,  they  entered  the  territories 
of  that  merry  monarch.  It  was  late  in  the  autumn,  and  about 
the  period  when  the  south-eastern  counties  of  France  rather 
show  to  least  advantage.  The  foliage  of  the  olive-tree  is  then 
decayed  and  withered,  and  as  it  predominates  in  the  landscape 
and  resembles  the  scorched  complexion  of  the  soil  itself,  an 
ashen  and  arid  hue  is  given  to  the  whole.  Still,  however,  there 
were  scenes  in  the  hilly  and  pastoral  parts  of  the  country,  where 
the  quantity  of  evergreens  relieved  the  eye  even  in  this  dead 
season. 

The  appearance  of  the  country  in  general  had  much  in  it 
that  was  peculiar. 

The  travelers  perceived  at  every  turn  some  marks  of  the 
King's  singular  character.  Provence,  as  the  part  of  Gaul  which 
first  received  Roman  civilization,  and  as  having  been  still  longer 
the  residence  of  the  Grecian  colony  who  founded  Marseilles,  is 
more  full  of  the  splendid  relics  of  ancient  architecture  than  any 
other  country  in  Europe,  Italy  and  Greece  excepted.  The  good 
taste  of  the  King  Rene  had  dictated  some  attempts  to  clear  out 
and  restore  these  memorials  of  antiquity.  Was  there  a  tri- 
umphal arch,  or  an  ancient  temple — huts  and  hovels  were  cleared 
away  from  its  vicinity,  and  means  were  used  at  least  to  retard 


342 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


the  approach  of  ruin.  Was  there  a  marble  fountain,  which  su- 
perstition had  dedicated  to  some  sequestered  naiad — it  was  sur- 
rounded by  olives,  ahnonds  and  orange  trees — its  cistern  was 
repaired,  and  taught  once  more  to  retain  its  crystal  treasures. 
The  huge  amphitheatres,  and  gigantic  colonnades,  experienced 
the  same  anxious  care,  attesting  that  the  noblest  specimens  of 
the  fine  arts  found  one  admirer  and  preserver  in  King  Rene, 
even  during  the  course  of  those  which  are  termed  the  dark  and 
barbarous  ages. 

A  change  of  manners  could  also  be  observed  in  passing  from 
Burgundy  and  Lorraine,  where  society  relished  of  German 
bluntness,  into  the  pastoral  country  of  Provence,  where  the  in- 
fluence of  a  fine  climate  and  melodious  language,  joined  to  the 
pursuits  of  the  romantic  old  monarch,  with  the  universal  taste 
for  music  and  poetry,  had  introduced  a  civilization  of  manners, 
which  approached  to  affectation.  The  shepherd  literally 
marched  abroad  in  the  morning,  piping  his  flocks  forth  to  the 
pasture,  with  some  love  sonnet,  the  composition  of  an  amorous 
Troubadour ;  and  his  fleecy  care  seemed  actually  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  his  music,  instead  of  being  ungraciously  in- 
sensible to  its  melody,  as  is  the  case  in  colder  climates.  Arthur 
observed,  too,  that  the  Provencal  sheep,  instead  of  being  driven 
before  the  shepherd,  regularly  followed  him,  and  did  not  dis- 
perse to  feed  until  the  swain,  by  turning  his  face  round  to  them, 
remaining  stationary,  and  executing  variations  on  the  air  which 
he  was  playing,  seemed  to  remind  them  that  it  was  proper 
to  do  so.  While  in  motion,  his  huge  dog,  of  a  species  which  is 
trained  to  face  the  wolf,  and  who  is  respected  by  the  sheep  as 
their  guardian,  and  not  feared  as  their  tyrant,  followed  his 
master  with  his  ears  pricked,  like  the  chief  critic  and  prime 
judge  of  the  performance,  at  some  tones  of  which  he  seldom 
failed  to  intimate  disapprobation ;  while  the  flock,  like  the 
generality  of  an  audience,  followed  in  unanimous  though  silent 
applause.  At  the  hour  of  noon,  the  shepherd  had  sometimes 
acquired  an  augmentation  to  his  audience,  as  some  comely 
matron  or  blooming  maiden,  with  whom  he  had  rendezvoused 
by  such  a  fountain  as  we  have  described,  and  who  listened  to 
the  husband's  or  lover's  chalumeau,  or  mingled  her  voice  with 
his  in  the  duets,  of  which  the  songs  of  the  Troubadours  have 
left  so  many  examples.  In  the  cool  of  the  evening,  the  dance 
on  the  village  green,  or  the  concert  before  the  hamlet  door; 
the  little  re]>ast  of  fruits,  cheese,  and  bread,  which  the  traveler 
was  readily  invited  to  share,  gave  new  charms  to  the  illusion, 
and  seemed  in  earnest  to  point  out  Provence  as  the  Arcadia  of 
France. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


343 


But  the  greatest  singularity  was,  in  the  eyes  of  Arthur,  the 
total  absence  of  armed  men  and  soldiers  in  this  peaceful  coun- 
try. In  England,  no  man  stirred  without  his  long-bow,  sword, 
and  buckler.  In  France,  the  hind  wore  armor  even  when  he 
was  betwixt  the  stilts  of  his  plough.  In  Germany,  you  could 
not  look  along  a  mile  of  highway,  but  the  eye  was  encountered 
by  clouds  of  dust,  out  of  which  were  seen,  by  fits,  waving  feath- 
ers and  flashing  armor.  Even  in  Switzerland,  the  peasant,  if 
he  had  a  journey  to  make,  though  but  of  a  mile  or  two,  cared 
not  to  travel  without  his  halbert  and  two-handed  sword.  But 
in  Provence  all  seemed  quiet  and  peaceful,  as  if  the  music  of 
the  land  had  lulled  to  sleep  all  its  wrathful  passions.  Now  and 
then  a  mounted  cavalier  might  pass  them,  the  harp  at  whose 
saddle-bow,  or  carried  by  one  of  his  attendants,  attested  the 
character  of  a  Troubadour,  which  was  affected  by  men  of  all 
ranks ;  and  then  only  a  short  sword  on  his  left  thigh,  borne  for 
show  rather  than  use,  was  a  necessary  and  appropriate  part  of 
his  equipment. 

"  Peace  "  said  Arthur,  as  he  looked  around  him,  is  an  in- 
estimable jewel ;  but  it  will  be  soon  snatched  from  those  who 
are  not  prepared  with  heart  and  hand  to  defend  it.'' 

The  sight  of  the  ancient  and  interesting  town  of  Aix,  where 
King  Rene  held  his  court,  dispelled  reflections  of  a  general 
character,  and  recalled  to  the  young  Englishman  the  peculiar 
mission  on  which  he  was  engaged. 

He  then  required  to  know  from  the  Provencal,  Thiebault, 
whether  his  instructions  were  to  leave  him,  now  that  he  had 
successfully  attained  the  end  of  his  journey. 

My  instructions,"  answered  Thiebault,  are  to  remain  in 
Aix  while  there  is  any  chance  of  your  seignorie's  continuing 
there  to  be  of  such  use  to  you  as  you  may  require,  either  as  a 
guide  or  an  attendant,  and  to  keep  these  men  in  readiness  to 
wait  upon  you  when  you  have  occasion  for  messengers  or  guards. 
With  your  approbation,  I  will  see  them  disposed  of  in  fitting 
quarters,  and  receive  my  further  instructions  from  your  seignorie 
wherever  you  please  to  appoint  me.  I  propose  this  separation, 
because  I  understand  it  is  your  present  pleasure  to  be  private.'^ 

"  I  must  go  to  court,"  answered  Arthur,  "  without  any  delay. 
Wait  for  me  in  half-an-hour  by  that  fountain  in  the  street,  which 
projects  into  the  air  such  a  magnificent  pillar  of  water,  sur- 
rounded, I  would  almost  swear,  by  a  vapor  like  steam,  serving 
as  a  shroud  to  the  jet  which  it  envelops.'' 

"  The  jet  is  so  surrounded,"  answered  the  Provencal,  "because 
it  is  supplied  by  a  hot  spring  rising  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
and  the  touch  of  frost      this  autumn  morning  makes  the  vapor 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


more  distinguishable  than  usual. — But  if  it  is  good  King  Ren^ 
whom  you  seek,  you  will  find  him  at  this  time  walking  in  his 
chimney.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  approaching  him,  for  there 
never  was  a  monarch  so  easy  of  access,  especially  to  good- 
looking  strangers  like  your  seignorie/' 

"  But  his  ushers,"  said  Arthur,  "  will  not  admit  me  into  his 
hall.'^ 

"  His  hall !  "  repeated  Thiebault— Whose  hall  ?  " 

"  Why,  King  Rene's,  I  apprehend.  If  he  is  walking  in  a 
chimney,  it  can  only  be  in  that  of  his  hall,  and  a  stately  one  it 
must  be  to  give  him  room  for  such  exercise." 

"  You  mistake  my  meaning,"  said  the  guide,  laughing. — 
"What  we  call  King  Rene's  chimney  is  the  narrow  parapet 
yonder ;  it  extends  between  these  two  towers,  has  an  exposure 
to  the  south,  and  is  sheltered  in  every  other  direction.  Yonder 
it  is  his  pleasure  to  walk  and  enjoy  the  beams  of  the  sun,  on 
such  cool  mornings  as  the  present.  It  nurses,  he  says,  his 
poetical  vein.  If  you  approach  his  promenade  he  will  readily 
speak  to  you,  unless,  indeed,  he  is  in  the  very  act  of  a  poetical 
composition." 

Arthur  could  not  forbear  smiling  at  the  thoughts  of  a  king, 
eighty  years  of  age,  broken  down  with  misfortunes  and  beset 
with  dangers,  who  yet  amused  himself  with  walking  in  an  open 
parapet,  and  composing  poetry  in  presence  of  all  such  of  his 
loving  subjects  as  chose  to  look  on. 

"  If  you  will  walk  a  few  steps  this  way,"  said  Thiebault, 
"you  may  see  the  good  King,  and  judge  whether  or  not  you 
will  accost  him  at  present.  I  will  dispose  of  the  people,  and 
await  your  orders  at  the  fountain  in  the  Corso." 

Arthur  saw  no  objection  to  the  proposal  of  his  guide,  and 
was  not  unwilling  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  something 
of  the  good  King  Rene,  before  he  was  introduced  to  his 
presence. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


34S 


CHAPTER  THIRTIETH. 

Ay,  this  is  he  who  wears  the  wreath  of  bays 

Wove  by  Apollo  and  the  Sisters  Nine, 

Which  Jove's  dread  lightning  scathes  not.    He  hath  doft 

The  cumbrous  helm  of  steel,  and  flung  aside 

The  yet  more  galling  diadem  of  gold; 

While,  with  a  leafy  circlet  round  his  brows, 

He  reigns  the  King  of  Lovers  and  of  Poets. 

A  CAUTIOUS  approach  to  the  chimney,  that  is,  the  favorite 
walk  of  the  King,  who  is  described  by  Shakspeare  as  bearing 

 the  style  of  the  King  of  Naples, 

Of  both  the  Sicilies,  and  Jerusalem, 

Yet  not  so  wealthy  as  an  English  yeoman, 

gave  Arthur  the  perfect  survey  of  his  Majesty  in  person.  He 
saw  an  old  man,  with  locks  and  beard,  which,  in  amplitude  and 
whiteness,  nearly  rivaled  those  of  the  envoy  from  Schwytz,  but 
with  a  fresh  and  ruddy  color  in  his  cheek,  and  an  eye  of  great 
vivacity.  His  dress  was  showy  to  a  degree  almost  inconsistent 
with  his  years  ;  and  his  step,  not  only  firm,  but  full  of  alertness 
and  vivacity,  while  occupied  in  traversing  the  short  and  shel- 
tered walk,  which  he  had  chosen,  rather  for  comfort  than  for 
privacy,  showed  juvenile  vigor  still  animating  an  aged  frame. 
The  old  King  carried  his  tablets  and  a  pencil  in  his  hand, 
seeming  totally  abstracted  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  indifferent 
to  being  observed  by  several  persons  from  the  public  street 
beneath  his  elevated  promenade. 

Of  these,  some,  from  their  dress  and  manner,  seemed  them- 
selves Troubadours  ;  for  they  held  in  their  hands  rebecks, 
rotes,  small  portable  harps,  and  other  indications  of  their  pro- 
fession. Such  appeared  to  be  stationary,  as  if  engaged  in 
observing  and  recording  their  remarks  on  the  meditations  of 
their  Prince.  Other  passengers,  bent  on  their  own  more  seri- 
ous affairs,  looked  up  to  the  King  as  to  some  one  whom  they 
they  were  accustomed  to  see  daily,  but  never  passed  without 
doffing  their  bonnets,  and  expressing,  by  suitable  obeisance,  a 
respect  and  affection  toward  his  person,  which  appeared  to 
make  up  in  cordiality  of  feeling  what  is  wanted  in  deep  and 
solemn  deference. 

Rene,  in  the  meanwhile,  was  apparently  unconscious  both  of 


346 


ANNE  OP  CEiMRSTMIN. 


the  gaze  of  such  as  stood  still,  or  the  greeting  of  those  who 
passed  on,  his  mind  seeming  altogether  engrossed  with 
the  apparent  labor  of  some  arduous  task  in  poetry  or  music. 
He  walked  fast  or  slow  as  best  suited  the  progress  of  compo- 
sition. At  times  he  stopped  to  mark  hastily  down  on  his  tab- 
lets something  which  seemed  to  occur  to  him  as  deserving  of 
preservation  ;  at  other  times  he  dashed  out  what  he  had  written, 
and  flung  down  the  pencil  as  if  in  a  sort  of  despair.  On  these 
occasions,  the  Sibylline  leaf  was  carefully  picked  up  by  a  beauti- 
ful page,  his  only  attendant,  who  reverently  observed  the  first 
suitable  opportunity  of  restoring  it  again  to  his  royal  hand. 
The  same  youth  bore  a  viol,  on  which,  at  a  signal  from  his 
master,  he  occasionally  struck  a  few  musical  notes,  to  w^hich 
the  old  King  listened,  now  with  a  soothed  and  satisfied  air, 
now  with  a  discontented  and  anxious  brow.  At  times,  his  en- 
thusiasm rose  so  high,  that  he  even  hopped  and  skipped  with 
an  activity  which  his  years  did  not  promise  ;  at  other  times  his 
motions  were  extremely  slow,  and  occasionally  he  stood  still, 
like  one  wrapped  in  the  deepest  and  most  anxious  meditation. 
When  he  chanced  to  look  on  the  group  which  seemed  to  watch 
his  motions,  and  who  ventured  even  to  salute  him  with  a  mur- 
mur of  applause,  it  was  only  to  distinguish  them  with  a  friendly 
and  good-humored  nod  ;  a  salutation  with  which,  likewise,  he 
failed  not  to  reply  to  the  greeting  of  the  occasional  passengers, 
when  his  earnest  attention  to  his  task,  whatever  it  might  be, 
permitted  him  to  observe  them. 

At  length  the  royal  eye  lighted  upon  Arthur,  whose  attitude 
of  silent  observation,  and  the  distinction  of  his  figure,  pointed 
him  out  as  a  stranger.  Rene  beckoned  to  his  page,  who,  re- 
ceiving his  master's  commands  in  a  whisper,  descended  from 
the  royal  chimney,  to  the  broader  platform  beneath,  which  was 
open  to  general  resort.  The  youth,  addressing  Arthur  with 
much  courtesy,  informed  him  the  King  desired  to  speak  with 
him.  The  young  Englishman  had  no  alternative  but  that  of 
approaching,  though  pondering  much  in  his  own  mind  how  he 
ought  to  comport  himself  toward  such  a  singular  specimen  of 
royalty. 

When  he  drew  near,  King  Rene  addressed  him  in  a  tone  of 
courtesy  not  unmingled  with  dignity,  and  Arthur's  awe  in  his 
immediate  presence  was  greater  than  he  himself  could  have 
anticipated  from  his  previous  conception  of  the  royal  character. 

"  You  are,  from  your  appearance,  fair  sir,"  said  King  Rene, 
"  a  stranger  in  this  country.  By  what  name  must  we  call  you, 
and  to  what  business  are  we  to  ascribe  the  happiness  of  seeing 
you  at  our  court }  " 


ANME  OF  GMlERSTklM. 


347 


Arthur  remained  a  moment  silent,  and  the  good  old  man, 
imputing  it  to  awe  and  timidity,  proceeded  in  an  encouraging 
tone. 

"  Modesty  in  youth  is  ever  commendable  ;  you  are  doubtless 
an  acolyte  in  the  noble  and  joyous  science  of  Minstrelsy  and 
Music,  drawn  hither  by  the  willing  welcome  which  we  afford 
to  the  professors  of  those  arts,  in  which — praise  be  to  Our 
Lady  and  the  Saints  ! — we  have  ourself  been  deemed  a  pro- 
ficient." 

"  I  do  not  aspire  to  the  honors  of  a  Troubadour,"  answered 
Arthur. 

I  believe  you,"  answered  the  King,  **for  your  speech 
smacks  of  the  northern,  or  Norman-French,  such  as  is  spoken 
in  England  and  other  unrefined  nations.  But  you  are  a  min- 
strel perhaps,  from  these  ultramontane  parts.  Be  assured  we 
depise  not  their  efforts  ;  for  we  have  listened,  not  without 
pleasure  and  instruction,  to  many  of  their  bold  and  wild  ro- 
maunts,  which,  though  rude  in  device  and  language,  and  there- 
fore far  inferior  to  the  regulated  poetry  of  our  Troubadours, 
have  yet  something  in  their  powerful  and  rough  measure,  which 
occasionally  rouses  the  heart  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet." 

"  I  have  felt  the  truth  of  your  Grace's  observation,  when  I 
have  heard  the  songs  of  my  country,"  said  Arthur  ;  "  but  I 
have  neither  skill  nor  audacity  to  imitate  what  I  admire — My 
latest  residence  has  been  in  Italy." 

"  You  are  perhaps  then  a  proficient  in  painting,"  said  Rene; 
"  an  art  which  applies  itself  to  the  eye  as  poetry  and  music  do 
to  the  ear,  and  is  scarce  less  in  esteem  with  us.  If  you  are 
skilful  in  the  art,  you  have  come  to  a  monarch  who  loves  it, 
and  the  fair  country  in  which  it  is  practiced." 

"  In  simple  truth,  Sire,  I  am  an  Englishman,  and  my  hand 
has  been  too  much  welk'd  and  hardened  by  practice  of  the 
bow,  the  lance,  and  the  sword,  to  touch  the  harp,  or  even  the 
pencil." 

"  An  Englishman  !  "  said  Rene,  obviously  relaxing  in  the 
warmth  of  his  welcome  ;  and  what  brings  your  here  1  Eng- 
land and  I  have  long  had  little  friendship  together." 

"  It  is  even  on  that  account  that  I  am  here,"  said  Arthur, 
"  I  come  to  pay  my  homage  to  your  Grace's  daughter,  the 
Princess  Margaret  of  Anjou,  whom  I  and  many  true  English- 
men regard  still  as  our  Queen,  though  traitors  have  usurped 
her  title." 

"Alas,  good  youth,"  said  Rene,  ''I  must  grieve  for  you, 
while  I  respect  your  loyalty  and  faith.  Had  my  daughter  Mar- 
garet been  of  my  mind,  she  had  long  since  abandoned  preten- 


348 


ANm  OF  GEiERSTEm. 


sions,  which  have  drowned  in  seas  of  blood  the  noblest  and 
bravest  of  her  adherents/' 

The  King  seemed  about  to  say  more,  but  checked  himself. 

"  Go  to  my  palace/'  he  said ;  "  inquire  for  the  Seneschal 
Hugh  de  Saint  Cyr,  he  will  give  thee  the  means  of  seeing 
Margaret,  that  is,  if  it  be  her  will  to  see  thee.  If  not,  good 
English  youth,  return  to  my  palace,  and  thou  shalt  have  hos- 
pitable entertainment ;  for  a  King  who  loves  minstrelsy, 
music,  and  painting,  is  ever  most  sensible  to  the  claims  of 
honor,  virtue,  and  loyalty;  and  I  read  in  thy  looks  thou  art 
possessed  of  these  qualities,  and  willingly  believe  thou  may'st, 
in  more  quiet  times,  aspire  to  share  the  honors  of  the  joyous 
science.  But  if  thou  hast  a  heart  to  be  touched  by  the  sense 
of  beauty  and  fair  proportion,  it  will  leap  within  thee  at  the 
first  sight  of  my  palace,  the  stately  grace  of  which  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  faultless  form  of  some  high-bred  dame,  or  the 
artful,  yet  seemingly  simple  modulations  of  such  a  tune  as  we 
have  been  now  composing." 

The  King  seemed  disposed  to  take  his  instrument,  and  in- 
dulge the  youth  with  a  rehearsal  of  the  strain  he  had  just  ar- 
ranged ;  but  Arthur  at  that  moment  experienced  the  painful 
internal  feeling  of  that  peculiar  species  of  shame,  which  well- 
constructed  minds  feel  when  they  see  others  express  a  great 
assumption  of  importance,  with  a  confidence  that  they  are  ex- 
citing admiration,  when  in  fact  they  are  only  exposing  them- 
selves to  ridicule.  Arthur,  in  short,  took  leave,  "in  very 
shame,"  of  the  King  of  Naples,  both  the  Sicilies,  and  Jerusa- 
lem, in  a  manner  somewhat  more  abrupt  than  ceremony  de- 
manded. The  King  looked  after  him,  with  some  wonder  at 
this  want  of  breeding,  which  however,  he  imputed  to  his 
visitor's  insular  education,  and  then  again  began  to  twangle 
his  viol. 

"The  old  fool !  "  said  Arthur;  "his  daughter  is  dethroned, 
his  dominions  crumbling  to  pieces,  his  family  on  the  eve  of 
becoming  extinct,  his  grandson  driven  from  one  lurking-place 
to  another,  and  expelled  from  his  mother's  inheritance, — and 
he  can  find  amusement  in  these  fopperies  !  I  thought  him, 
with  his  long  white  beard,  like  Nicholas  Bonstetten  ;  but  the 
old  Swiss  is  a  Solomon  compared  with  him." 

As  these  and  other  reflections,  highly  disparaging  to  King 
Rend,  passed  through  Arthur's  mind,  he  reached  the  place  of 
rendezvous,  and  found  Thiebault,  beneath  the  steaming  foun- 
tain, forced  from  one  of  those  hot  springs  which  had  been  the 
delight  of  the  Romans  from  an  early  period.  Thiebault, 
having  assured  his  master  that  his  retinue,  horse  and  man, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


349 


were  so  disposed  as  to  be  ready  on  an  instant's  call,  readily 
undertook  to  guide  him  to  King  Rene's  palace,  which,  from  its 
singularity,  and  indeed  its  beauty  of  architecture,  deserved  the 
eulogium  which  the  old  monarch  had  bestowed  upon  it.  The 
front  consisted  of  three  towers  of  Roman  architecture,  two  of 
them  being  placed  on  the  angles  of  the  palace,  and  the  third, 
which  served  the  purpose  of  a  mausoleum,  forming  a  part  of 
the  group,  though  somewhat  detached  from  the  other  buildings. 
This  last  was  a  structure  of  beautiful  proportions.  The  lower 
part  of  the  edifice  was  square,  serving  as  a  sort  of  pedestal  to 
the  upper  part,  w^hich  was  circular,  and  surrounded  by  columns 
of  massive  granite.  The  other  two  towers  at  the  angles  of  the 
palace  were  round,  and  also  ornamented  with  pillars,  and  with 
a  double  row  of  windows.  In  front  of,  and  connected  with, 
these  Roman  remains,  to  which  a  date  has  been  assigned  as 
early  as  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  arose  the  ancient  palace  of 
the  Counts  of  Provence,  built  a  century  or  two  later,  but  where 
a  rich  Gothic  or  Moorish  front  contrasted,  and  yet  harmonized, 
with  the  more  regular  and  massive  architecture  of  the  lords  of 
the  world.  It  is  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years  since  this 
very  curious  remnant  of  antique  art  was  destroyed  to  make 
room  for  new  public  buildings,  which  have  never  yet  been 
erected. 

Arthur  really  experienced  some  sensation  of  the  kind  which 
the  old  King  had  prophesied,  and  stood  looking  with  wonder 
at  the  ever-open  gale  of  the  palace,  into  which  men  of  all 
kinds  seemed  to  enter  freely.  After  looking  around  for  a  few 
minutes,  the  young  Englishman  ascended  the  steps  of  a  noble 
portico,  and  asked  of  a  porter,  as  old  and  as  lazy  as  a  great 
man's  domestic  ought  to  be,  for  the  seneschal  named  to  him  by 
the  King.  The  corpulent  janitor,  with  great  politeness,  put 
the  stranger  under  the  charge  of  a  page,  who  ushered  him  to  a 
chamber,  in  which  he  found  another  aged  functionary  of  higher 
rank,  with  a  comely  face,  a  clear  composed  eye,  and  a  brow 
which,  having  never  been  knit  into  gravity,  intimated  that  the 
seneschal  of  Aix  was  a  proficient  in  the  philosophy  of  his  royal 
master.    He  recognized  Arthur  the  moment  he  addressed  him. 

"You  speak  northern  French,  fair  sir;  you  have  lighter  hair 
and  a  fairer  complexion  than  the  natives  of  this  country — You 
ask  after  Queen  Margaret — By  all  these  marks  I  read  you 
English — Her  Grace  of  England  is  at  this  moment  paying  a 
vow  at  the  monastery  of  Mont  Saint  Victoire,  and  if  your  name 
be  Arthur  Philipson,  I  have  commission  to  forward  you  to  her 
presence  immediately,  that  is,  as  $oon  as  you  have  tasted  of  the 
royal  provision," 


3SO 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


The  young  man  would  have  remonstrated,  but  the  seneschal 
left  him  no  leisure. 

*^  Meat  and  mass/'  he  said,  "  never  hindered  work — it  is 
perilous  to  youth  to  journey  too  far  on  an  empty  stomach — he 
himself  would  take  a  mouthful  with  the  Queen's  guest,  and 
pledge  him  to  boot  in  a  flask  of  old  Hermitage." 

The  board  was  covered  with  an  alacrity  Vvhich  showed  that 
hospitality  was  familiarly  exercised  in  King  Rene's  dominions. 
Pasties,  dishes  of  game,  the  gallant  boar's  head,  and  other 
delicacies,  were  placed  on  the  table,  and  the  seneschal  played 
the  merry  host,  frequently  apologizing  (unnecessarily)  for 
showing  an  indifferent  example,  as  it  was  his  duty  to  carve 
before  King  Rene,  and  the  good  King  was  never  pleased  unless 
he  saw  him  feed  lustily  as  well  as  carve  featly. 

But  for  you,  sir  guest,  eat  freely,  since  you  may  not  see 
food  again  till  sunset ;  for  the  good  Queen  takes  her  misfortunes 
so  to  heart  that  sighs  are  her  food,  and  her  tears  a  bottle  of 
drink,  as  the  Psalmist  hath  it.  But  I  bethink  me  you  will  need 
steeds  for  yourself  and  your  equipage  to  reach  Mont  Saint 
Victoire,  which  is  seven  miles  from  Aix." 

Arthur  intimated  that  he  had  a  guide  and  horses  in  attend- 
ance, and  begged  permission  to  take  his  adieu.  The  worthy 
seneschal,  his  fair  round  belly  graced  with  a  gold  chain,  accom- 
panied him  to  the  gate  with  a  step,  which  a  gentle  fit  of  the 
gout  had  rendered  uncertain,  but  which,  he  assured  Arthur, 
would  vanish  before  three  days'  use  of  the  hot  springs.  Thie- 
bault  appeared  before  the  gate,  not  with  the  tired  steeds  from 
which  they  had  dismounted  an  hour  since,  but  with  fresh  pal- 
freys from  the  stable  of  the  King. 

They  are  yours  from  the  moment  you  have  put  foot  in 
stirrup,"  said  the  seneschal ;  ^'  the  good  King  Ren^  never 
received  back  as  his  property  a  horse  which  he  had  lent  to  a 
guest ;  and  that  is  perhaps  one  reason  why  his  Highness  and 
we  of  his  household  must  walk  often  a-foot." 

Here  the  seneschal  exchanged  greetings  with  his  young 
visitor,  who  rode  forth  to  seek  Queen  Margaret's  place  of 
temporary  retirement  at  the  celebrated  monastery  of  Saint 
Victoire.  He  demanded  of  his  guide  in  which  direction  it  lay, 
who  pointed,  with  an  air  of  triumph,  to  a  mountain  three 
thousand  feet  and  upward  in  height,  which  arose  at  five  or  six 
miles'  distance  from  the  town,  and  which  its  bold  and  rocky 
summit  rendered  the  most  distinguished  object  of  the  landscape. 
Thiebault  spoke  of  it  with  unusual  glee  and  energy,  so  much  so 
as  to  lead  Arthur  to  conceive  that  his  trusty  squire  had  not 
neglected  to  avail  himself  of  the  lavish  hospitality  of  Le  bon  Roi 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Rene,  Thiebault,  however,  continued  to  expatiate  on  the  fame 
of  the  mountain  and  monastery.  They  derived  their  name,  he 
said,  from  a  great  victory  which  was  gained  by  a  Roman  general, 
named  Caio  Mario,  against  two  large  armies  of  Saracens  with 
ultramontane  names  (the  Teutones  probably  and  Cimbri),  in 
gratitude  to  heaven  for  which  victory  Caio  Mario  vowed  to 
build  a  monastery  on  the  mountain  for  the  service  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  in  honor  of  whom  he  had  been  baptized.  With  all  the 
importance  of  a  local  connoisseur,  Thiebault  proceeded  to  prove 
his  general  assertion  by  specific  facts. 

"  Yonder,"  he  said,  was  the  camp  of  the  Saracens,  from 
which,  when  the  battle  was  apparently  decided,  their  wives  and 
women  rushed,  with  horrible  screams,  disheveled  hair,  and  the 
gestures  of  furies,  and  for  a  time  prevailed  in  stopping  the  flight 
of  the  men."  He  pointed  out  too  the  river,  for  access  to  which, 
cut  off  by  the  superior  generalship  of  the  Romans,  the  barbari- 
ans, whom  he  called  Saracens,  hazarded  the  action,  and  whose 
streams  they  empurpled  with  their  blood.  In  short,  he  men- 
tioned many  circumstances  which  showed  how  accurately  tradi- 
tion will  preserve  the  particulars  of  ancient  events,  even 
whilst  forgetting,  misstating,  and  confounding  dates  and  persons. 

Perceiving  that  Arthur  lent  him  a  not  unwilling  ear, — for  it 
may  be  supposed  that  the  education  of  a  youth  bred  up  in  the 
heat  of  civil  wars  was  not  well  qualified  to  criticise  his  account 
of  the  wars  of  a  distant  period, — the  Provencal,  when  he  had 
exhausted  this  topic,  drew  up  close  to  his  master's  side,  and 
asked,  in  a  suppressed  tone,  whether  he  knew,  or  was  desirous 
of  being  made  acquainted  with,  the  cause  of  Margaret's  having 
left  Aix,  to  establish  herself  in  the  monastery  of  Saint  Victoire  } 

"  For  the  accomplishment  of  a  vow,"  answered  Arthur ;  "  all 
the  world  knows  it." 

"  All  Aix  knows  the  contrary,"  said  Thiebault  ;  "  and  I  can 
tell  you  the  truth,  so  I  were  sure  it  would  not  offend  your 
seignorie." 

"  The  truth  can  offend  no  reasonable  man,  so  it  be  expressed 
in  the  terms  of  which  Queen  Margaret  must  be  spoken  in  the 
presence  of  an  Englishman." 

Thus  replied  Arthur,  willing  to  receive  what  information  he 
could  gather,  and  desirous,  at  the  same  time,  to  check  the 
petulance  of  his  attendant. 

"  I  have  nothing,"  replied  his  follower,  to  state  in  disparage- 
ment of  the  gracious  Queen,  whose  only  misfortune  is,  that,  like 
her  royal  father,  she  has  more  titles  than  towns.  Besides,  I 
know  well  that  you  Englishmen,  though  you  speak  wildly  of 


352 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


your  sovereigns  yourselves,  will  not  permit  others  to  fail  in 
respect  to  them." 

*'  Say  on,  then,"  answered  Arthur. 
Your  seignorie  must  know,  then,"  said  Thiebault,  "  that 
the  good  King  Ren^  has  been  much  disturbed  by  the  deep 
melancholy  which  afflicted  Queen  Margaret,  and  has  bent 
himself  with  all  his  power  to  change  it  into  a  gayer  humor. 
He  made  entertainments  in  public  and  in  private  ;  he  assembled 
minstrels  and  troubadours,  whose  music  and  poetry  might  have 
drawn  smiles  from  one  on  his  deathbed.  The  whole  country 
resounded  with  mirth  and  glee,  and  the  gracious  Queen  could 
not  stir  abroad  in  the  most  private  manner,  but  before  she  had 
gone  a  hundred  paces,  she  lighted  on  an  ambush,  consisting  of 
some  pretty  pageant,  or  festivous  mummery,  composed  often 
by  the  good  King  himself,  which  interrupted  her  solitude,  in 
purpose  of  relieving  her  heavy  thoughts  with  some  pleasant 
pastime.  But  the  Queen's  deep  melancholy  rejected  all  these 
modes  of  dispelling  it,  and  at  length  she  confined  herself  to  her 
own  apartments,  and  absolutely  refused  to  see  even  her  royal 
faher,  because  he  generally  brought  into  her  presence  those  whose 
productions  he  thought  likely  to  soothe  her  sorrow.  Indeed 
she  seemed  to  hear  the  harpers  with  loathing,  and,  excepting 
one  wandering  Englishman,  who  sang  a  rude  and  melancholy 
ballad,  which  threw  her  into  a  flood  of  tears,  and  to  whom  she 
gave  a  chain  of  price,  she  never  seemed  to  look  at  or  be 
conscious  of  the  presence  of  any  one.  And  at  length,  as  I  have 
had  the  honor  to  tell  your  seignorie,  she  refused  to  see  even 
her  royal  father  unless  he  came  alone  ;  and  that  he  found  no 
heart  to  do." 

"  I  wonder  not.  at  it,"  said  the  young  man  ;  by  the  White 
Swan,  I  am  rather  surprised  his  mummery  drove  her  not  to 
frenzy." 

Something  like  it  indeed  took  place,"  said  Thiebault ;  "  and 
I  will  tell  your  seignorie  how  it  chanced.  You  must  know  that 
good  King  Ren^,  unwilling  to  abandon  his  daughter  to  the  foul 
fiend  of  melancholy,  bethought  him  of  making  a  grand  effort. 
You  must  know  further,  that  the  King,  powerful  in  all  the  craft 
of  Troubadours  and  Jongleurs,  is  held  in  peculiar  esteem  for  con- 
ducting mysteries,  and  other  of  these  gamesome  and  delightful 
sports  and  processions,  with  which  our  holy  Church  permits  her 
graver  ceremonies  to  be  relieved  and  diversified,  to  the  cheering 
of  the  hearts  of  all  true  children  of  religion.  It  is  admitted 
that  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to  approach  his  excellence  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  F^te-Dieu  ;  and  the  tune  to  which  the  devils 
cudgel  King  Herod,  to  the  great  edification  of  all  Christian 


AMNR  OF  GEIERSTEm. 


353 


spectators,  is  of  our  good  King's  royal  composition.  He  hath 
danced  at  Tarascon  in  the  ballet  of  Saint  Martha  and  the 
Dragon,  and  was  accounted  in  his  own  person  the  only  actor 
competent  to  present  the  Tarrasque.  His  Highness  introduced 
also  a  new  ritual  into  the  consecration  of  the  Boy  Bishop,  and 
composed  an  entire  set  of  grotesque  music  for  the  Festival  of 
Asses.  In  short,  his  Grace's  strength  lies  in  those  pleasing  and 
becoming  festivities  which  strew  the  path  of  edification  with 
flowers,  and  send  men  dancing  and  singing  on  their  way  to 
Heaven. 

Now  the  good  King  Rend,  feeling  his  own  genius  for  such 
recreative  compositions,  resolved  to  exert  it  to  the  utmost,  in  the 
hope  that  he  might  thereby  relieve  the  melancholy  in  which  his 
daughter  was  plunged,  and  which  infected  all  that  approached 
her.  It  chanced,  some  short  time  since,  that  the  Queen  was 
absent  for  certain  days,  I  know  not  where  or  on  what  business, 
but  it  gave  the  good  King  time  to  make  his  preparations.  So 
when  his  daughter  returned,  he  with  much  importunity  pre- 
vailed on  her  to  make  part  of  a  religious  procession  to  Saint 
Sauveur,  the  principal  church  in  Aix.  The  Queen,  innocent  of 
what  was  intended,  decked  herself  with  solemnity,  to  witness 
and  partake  of  what  she  expected  would  prove  a  work  of  grave 
piety.  But  no  sooner  had  she  appeared  on  the  esplanade  in 
front  of  the  palace,  than  more  .than  a  hundred  masks,  dressed 
up  like  Turks,  Jews,  Saracens,  Moors,  and  1  know  not  whom 
besides,  crowded  around  to  offer  her  their  homage,  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  Queen  of  Sheba;  and  a  grotesque  piece  of  music 
called  them  to  arrange  themselves  for  a  ludicrous  ballet,  in 
which  they  addressed  the  Queen  in  the  most  entertaining  man- 
ner, and  with  the  most  extravagant  gestures.  The  Queen, 
stunned  with  the  noise,  and  affronted  with  the  petulance  of  this 
unexpected  onset,  would  have  gone  back  into  the  palace  ;  but 
the  doors  had  been  shut  by  the  King's  order  so  soon  as  she  set 
forth  ;  and  her  retreat  in  that  direction  was  cut  off.  Finding 
herself  excluded  from  the  palace,  the  Queen  advanced  to  the 
front  of  the  facade,  and  endeavored  by  signs  and  words  to 
appease  the  hubbub,  but  the  maskers,  who  had  their  instruc- 
tions, only  answered  with  songs,  music,  and  shouts.*' 

I  would,"  said  Arthur,  there  had  been  a  score  of  English 
yeomen  in  presence,  with  their  quarter-staves,  to  teach  the 
bawling  villains  respect  for  one  that  has  worn  the  crown  of 
England  ! " 

"  All  the  noise  that  was  made  before  was  silence  and  soft 
music,"  continued  Thiebault,  "till  that  when  the  good  King 


ANm  Of  QElEkSTEm. 


himself  appeared,  grotesquely  dressed  in  the  character  of  King 
Solomon   

"  To  whom,  of  all  princes,  he  has  the  least  resemblance," 
said  Arthur  

"  With  such  capers  and  gesticulations  of  welcome  to  the 
Queen  of  Sheba,  as,  I  am  assured  by  those  who  saw  it,  would 
have  brought  a  dead  man  alive  again,  or  killed  a  living  man 
with  laughing.  Among  other  properties,  he  had  in  his  hand  a 
truncheon,  somewhat  formed  like  a  fool's  bauble ''  

"  A  most  fit  seeptre  for  such  a  sovereign."  said  Arthur  

"Which  was  headed,"  continued  Thiebault,  by  a  model  of 
the  Jewish  Temple,  finely  gilded  and  curiously  cut  in  paste- 
board. He  managed  this  with  the  utmost  grace,  and  delighted 
every  spectator  by  his  gayety  and  activity,  excepting  the  Queen, 
who,  the  more  he  skipped  and  capered,  seemed  to  be  the  more 
incensed,  until,  on  his  approaching  her  to  conduct  her  to  the 
procession,  she  seemed  roused  to  a  sort  of  frenzy,  struck  the 
truncheon  out  of  his  hand,  and  breaking  through  the  crowd, 
who  felt  as  if  a  tigress  had  leaped  amongst  them  from  a  show- 
man's cart,  rushed  into  the  royal  courtyard.  Ere  the  order  of 
the  scenic  representation,  which  her  violence  had  interrupted, 
could  be  restored,  the  Queen  again  issued  forth,  mounted,  and 
attended  by  two  or  three  English  cavaliers  of  her  Majesty's 
suite.  She  forced  her  way  through  the  crowd,  without  regard- 
ing either  their  safety  or  her  own,  flew,  like  a  hail-storm  along 
the  streets,  and  never  drew  bridle  till  she  was  as  far  up  this 
same  Mont  Saint  Victoire  as  the  road  would  permit.  She  was 
then  received  into  the  convent,  and  has  since  remained  there ; 
and  a  vow  of  penance  is  the  pretext  to  cover  over  the  quarrel 
betwixt  her  and  her  father." 

"How  long  may  it  be,"  said  Arthur,  "since  these  things 
chanced  .5*" 

"  It  is  but  three  days  since  Queen  Margaret  left  Aix  in  the 
manner  I  have  told  you. — But  we  are  come  as  far  up  the 
mountain  as  men  usually  ride.  See,  yonder  is  the  monastery 
rising  betwixt  two  huge  rocks,  which  form  the  very  top  of 
Mont  Saint  Victoire.  There  is  no  more  open  ground  than  is 
afforded  by  the  cleft,  into  which  the  convent  of  Saint  Mary  of 
Victory  is,  as  it  were,  niched  ;  and  the  access  is  guarded  by  the 
most  dangerous  precipices.  To  ascend  the  mountain,  you  must 
keep  that  narrow  path  which,  winding  and  turning  among  the 
cliffs,  leads  at  length  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  the  gate  of 
the  monastery." 

"And  what  becomes  of  you  and  the  horses?"  said  Arthur. 

"Wc  will  rest,"  said  Hiiebault,  "in  the  hospital  maintained 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


3SS 


by  the  good  fathers  at  the  bottom  of  the  mountain,  for  the 
accommodation  of  those  who  attend  on  pilgrims ; — for  I 
promise  you  the  shrine  is  visited  by  many  who  come  from  afar, 
and  are  attended  both  by  man  and  horse. — Care  not  for  me, — 
I  shall  be  first  under  cover ;  but  there  muster  yonder  in  the 
west  some  threatening  clouds,  from  which  your  seignorie  may 
suffer  inconvenience,  unless  you  reach  the  convent  in  time.  I 
will  give  you  an  hour  to  do  the  feat,  and  will  say  you  are  as 
active  as  a  chamois  hunter,  if  you  reach  it  within  the  time." 

Arthur  looked  around  him,  and  did  indeed  remark  a  muster- 
ing of  clouds  in  the  distant  west,  which  threatened  soon  to 
change  the  character  of  the  day,  which  had  hitherto  been 
brilliantly  clear,  and  so  serene  that  the  falling  of  a  leaf  might 
have  been  heard.  He  therefore  turned  him  to  the  steep  and 
rocky  path  which  ascended  the  mountain,  sometimes  by  scaling 
almost  precipitous  rocks,  and  sometimes  by  reaching  their  tops 
by  a  more  circuitous  process.  It  winded  through  thickets  of 
wild  boxwood  and  other  low  aromatic  shrubs,  which  afforded 
some  pasture  for  the  mountain  goats,  but  were  a  bitter  annoy- 
ance to  the  traveler  who  had  to  press  through  them.  Such 
obstacles  were  so  frequent,  that  the  full  hour  allowed  by  Thie- 
bault  had  elapsed  before  he  stood  on  the  summit  of  Mont 
Saint  Victoire,  and  in  front  of  the  singular  convent  of  the  same 
name. 

We  have  already  said,  that  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  con- 
sisting entirely  of  one  bare  and  solid  rock,  was  divided  by  a 
cleft  or  opening  into  two  heads  or  peaks,  between  which  the 
convent  was  built,  occupying  all  the  space  between  them.  The 
front  of  the  building  was  of  the  most  ancient  and  sombre  cast 
of  the  old  Gothic,  or  rather,  as  it  has  been  termed,  the  Saxon  ; 
and  in  that  respect  corresponded  with  the  savage  exterior  of 
the  naked  cliffs,  of  which  the  structure  seemed  to  make  a  part, 
and  by  which  it  was  entirely  surrounded,  excepting  a  small  open 
space  of  more  level  ground,  where,  at  the  expense  of  much  toil, 
and  by  carrying  earth  up  the  hill,  from  different  spots  where  they 
could  collect  it  in  small  quantities,  the  good  fathers  had  been 
able  to  arrange  the  accommodations  of  a  garden. 

A  bell  summoned  a  lay-brother,  the  porter  of  this  singularly 
situated  monastery,  to  whom  Arthur  announced  himself  as  an 
English  merchant,  Philipson  by  name,  who  came  to  pay  his 
duty  to  Queen  Margaret.  The  porter,  with  much  respect, 
showed  the  stranger  into  the  convent,  and  ushered  him  into  a 
parlor,  which,  looking  toward  Aix,  commanded  an  extensive 
and  splendid  prospect  over  the  southern  and  western  parts  of 
Provence.    This  was  the  direction  in  which  Arthur  had  ap- 


3S6 


AN'ME  OP  GEIERSTEIN, 


proached  the  mountain  from  Aix  ;  but  the  circuitous  path  by 
which  he  had  ascended  had  completely  carried  him  round  the 
hill.  The  western  side  of  the  monastery,  to  which  the  parloT 
looked,  commanded  the  noble  view  we  have  mentioned  ;  and  a 
species  of  balcony,  which,  connecting  the  two  twin  crags,  at 
this  place  not  above  four  or  five  yards  asunder,  ran  along  the 
front  of  the  building,  and  appeared  to  be  constructed  for  the 
purpose  of  enjoying  it.  But  on  stepping  from  one  of  the  win- 
dows of  the  parlor  upon  this  battlemented  bartisan,  Arthur 
became  aware  that  the  wall  on  which  the  parapet  rested  stretch- 
ed along  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  which  sank  sheer  down  five 
hundred  feet  at  least  from  the  foundations  of  the  convent.  Sur- 
prised and  startled  at  finding  himself  on  so  giddy  a  verge,  Arthur 
turned  his  eyes  from  the  gulf  beneath  him  to  admire  the  dis- 
tant landscape,  partly  illumined,  with  ominous  bistre,  by  the 
now  westerly  sun.  The  setting  beams  showed  in  dark  red 
splendor  a  vast  variety  of  hill  and  dale,  champaign  and  culti- 
vated ground,  with  towns,  churches,  and  castles,  some  of  which 
rose  from  among  trees,  while  others  seemed  founded  on  rocky 
eminences  ;  others  again  lurked  by  the  side  of  streams  or  lakes, 
to  which  the  heat  and  drought  of  the  climate  naturally  attracted 
them. 

The  rest  of  the  landscape  presented  similar  objects  when  the 
weather  was  serene,  but  they  were  not  rendered  indistinct,  or 
altogether  obliterated,  by  the  sullen  shade  of  the  approaching 
clouds,  which  gradually  spread  over  great  part  of  the  horizon, 
and  threatened  altogether  to  eclipse  the  sun,  though  the  lord 
of  the  horizon  still  struggled  to  maintain  his  influence,  and, 
like  a  dying  hero,  seemed  most  glorious  even  in  the  moment  of 
defeat.  Wild  sounds,  like  groans  and  howls,  formed  by  the 
wind  in  the  numerous  caverns  of  the  rocky  mountain,  added  to 
the  terrors  of  the  scene,  and  seemed  to  foretell  the  fury  of  some 
distant  storm,  though  the  air  in  general  was  even  unnaturally 
calm  and  breathless.  In  gazing  on  this  extraordinary  scene, 
Arthur  did  justice  to  the  monks  who  had  chosen  this  wild  and 
grotesque  situation,  from  which  they  could  witness  Nature  in 
her  wildest  and  grandest  demonstrations,  and  compare  the 
nothingness  of  humanity  with  her  awful  convulsions. 

So  much  was  Arthur  awed  by  the  scene  before  him,  that  he 
had  almost  forgotten,  while  gazing  from  the  bartisan,  the  im- 
portant business  which  had  brought  him  to  this  place,  when  it 
was  suddenly  recalled  by  finding  himself  in  the  presence  of 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  who,  not  seeing  him  in  the  parlor  of 
reception,  had  stepped  upon  the  balcony,  that  she  might  meet 
with  him  the  sooner. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


357 


The  Queen's  dress  was  black,  without  any  ornament  except 
a  gold  coronal  of  an  inch  in  breadth,  restraining  her  long  black 
tresses,  of  which  advancing  years,  and  misfortunes,  had  partly 
altered  the  hue.  There  was  placed  within  the  circlet  a  black 
plume  with  a  red  rose,  the  last  of  the  season  which  the  good 
father  who  kept  the  garden  had  presented  to  her  that  morning 
as  the  badge  of  her  husband's  house.  Care,  fatigue,  and  sor- 
row, seemed  to  dwell  on  her  brow  and  her  features.  To  another 
messenger,  she  would  in  all  probability  have  administered  a 
sharp  rebuke,  for  not  being  alert  in  his  duty  to  receive  her  as 
she  entered ;  but  Arthur's  age  and  appearance  corresponded 
with  that  of  her  loved  and  lost  son.  He  was  the  son  of  a  lady 
whom  Margaret  had  loved  with  almost  sisterly  affection,  and 
the  presence  of  Arthur  continued  to  excite  in  the  dethroned 
Queen  the  same  feelings  of  maternal  tenderness  which  had  been 
awakened  on  their  first  meeting  in  the  Cathedral  of  Strassburg. 
She  raised  him  as  he  kneeled  at  her  feet,  spoke  to  him  with 
much  kindness,  and  encouraged  him  to  detail  at  full  length 
his  father's  message,  and  such  other  news  as  his  brief  residence 
at  Dijon  had  made  him  acquainted  with. 

She  demanded  which  way  Duke  Charles  had  moved  with  his 
army. 

"  As  I  was  given  to  understand  by  the  master  of  his  artillery," 
said  Arthur,  "  toward  the  Lake  of  Neufchatel,  on  which  side 
he  proposes  his  first  attack  on  the  Swiss." 

"  The  headstrong  fool !  "  said  Queen  Margaret, — "  he  re- 
sembles the  poor  lunatic,  who  went  to  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain, that  he  might  meet  the  rain  half-way. — Does  thy  father, 
then,"  continued  Margaret,  ^'  advise  me  to  give  up  the  last 
remains  of  the  extensive  territories,  once  the  dominions  of  our 
royal  House,  and  for  some  thousand  crowns,  and  the  paltry 
aid  of  a  few  hundred  lances,  to  relinquish  what  is  left  of  our 
patrimony  to  our  proud  and  selfish  kinsman  of  Burgundy,  who 
extends  his  claim  to  our  all,  and  affords  so  little  help,  or  even 
promise  of  help,  in  return  1  " 

"  I  should  have  ill  discharged  my  father's  commission,"  said 
Arthur,  "  if  I  had  left  your  Highness  to  think  that  he  recom- 
mends so  great  a  sacrfice.  He  feels  most  deeply  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy's  grasping  desire  of  dominion.  Nevertheless,  he 
thinks  that  Provence  must,  on  King  Rene's  death,  or  sooner, 
fall  either  to  the  share  of  Duke  Charles,  or  to  Louis  of  France, 
whatever  opposition  your  Highness  may  make  to  such  a  desti- 
nation ;  and  it  may  be  that  my  father,  as  a  knight  and  a 
soldier,  hopes  much  from  obtaining  the  means  to  make  another 


358  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 

attempt  on  Britain.  But  the  decision  must  rest  with  your 
Highness/' 

Young  man/'  said  the  Queen,  "  the  contemplation  of  a 
question  so  doubtful  almost  deprives  me  of  reason  ! '' 

As  she  spoke,  she  sank  down,  as  one  who  needs  rest,  on  a 
stone  seat  placed  on  the  very  verge  of  the  balcony,  regardless 
of  the  storm,  which  now  began  to  rise  with  dreadful  gusts  of 
wind,  the  course  of  which  being  intermitted  and  altered  by  the 
crags  round  which  they  howled,  it  seemed  as  if  in  very  deed 
Boreas,  and  Eurus,  and  Caurus,  unchaning  the  winds  from 
every  quarter  of  heaven,  were  contending  for  mastery  round 
the  convent  of  our  Lady  of  Victory.  Amid  this  tumult,  and 
amid  billows  of  mist  which  concealed  the  bottom  of  the  preci- 
pice, and  masses  of  clouds  which  racked  fearfully  over  their 
heads,  the  roar  of  the  descending  waters  rather  resembled  the 
fall  of  cataracts  than  the  rushing  of  torrents  of  rain.  The  seat 
on  which  Margaret  had  placed  herself  was  in  a  considerable 
degree  sheltered  from  the  storm,  but  its  eddies,  varying  in 
every  direction,  often  tossed  aloft  her  disheveled  hair ;  and  we 
cannot  describe  the  appearance  of  her  noble  and  beautiful,  yet 
ghastly  and  w^asted  features,  agitated  strongly  by  anxious  hesita- 
tion and  conflicting  thoughts,  unless  to  those  of  our  readers,  who 
have  had  the  advantage  of  having  seen  our  inimitable  Siddons  * 
in  such  a  character  as  this.  Arthur,  confounded  by  anxiety  and 
terror,  could  only  beseech  her  Majesty  to  retire  before  the  fury 
of  the  approaching  storm,  into  the  interior  of  the  convent. 

"  No,"  she  replied  with  firmness  ;  "  roofs  and  walls  have  ears, 
and  monks,  though  they  have  forsworn  the  worlds  are  not  the 
less  curious  to  know  what  passes  beyond  their  cells.  It  is  in 
this  place  you  must  hear  what  I  have  to  say ;  as  a  soldier  you 
should  scorn  a  blast  of  wind  or  a  shower  of  rain  ;  and  to  me, 
who  have  often  held  counsel  amidst  the  sound  of  trumpets  and 
clash  of  arms,  prompt  for  instant  fight,  the  war  of  elements  is 
an  unnoticed  trifle.  I  tell  thee,  young  Arthur  Vere,  as  I  would 
to  your  father — as  I  would  to  my  son — if  indeed  Heaven  had 
left  such  a  blessing  to  a  wretch  forlorn   

She  paused,  and  then  proceeded. 

"  I  tell  thee,  as  I  would  have  told  my  beloved  Edward,  that 
Margaret,  whose  resolutions  were  once  firm  and  immovable  as 
these  rocks  among  which  we  are  placed,  is  now  doubtful  and 
variable  as  the  clouds  which  are  drifting  around  us.  I  told 
your  father,  in  the  joy  of  meeting  once  more  a  subject  of  such 
inappreciable  loyalty,  of  the  sacrifices  I  would  make  to  assure 


*  [Mrs.  Siddons  the  tragedian — died  1831.] 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


359 


the  assistance  of  Charles  of  Burgundy  to  so  gallant  an  under- 
taking as  that  proposed  to  him  by  the  faithful  Oxford.  But 
since  I  saw  him  I  have  had  cause  of  deep  reflection.  I  met  my 
aged  father  only  to  offend,  and,  I  say  it  with  shame,  to  insult 
the  old  man  in  presence  of  his  people.  Our  tempers  are  as  op- 
posed as  the  sunshine,  which  a  short  space  since  gilded  a  serene 
and  beautiful  landscape,  differs  from  the  tempests  which  are 
now  wasting  it.  I  spurned  with  open  scorn  and  contempt  what 
he,  in  his  mistaken  affection,  had  devised  for  means  of  consola- 
tion, and,  disgusted  with  the  idle  follies  which  he  had  devijsed 
for  curing  the  melancholy  of  a  dethroned  Queen,  a  widowed 
spouse — and  alas  !  a  childless  mother,- — I  retired  hither  from 
the  noisy  and  idle  mirth,  which  was  the  bitterest  aggravation 
of  my  sorrows.  Such  and  so  gentle  is  Rene's  temper,  that  even 
my  unfilial  conduct  will  not  diminish  my  influence  over  him  ; 
and  if  your  father  had  announced,  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
like  a  knight  and  a  sovereign,  had  cordially  and  nobly  en- 
tered into  the  plan  of  the  faithful  Oxford,  I  could  have  found  it 
in  my  heart  to  obtain  the  cession  of  territory  his  cold  and  am- 
bitious policy  requires,  in  order  to  ensure  the  assistance,  which 
he  now  postpones  to  afford  till  he  has  gratified  his  own  haughty 
humor  by  settling  needless  quarrels  with  his  unoffending  neigh- 
bors. Since  I  have  been  here,  and  calmness  and  solitude  have 
given  me  time  to  reflect,  I  have  thought  on  the  offences  I  have 
given  the  old  man,  and  on  the  wrongs  I  was  about  to  do  him. 
My  father,  let  me  do  him  justice,  is  also  the  father  of  his  people. 
They  have  dwelt  under  their  vines  and  fig-trees,  in  ignoble  ease 
perhaps,  but  free  from  oppression  and  exaction,  and  their  hap- 
piness has  been  that  of  their  good  King.  Must  I  change  all 
this? — Must  I  aid  in  turning  over  these  contented  people  to  a 
fierce,  headlong,  arbitrary  prince  ? — May  I  not  break  even  the 
easy  and  thoughtless  heart  of  my  poor  old  father,  should  I 
succeed  in  urging  him  to  do  so  ? — These  are  questions  which  I 
shudder  even  to  ask  myself.  On  the  other  hand,  to  disappoint 
the  toils,  the  venturous  hopes  of  your  father,  to  forego  the  only 
opportunity  which  may  ever  again  offer  itself,  of  revenge  on  the 
bloody  traitors  of  York,  and  restoration  of  the  House  of  Lan- 
caster ! — Arthur,  the  scene  around  us  is  not  so  convulsed  by 
the  fearful  tempest  and  the  driving  clouds,  as  my  mind  is  by 
doubt  and  uncertainty." 

Alas  !  "  replied  Arthur,  I  am  too  young  and  inexperienced 
to  be  your  Majesty's  adviser  in  a  case  so  arduous.  I  would  my 
father  had  been  in  presence  himself." 

"I  know  what  he  would  have  said,"  replied  the  Queen  ; 
but,  knowing  all,  I  despair  of  aid  from  human  counselors — I 


360 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


have  sought  others,  but  they  also  are  deaf  to  my  entreaties. 
Yes,  Arthur,  Margaret's  misfortunes  have  rendered  her  super- 
stitious. Know,  that  beneath  these  rocks,  and  under  the  foun- 
dation of  this  convent,  there  runs  a  cavern,  entering  by  a  secret 
and  defended  passage  a  little  to  the  westward  of  the  summit, 
and  running  through  the  mountain,  having  an  opening  to  the 
south,  from  which,  as  from  this  bartisan,  you  can  view  the  land- 
scape so  lately  seen  from  the  balcony,  or  the  strife  of  winds 
and  confusion  of  clouds  which  we  now  behold.  In  the  middle 
of  this  cavernous  thoroughfare  is  a  natural  pit,  or  perforation, 
of  great  but  unknown  depth.  A  stone  dropped  into  it  is  heard 
to  dash  from  side  to  side,  until  the  noise  of  its  descent,  thunder- 
ing from  cliff  to  cliff,  dies  away  in  distant  and  faint  tinkling, 
less  loud  than  that  of  a  sheep's  bell  at  a  mile's  distance.  The 
common  people,  in  their  jargon,  call  this  fearful  gulf  Lou  Gar- 
agoule  ;  and  the  traditions  of  the  monastery  annex  wild  and 
fearful  recollections  to  a  place  in  itself  sufficiently  terrible. 
Oracles,  it  is  said,  spoke  from  thence  in  pagan  days  by  subter- 
ranean voices,  arising  from  the  abyss  ;  and  from  these  the 
Roman  general  is  said  to  have  heard,  in  strange  and  uncouth 
rhymes,  promises  of  the  victory  which  gives  name  to  this  moun- 
tain. These  oracles,  it  is  averred,  may  be  yet  consulted  after 
performance  of  strange  rites,  in  which  heathen  ceremonies  are 
mixed  with  Christian  acts  of  devotion.  The  abbots  of  Mont 
Saint  Victoire  have  denounced  the  consultation  of  Lou  Gara- 
goule,  and  the  spirits  who  reside  there,  to  be  criminal.  But  as 
the  sin  may  be  expiated  by  presents  to  the  Church,  by  masses, 
and  penances,  the  door  is  sometimes  open  by  the  complaisant 
fathers  to  those  whose  daring  curiosity  leads  them,  at  all  risks, 
and  by  whatever  means,  to  search  into  futurity.  Arthur,  I 
have  made  the  experiment,  and  am  even  now  returned  from  the 
gloomy  cavern  in  which,  according  to  the  traditional  ritual,  I 
have  spent  six  hours  by  the  margin  of  the  gulf,  a  place  so  dis- 
mal, that  after  its  horrors  even  this  tempestuous  scene  is  re- 
freshing." 

The  Queen  stopped,  and  Arthur,  the  more  struck  with  the 
wild  tale,  that  it  reminded  him  of  his  place  of  imprisonment  at 
La  Ferette,  asked  anxiously  if  her  inquiries  had  obtained  any 
answer. 

None  whatever,"  replied  the  unhappy  princess.  "The 
demons  of  Garagoule,  if  there  be  such,  are  deaf  to  the  suit  of 
an  unfortunate  wretch  like  me,  to  whom  neither  friends  nor 
fiends  will  afford  counsel  or  assistance.  It  is  my  father's  cir- 
cumstances which  prevent  my  instant  and  strong  resolution. 
Were  my  own  claims  on  this  piping  and  paltry  notion  of  Trouba- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


361 


dours  alone  interested,  I  could,  for  the  chance  of  once  more 
setting  my  foot  in  merry  England,  as  easily  and  willingly  re- 
sign them  and  their  paltry  coronet,  as  I  commit  to  the  storm  this 
idle  emblem  of  the  royal  rank  which  I  have  lost." 

As  Margaret  spoke,  she  tore  from  her  hair  the  sable  feather 
and  rose  which  the  tempest  had  detached  from  the  circlet  in 
which  they  were  placed,  and  tossed  them  from  the  battlement 
with  a  gesture  of  wild  energy.  They  were  instantly  whirled  off 
in  a  bickering  eddy  of  the  agitated  clouds,  which  swept  the 
feather  far  distant  into  empty  space,  through  which  the 
eye  could  not  pursue  it.  But  while  that  of  Arthur  involuntarily 
strove  to  follow  its  course,  a  contrary  gust  of  wind  caught  the 
red  rose,  and  drove  it  back  against  his  breast,  so  that  it  was 
easy  for  him  to  catch  hold  of  and  retain  it. 

"Joy,  joy,  and  good  fortune,  royal  mistress  ! he  said,  re- 
turning to  her  the  emblematic  flower!  "the  tempest  brings 
back  the  badge  of  Lancaster  to  its  proper  owner." 

"I  accept  the  omen,"  said  Margaret;  ^' but  it  concerns 
yourself,  noble  youth,  and  not  me.  The  feather  which  is  borne 
away  to  waste  and  desolation  is  Margaret's  emblem.  My  eyes 
will  never  see  the  restoration  of  the  line  of  Lancaster.  But  you 
will  live  to  behold  it,  and  to  aid  to  achieve  it,  and  to  dye  our  red 
rose  deeper  yet  in  the  blood  of  tyrants  and  traitors.  My  thoughts 
are  so  strangely  poised,  that  a  feather  or  a  flower  may  turn  the 
scale.  But  my  head  is  still  giddy,  and  my  heart  sick. — ^To- 
morrow you  shall  see  another  Margaret,  and  till  then  adieu." 

It  was  time  to  retire,  for  the  tempest  began  to  be  mingled 
with  fiercer  showers  of  rain.  When  they  re-entered  the  par- 
lor, the  Queen  clapped  her  hands,  and  two  female  attendants 
entered. 

Let  the  Father  Abbot  know,"  she  said,  "that  it  is  our 
desire  that  this  young  gentleman  receive  for  this  night  such 
hospitality  as  befits  an  esteemed  friend  of  ours.— Till  to-mor- 
row, young  sir,  farewell." 

With  a  countenance  which  betrayed  not  the  late  emotion 
of  her  mind,  and  with  a  stately  courtesy  that  would  have  be- 
come her  when  she  graced  the  halls  of  Windsor,  she  extended 
her  hand,  which  the  youth  saluted  respectfully.  After  her  leav- 
ing the  parlor  the  Abbot  entered,  and  in  his  attention  to 
Arthur^s  entertainment  and  accommodation  for  the  evening, 
showed  his  anxiety  to  meet  and  obey  Queen  Margaret's 
wishes. 


3^2 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIRST. 

 Want  you  a  man 

Experienced  in  the  world  and  its  affairs  ? 
Here  he  is  for  your  purpose.    He's  a  monk. 
He  hath  forsworn  the  world  and  all  its  work, 
The  rather  that  he  knows  it  passing  well, 
Special  the  worst  of  it,  for  he's  monk. 

Old  Play. 

While  the  dawn  of  the  morning  was  yet  gray,  Arthur  was 
awakened  by  a  loud  ringing  at  the  gate  of  the  monastery,  and 
presently  afterward  the  porter  entered  the  cell  which  had  been 
allotted  to  him  for  his  lodgings,  to  tell  him,  that  if  his  name 
was  Arthur  Philipson,  a  brother  of  their  order  had  brought  him 
despatches  from  his  father.  The  youth  started  up,  hastily  at- 
tired himself,  and  was  introduced,  in  the  parlor,  to  a  Carmelite 
monk,  being  of  the  same  order  with  the  community  of  Saint 
Victoire. 

"  I  have  ridden  many  a  mile,  young  man,  to  present  you 
with  this  letter,"  said  the  monk,  having  undertaken  to  your 
father  that  it  should  be  delivered  without  delay.  I  came  to 
Aix  last  night  during  the  storm,  and,  learning  at  the  palace 
that  you  had  ridden  hither,  I  mounted  as  soon  as  the  tempest 
abated,  and  here  I  am." 

"I  am  beholden  to  you,  father,"  said  the  youth,  ^*and 
if  I  could  repay  your  pains  with  a  small  donative  to  your  con- 
vent "  

"  By  no  means,"  answered  the  good  father  ;  I  took  my 
personal  trouble  out  of  friendship  to  your  father,  and  mine  own 
errand  led  me  this  way.  The  expenses  of  my  long  journey 
have  been  amply  provided  for.  But  open  your  packet,  I  can 
answer  your  questions  at  leisure." 

The  young  man  accordingly  stepped  into  an  embrasure  of 
the  window,  and  read  as  follows : — 

"  Son  Arthur — Touching  the  state  of  the  country,  in  so 
far  as  concerns  the  safety  of  traveling,  know  that  the  same  is 
precarious.  The  Duke  hath  taken  the  towns  of  Brie  and 
Granson,  and  put  to  death  five  hundred  men,  whom  he  made 
prisoners  in  garrison  there.  But  the  Confederates  are  a[> 
proaching  with  a  large  force,  and  God  will  judge  for  the  right. 
Howsoever  the  game  may  go,  these  are  sharp  wars,  in  which 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


363 


little  quarter  is  spoken  of  on  either  side,  and  therefore  there  is 
no  safety  for  men  of  our  profession,  till  something  decisive  shall 
happen.  In  the  meantime,  you  may  assure  the  widowed  lady 
that  our  correspondent  continues  well  disposed  to  purchase  the 
property  which  she  has  in  hand ;  but  will  scarce  be  able  to  pay 
the  price  till  his  present  pressing  affairs  shall  be  settled,  which 
I  hope  will  be  in  time  to  permit  us  to  embark  the  funds  in  the 
profitable  adventure  I  told  our  friend  of.  I  have  employed  a 
friar,  traveling  to  Provence,  to  carry  this  letter,  which  I  trust 
will  come  safe.    The  bearer  may  be  trusted. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

John  Philipson.'' 

Arthur  easily  comprehended  the  latter  part  of  the  epistle, 
and  rejoiced  he  had  received  it  at  so  critical  a  moment.  He 
questioned  the  Carmelite  on  the  amount  of  the  Duke's  army, 
which  the  monk  stated  to  amount  to  sixty  thousand  men,  while 
he  said  the  Confederates,  though  making  every  exertion,  had 
not  yet  been  able  to  assemble  the  third  part  of  that  number. 
The  young  Ferrand  de  Vaudemont  was  with  their  army,  and 
had  received,  it  was  thought,  some  secret  assistance  from 
France  ;  but  as  he  was  little  known  in  arms,  and  had  few  fol- 
lowers, the  empty  title  of  General  which  he  bore  added  little  to 
the  strength  of  the  Confederates.  Upon  the  whole,  he  reported 
that  every  chance  appeared  to  be  in  favor  of  Charles,  and 
Arthur,  who  looked  upon  his  success  as  presenting  the  only 
chance  in  favor  of  his  father's  enterprise,  was  not  a  little 
pleased  to  find  it  ensured,  as  far  as  depended  on  a  great 
superiority  of  force.  He  had  no  leisure  to  make  further  in- 
quiries, for  the  Queen  at  that  moment  entered  the  apartment, 
and  the  Carmelite,  learning  her  quality,  withdrew  from  her  pres- 
ence in  deep  reverence. 

The  paleness  of  her  complexion  still  bespoke  the  fatigues 
of  the  day  preceding ;  but  as  she  graciously  bestowed  on 
Arthur  the  greetings  of  the  morning,  her  voice  was  firm,  her 
eye  clear,  and  her  countenance  steady.  I  meet  you,''  she 
said,  not  as  I  left  you,  but  determined  in  my  purpose.  I  am 
satisfied  that  if  Ren^  does  not  voluntarily  yield  up  his  throne  of 
Provence,  by  some  step  like  that  which  we  propose,  he  will  be 
hurled  from  it  by  violence,  in  which,  it  may  be,  his  life  will  not 
be  spared.  We  will,  therefore,  to  work  with  all  speed — the  worst 
is,  that  I  cannot  leave  this  convent  till  I  have  made  the  neces- 
sary penances  for  having  visited  the  Garagoule,  without  perform- 
ing which  I  were  no  Christian  woman.  When  you  return  to 
Aix,  inquire  at  the  palace  for  my  secretary,  with  whom  this  line 


3^4 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


will  give  you  credence.  I  have,  even  before  this  door  of  hope 
opened  to  me,  endeavored  to  form  an  estimate  of  King  Rene's 
situation,  and  collected  the  documents  for  that  purpose.  Tell 
him  to  send  to  me,  duly  sealed,  and  under  fitting  charge,  the 
small  cabinet  hooped  with  silver.  Hours  of  penance  for  past 
errors  may  be  employed  to  prevent  others ;  and  from  the  con- 
tents of  that  cabinet  I  shall  learn  whether  I  am,  in  this  weighty 
matter,  sacrificing  my  father's  interests  to  my  own  half-desper- 
ate hopes.  But  of  this  I  have  little  or  no  noubt.  I  can  cause 
the  deeds  of  resignation  and  transference  to  be  drawn  up  here 
under  my  own  direction,  and  arrange  the  execution  of  them 
when  I  return  to  Aix,  which  shall  be  the  first  moment  after  my 
penance  is  concluded.'^ 

And  this  letter,  gracious  madam, '^  said  Arthur,  "will  inform 
you  what  events  are  approaching,  and  of  what  importance  it  may 
be  to  take  time  by  the  forelock.  Place  me  but  in  possession  of 
these  momentous  deeds,  and  I  will  travel  night  and  day  till  I 
reach  the  Duke's  camp.  I  shall  find  him  most  likely  in  the 
moment  of  victory,  and  with  his  heart  too  much  open  to  refuse 
a  boon  to  the  royal  kinswoman  who  is  surrendering  to  him  all. 
We  will — we  must — in  such  an  hour,  obtain  princely  succors  ; 
and  we  shall  soon  see  if  the  licentious  Edward  of  York,  the  sav- 
age Richard,  the  treacherous  and  perjured  Clarence,  are  here- 
after to  be  lords  of  merry  England,  or  whether  they  must  give 
place  to  a  more  rightful  sovereign  and  better  man.  But  oh ! 
royal  madam,  all  depends  on  haste.*' 

"True — yet  a  few  days  may  —  nay,  must — cast  the  die 
between  Charles  and  his  opponents ;  and,  ere  making  so  great 
a  surrender,  it  were  as  well  to  be  assured  that  he  whom  we 
would  propitiate  is  in  capacity  to  assist  us.  All  the  events  of  a 
tragic  and  varied  life  have  led  me  to  see  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  inconsiderable  enemy.  I  will  make  haste,  however, 
trusting  in  the  interim  we  may  have  good  news  from  the  banks 
of  the  lake  at  Neufchatel." 

"  But  who  shall  be  employed  to  draw  these  most  important 
deeds  ?  "  said  the  young  man. 

Margaret  mused  ere  she  replied — "  The  Father  Guardian  is 
complaisant,  and  I  think  faithful ;  but  I  would  not  willingly 
repose  confidence  in  one  of  the  Provencal  monks.  Stay,  let 
me  think- — your  father  says  the  Carmelite  who  brought  the 
letter  may  be  trusted — he  shall  do  the  turn.  He  is  a  stranger, 
and  will  be  silent  for  a  piece  of  money.  Farewell,  Arthur  de 
Vere. — You  will  be  treated  with  all  hospitality  by  my  father. 
If  thou  dost  receive  further  tidings,  thou  wilt  let  me  kno)/9 


them ;  or  should  I  have  instructions  to  send,  thou  wilt  hear 
from  me. — So,  benedicite/' 

Arthur  proceeded  to  wind  down  the  mountain  at  a  much 
quicker  pace  than  he  had  ascended  on  the  day  before.  The 
weather  was  now  gloriously  serene,  and  the  beauties  of  vegeta- 
tion, in  a  country  where  it  never  totally  slumbers,  were  at  once 
delicious  and  refreshing.  His  thoughts  wandered  from  the 
crags  of  Mont  Saint  Victoire  to  the  cliff  of  the  canton  of 
Unterwalden,  and  fancy  recalled  the  moments  when  his  walks 
through  such  scenery  were  not  solitary,  but  when  there  was  a 
form  by  his  side,  whose  simple  beauty  was  engraved  on  his 
memory.  Such  thoughts  were  of  a  pre-occupying  nature  ;  and 
I  grieve  to  say  that  they  entirely  drowned  the  recollection  of 
the  mysterious  caution  given  him  by  his  father,  intimating  that 
Arthur  might  not  be  able  to  comprehend  such  letters  as  he 
should  receive  from  him,  till  they  were  warmed  before  a  fire. 

The  first  thing  which  reminded  him  of  this  singular  caution 
was  the  seeing  a  chafing  dish  of  charcoal  in  the  kitchen  of  the 
hostelry  at  the  bottom  of  the  mountain,  where  he  found  Thie- 
bault  and  his  horses.  This  was  the  first  fire  which  he  had  seen 
since  receiving  his  father's  letter,  and  it  reminded  him  not  un- 
naturally of  what  the  Earl  had  recommended.  Great  was  his 
surprise  to  see  that,  after  exposing  the  paper  to  the  fire  as  if 
to  dry  it,  a  word  emerged  in  an  important  passage  of  the  letter, 
and  the  concluding  words  now  read — "  The  bearer  may  not  be 
trusted."  Well-nigh  choked  with  shame  and  vexation,  Arthur 
could  think  of  no  other  remedy  than  instantly  to  return  to  the 
convent,  and  acquaint  the  Queen  with  this  discovery,  which  he 
hoped  still  to  convey  to  her  in  time  to  prevent  any  risk  being 
incurred  by  the  Carmelite's  treachery. 

Incensed  at  himself,  and  eager  to  redeem  his  fault,  he  bent 
his  manly  breast  against  the  steep  hill,  which  was  probably 
never  scaled  in  so  short  a  time  as  by  the  young  heir  of  De 
Vere ;  for,  within  forty  minutes  from  his  commencing  the 
ascent,  he  stood  breathless  and  panting  in  the  presence  of 
Queen  Margaret,  who  was  alike  surprised  at  his  appearance 
and  his  exhausted  condition.  . 

Trust  not  the  Carmelite  !  "  he  exclaimed — You  are  be- 
trayed, noble  Queen,  and  it  is  by  my  negligence.  Here  is  my 
dagger — Bid  me  strike  it  into  my  heart  !  " 

Margaret  demanded  and  obtained  a  more  special  explana- 
tion, and  when  it  was  given,  she  said,  It  is  an  unhappy 
chance  ;  but  your  father's  instructions  ought  to  have  been  more 
distinct.  I  have  told  yonder  Carmelite  the  purpose  of  the 
contracts,  and  engaged  with  him  to  draw  them.    He  has  but 


366 


AI^NB  OF  GElEkSTEm. 


now  left  me  to  serve  at  the  choir.  There  is  no  withdrawing 
the  confidence  I  have  unhappily  placed ;  but  I  can  easily 
prevail  with  the  Father  Guardian  to  prevent  the  monk  from 
leaving  the  convent  till  we  are  indifferent  to  his  secrecy.  It  is 
our  best  chance  to  secure  it,  and  we  will  take  care  that  what 
inconvenience  he  sustains  by  his  detention  shall  be  well 
recompensed.  Meanwhile,  rest  thou,  good  Arthur,  and  undo 
the  throat  of  thy  mantle.  Poor  youth,  thou  art  well-nigh  ex- 
hausted with  thy  haste. 

Arthur  obeyed,  and  sat  down  on  a  seat  in  the  parlor;  for 
the  speed  which  he  had  exerted  rendered  him  almost  incapable 
of  standing, 

"If  I  could  but  see,"  he  said,  "the  false  monk,  I  would 
find  a  way  to  charm  him  to  secrecy  ! 

"  Better  leave  him  to  me/'  said  the  Queen  ;  "  and,  in  a  word, 
I  forbid  you  to  meddle  with  him.  The  coif  can  treat  better  with 
the  cowl  than  the  casque  can  do.  Say  no  more  of  him.  I  joy 
to  see  you  wear  around  your  neck  the  holy  relic  I  bestowed  on 
you  ; — but  what  Moorish  charmlet  is  that  you  wear  beside  it 
Alas  !  I  need  not  ask.  Your  heightened  color,  alniost  as  deep 
as  when  you  entered  a  quarter  of  an  hour  hence,  confesses  a 
true-love  token.  Alas !  poor  boy,  hast  thou  not  only  such  a 
share  of  thy  country's  woes  to  bear,  but  also  thine  own  load  of 
affliction,  not  the  less  poignant  now  that  future  time  will  show 
thee  how  fantastic  it  is  !  Margaret  of  Anjou  could  once  have 
aided  wherever  thy  affections  were  placed ;  but  now  she  can 
only  contribute  to  the  misery  of  her  friends,  not  to  their  hap- 
piness. But  this  lady  of  the  charm,  Arthur,  is  she  fair — is  she 
wise  and  virtuous — is  she  of  noble  birth — and  does  she  love  1 
— She  perused  his  countenance  with  the  glance  of  an  eagle,  and 
continued,  "  To  all  thou  wouldst  answer  Yes,  if  shamefacedness 
permitted  thee.  Love  her,  then,  in  turn,  my  gallant  boy,  for 
love  is  the  parent  of  brave  actions.  Go,  my  noble  youth — 
high-born  and  loyal,  valorous  and  virtuous,  enamoured  and  youth- 
ful, to  what  mayest  thou  not  rise  ?  The  chivalry  of  ancient 
iLurope  only  lives  in  a  bosom  like  thine.  Go,  and  let  the 
praises  of  a  Queen  fire  thy  bosom  with  the  love  of  honor  and 
achievement.    In  three  days  we  meet  at  Aix.'' 

Arthur,  highly  gratified  with  the  Queen's  condescension, 
once  more  left  her  presence. 

Returning  down  the  mountain  with  a  speed  very  different 
from  that  which  he  had  used  in  the  ascent,  he  again  found  his 
Provencal  squire,  who  had  remained  in  much  surprise  at  wit- 
nessing the  confusion  in  which  his  master  had  left  the  inn, 
almost  immediately  after  he  had  entered  it  without  any  appar- 


ent  liaste  or  agitation.  Arthur  explained  his  hasty  return  by 
alleging  he  had  forgot  his  purse  at  the  convent.  "  Nay,  in  that 
case/'  said  Thiebault,  "  considering  what  you  left  and  where 
you  left  it,  I  do  not  wonder  at  your  speed ;  though.  Our  Lady 
save  me,  as  I  never  saw  living  creature,  save  a  goat  with  a  wolf 
at  his  heels,  make  his  way  over  crag  and  briers  with  half  such 
rapidity  as  you  did/' 

They  reached  Aix  after  about  an  hour's  riding,  and  Arthur 
lost  no  time  in  waiting  upon  the  good  King  Rend,  who  gave 
him  a  kind  reception,  both  in  respect  of  the  letter  from  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  in  consideration  of  his  being  an  Eng- 
lishman, the  avowed  subject  of  the  unfortunate  Margaret.  The 
placable  monarch  soon  forgave  his  young  guest  the  want  of 
complaisance  with  which  he  had  eschewed  to  listen  to  his  com- 
positions; and  Arthur  speedily  found,  that  to  apologize  for  his 
want  of  breeding  in  that  particular,  was  likely  to  lead  to  a  great 
deal  more  rehearsing  than  he  could  find  patience  to  tolerate. 
He  could  only  avoid  the  old  King's  extreme  desire  to  recite 
his  own  poems,  and  perform  his  own  music,  by  engaging  him  in 
speaking  of  his  daughter  Margaret.  Arthur  had  been  some- 
times induced  to  doubt  the  influence  which  the  Queen  boasted 
herself  to  possess  over  her  aged  father ;  but  on  being  ac- 
quainted with  him  personally,  he  became  convinced  that  her 
powerful  understanding  and  violent  passions  inspired  the  feeble- 
minded and  passive  King  with  a  mixture  of  pride,  affection, 
and  fear,  which  united  to  give  her  the  most  ample  authority 
over  him. 

Although  she  had  parted  with  him  but  a  day  or  two  since, 
and  in  a  manner  so  ungracious  on  her  side,  Rene  was  as  much 
overjoyed  at  hearing  of  the  probability  of  her  speedy  return, 
as  the  fondest  father  could  have  been  at  the  prospect  of  being 
reunited  to  the  most  dutiful  child,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for 
years.  The  old  King  was  impatient  as  a  boy  for  the  day  of  her 
arrival,  and,  still  strangely  unenlightened  on  the  difference  of 
her  taste  from  his  own,  he  was  with  difficulty  induced  to  lay 
aside  a  project  of  meeting  her  in  the  character  of  old  Pale- 
mon, — 

"  The  prince  of  shepherds,  and  their  pride," 

at  the  head  of  an  Arcadian  procession  of  nymphs  and  swains, 
to  inspire  whose  choral  dances  and  songs,  every  pipe  and  tam- 
bourine in  the  country  was  to  be  placed  in  requisition.  Even 
the  old  seneschal,  however,  intimated  his  disapprobation  of  this 
species  of  joyeuse  entree;  so  that  Rend  suffered  himself  at 
length  to  be  persuaded  that  the  Queen  was  too  much  occupied 


AmE  OF  GMlEkSTEW. 


by  the  religious  impressions  to  which  she  had  been  of  late  ex- 
posed, to  receive  any  agreeable  sensation  from  sights  or  sounds 
of  levity.  The  King  gave  way  to  reasons  which  he  could  not 
sympathize  with ;  and  thus  Margaret  escaped  the  shock  of  wel- 
come, which  would  perhaps  have  driven  her  in  her  impatience 
back  to  the  mountain  of  Saint  Victoire,  and  the  sable  cavern 
of  Lou  Garagoule. 

During  the  time  of  her  absence,  the  days  of  the  court  of 
Provence  were  employed  in  sports  and  rejoicings  of  every  de- 
scription ;  tilting  at  the  barrier  with  blunted  spears,  riding  at  the 
ring,  parties  for  hare-hunting  and  falconry,  frequented  by  the 
youth  of  both  sexes,  in  the  company  of  whom  the  King  de- 
lighted, while  the  evenings  were  consumed  in  dancing  and 
music. 

Arthur  could  not  but  be  sensible,  that  not  long  since  all 
this  would  have  made  him  perfectly  happy  ;  but  the  last  months 
of  his  existence  had  developed  his  understanding  and  passions. 
He  was  now  initiated  in  the  actual  business  of  human  life,  and 
looked  on  its  amusements  with  an  air  of  something  like  con- 
tempt ;  so  that  among  the  young  and  gay  noblesse,  who  com- 
posed this  merry  court,  he  acquired  the  title  of  the  youthful 
philosopher,  which  was  not  bestowed  upon  him,  it  may  be  sup« 
posed,  as  inferring  anything  of  peculiar  com.pliment. 

On  the  fourth  day  news  were  received,  by  an  express  mes- 
senger, that  Queen  Margaret  would  enter  Aix  before  the  hour 
of  noon,  to  resume  her  residence  in  her  father's  palace.  The 
good  King  Rene  seemed,  as  it  drew  nigh,  to  fear  the  interview 
with  his  daughter  as  much  as  he  had  previously  desired  it,  and 
contrived  to  make  all  around  him  partake  of  his  fidgety  anx- 
iety. He  tormented  his  steward  and  cooks  to  recollect  what 
dishes  they  had  ever  observed  her  to  taste  of  with  approbation 
— he  pressed  the  musicians  to  remember  the  tunes  which  she 
approved,  and  when  one  of  them  boldly  replied  he  had  never 
known  her  Majesty  endure  any  strain  with  patience,  the  old 
monarch  threatened  to  turn  him  out  of  his  service  for  slander- 
ing the  taste  of  his  daughter.  The  banquet  was  ordered  to  be 
served  at  half-past  eleven,  as  if  accelerating  it  would  have  had 
the  least  effect  upon  hurrying  the  arrival  of  the  expected 
guests ;  and  the  old  King,  with  his  napkin  over  his  arm,  trav- 
ersed the  hall  from  window  to  window,  wenrving  every  one  with 
questions,  whether  they  saw  anything  of  the  Queen  of  England. 
Exactly  as  the  bells  tolled  noon,  the  Queen,  with  a  very  small 
retinue,  chiefly  English,  and  in  mourninjx  habits  like  herself, 
rode  into  the  town  of  Aix.  King  Rend,  at  the  head  of  his 
court,  failed  not  to  descend  from  the  front  of  his  stately  palace, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


-369 


and  move  along  the  street  to  meet  his  daughter.  Lofty,  proud, 
and  jealous  of  incurring  ridicule,  Margaret  was  not  pleased 
with  this  public  greeting  in  the  market-place.  But  she  was 
desirous  at  present  to  make  amends  for  her  late  petulance,  and 
therefore  she  descended  from  her  palfrey ;  and  although  some- 
thing shocked  at  seeing  Rene  equipped  with  a  napkin,  she 
humbled  herself  to  bend  the  knee  to  him,  asking  at  once  his 
blessing  and  forgiveness. 

Thou  hast — thou  hast  my  blessing,  my  suffering  dove," 
said  the  simple  King  to  the  proudest  and  most  impatient  princess 
that  ever  wept  for  a  lost  crown. — "  And  for  thy  pardon,  how 
canst  thou  ask  it,  who  never  didst  me  an  offence  since  God 
made  me  father  to  so  gracious  a  child  .'^ — Rise,  I  say,  rise — nay, 
it  is  for  me  to  ask  thy  pardon — True,  I  said  in  my  ignorance, 
and  thought  within  myself,  that  my  heart  had  indited  a  goodly 
thing — but  it  vexed  thee.  It  is  therefore  for  me  to  crave  par- 
don."— And  down  sank  good  King  Rene  upon  both  knees  ; 
and  the  people,  who  are  usually  captivated  with  anything  re- 
sembling the  trick  of  the  scene,  applauded  with  much  noise, 
and  some  smothered  laughter,  a  situation  in  which  the  royal 
daughter  and  her  parent  seemed  about  to  rehearse  the  scene  of 
the  Roman  Charity. 

Margaret,  sensitively  alive  to  shame,  and  fully  aware  that 
her  present  position  was  sufficiently  ludicrous  in  its  publicity  at 
least,  signed  sharply  to  Arthur,  whom  she  saw  in  the  King's 
suite,  to  come  to  her ;  and  using  his  arm  to  rise,  she  muttered 
to  him  aside,  and  in  English, — "  To  what  saint  shall  I  vow 
myself  that  I  may  preserve  patience  when  I  so  much  need  it ! " 

"  For  pity's  sake,  royal  madam,  recall  your  firmness  of  mind 
and  composure,"  whispered  her  esquire,  who  felt  at  the  moment 
more  embarrassed  than  honored  by  his  distinguished  office,  for 
he  could  feel  that  the  Queen  actually  trembled  with  vexation 
and  impatience. 

They  at  length  resumed  their  route  to  the  palace,  the  father 
and  daughter  arm  in  arm,  a  posture  most  agreeable  to  Margaret, 
who  could  bring  herself  to  endure  her  father's  effusions  of  ten- 
derness, and  the  general  tone  of  his  conversation,  so  that  he  was 
not  overheard  by  others.  In  the  same  manner,  she  bore  with 
laudable  patience  the  teasing  attentions  which  he  addressed  to 
her  at  table,  noticed  some  of  his  particular  courtiers,  inquired 
after  others,  led  the  way  to  his  favorite  subjects  of  conversation 
on  poetry,  painting,  and  music,  till  the  good  King  was  as  much 
delighted  with  the  unwonted  civilities  of  his  daughter,  as  ever 
was  lover  with  the  favorable  confessions  of  his  mistress,  when, 
^fter  years  of  warm  courtship^  the  ice  of  h^r  bosom  is  at  length 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


thawed.  It  cost  the  haughty  Margaret  an  effort  to  bend  hersett 
to  play  this  part — her  pride  rebuked  her  for  stooping  to  flatter 
her  father's  foibles,  in  order  to  bring  him  over  to  the  resignation 
of  his  dominions — yet  having  undertaken  to  do  so,  and  so  much 
having  been  already  hazarded  upon  this  sole  remaining  chance 
of  success  in  an  attack  upon  England,  she  saw,  or  was  willing 
to  see  no  alternative. 

Betwixt  the  banquet,  and  the  ball  by  which  it  was  to  be 
followed,  the  Queen  sought  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to 
Arthur. 

"  Bad  news,  my  sage  counselor,"  she  said.  "  The  Carmelite 
never  returned  to  the  convent  after  the  service  was  over. 
Having  learned  that  you  had  come  back  in  great  haste,  he  had, 
I  suppose  concluded  he  might  stand  in  suspicion,  so  he  left  the 
convent  of  Mont  Saint  Victoire.'' 

"  We  must  hasten  the  measures  which  your  Majesty  has  re- 
solved to  adopt,"  answered  Arthur. 

"  I  will  speak  with  my  father  to-morrow.  Meanwhile,  you 
must  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  evening,  for  to  you  they  maybe 
pleasures. — Young  Lady  of  Boisgelin,  I  give  you  this  cavalier 
to  be  your  partner  for  the  evening."  * 

The  black-eyed  and  pretty  Provengale  courtesied  with  due 
decorum,  and  glanced  at  the  handsome  young  Englishman  with 
an  eye  of  approbation  ;  but  whether  afraid  of  his  character  as 
a  philosopher,  or  his  doubtful  rank,  added  the  saving  clause, — 
"  If  my  mother  approves." 

"  Your  mother,  damsel,  will  scarce,  I  think,  disapprove  of 
any  partner  whom  you  receive  from  the  hands  of  Margaret  of 
Anjou.  Happy  privilege  of  youth,"  added  with  a  sigh,  as  the 
youthful  couple  went  off  to  take  their  place  in  the  bra?isle^^ 
"  which  can  snatch  a  flower  even  on  the  roughest  road." 

Arthur  acquitted  himself  so  well  during  the  evening,  that 
perhaps  the  young  Countess  was  only  sorry  that  so  gay  and 
handsome  a  gallant  limited  his  compliments  and  attentions 
within  the  cold  bounds  of  that  courtesy  enjoined  by  the  rules 
of  ceremony. 


*  Bransle,  in  English,  brawl — a  species  of  danoe. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SECOND, 

For  I  have  given  here  my  full  consent 
To  undeck  the  pompous  body  of  a  king, 
Make  glory  base,  and  sovereignty  a  slave, 
Proud  Majesty  a  subject,  state  a  peasant. 

Richard  II. 

The  next  day  opened  a  grave  scene.  King  Rene  had  not 
forgotten  to  arrange  the  pleasures  of  the  day,  when  to  his  horror 
and  discomfiture,  Margaret  demanded  an  interview  upon  seri- 
ous business.  If  there  was  a  proposition  in  the  world  which 
Rene  from  his  soul  detested,  it  was  any  that  related  to  the 
very  name  of  business. 

"What  was  it  that  his  child  wanted.^"  he  said.  "  Was  it 
money  He  would  give  her  whatever  ready  sums  he  had, 
though  he  owned  his  exchequer  was  somewhat  bare  ;  yet  he 
had  received  his  income  for  the  season.  It  was  ten  thousand 
crowns.  How  much  should  he  desire  to  be  paid  to  her  ? — the 
half — three  parts — or  the  whole  ?    All  was  at  her  command." 

Alas,  my  dear  father,''  said  Margaret,  it  is  not  my  affairs, 
but  your  own,  on  which  I  desire  to  speak  with  you." 

**  If  the  affairs  are  mine,"  said  Rene,  "  I  am  surely  master 
to  put  them  off  to  another  day — to  some  rainy  dull  day,  fit  for 
no  better  purpose.  See,  my  love,  the  hawking  party  are  all  on 
their  steeds  and  ready — the  horses  are  neighing  and  pawing — 
the  gallants  and  maidens  mounted,  and  ready  with  hawk  on  fist 
— the  spaniels  struggling  in  the  leash.  It  were  a  sin,  with  wind 
and  weather  to  friend,  to  lose  so  lovely  a  morning." 

"  Let  them  ride  their  way,"  said  Queen  Margaret,  "  and  find 
their  sport;  for  the  matter  I  have  to  speak  concerning  involves 
honor  and  rank,  life  and  means  of  living." 

Nay,  but  I  have  to  hear  and  judge  between  Calezon  and 
John  of  Acqua  Mortis,  the  two  most  celebrated  Troubadours." 

"  Postpone  their  cause  till  to-morrow,"  said  Margaret,  "and 
dedicate  an  hour  or  two  to  more  important  affairs." 

"If  you  are  peremptory,"  replied  King  Rene,  "you  are 
aware,  my  child,  I  cannot  say  you  nay." 

And  with  reluctance  he  gave  orders  for  the  hawkers  to  go 
on  and  follow  their  sport,  as  he  could  not  attend  them  that  day. 

The  old  King  then  suffered  himself,  like  an  unwilling  gray- 
hound  withheld  from  the  chase,  to  be  led  into  a  separate  apart- 
ment.   To  ensure  privacy,  Margaret  stationed  her  secretary, 


372 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Mordaunt,  with  Arthur,  in  an  antechamber,  giving  them  orders 
to  prevent  all  intrusion. 

"Nay,  for  myself,  Margaret,"  said  the  good-natured  old 
man,  since  it  must  be,  I  consent  to  be  put  aic  secret  ;  but  why 
keep  old  Mordaunt  from  taking  a  walk  in  this  beautiful  morn- 
ing ;  and  why  prevent  young  Arthur  from  going  forth  with  the 
rest  ?  I  promise  you,  though  they  term  him  a  philosopher,  yet 
he  showed  as  light  a  pair  of  heels  last  night  with  the  young 
Countess  de  Boisgelin,  as  any  gallant  in  Provence." 

"They  are  come  from  a  countr}',"  said  Margaret,  "  in  which 
men  are  trained  from  infancy  to  prefer  their  duty  to  their 
pleasure." 

The  poor  King,  led  into  the  council-closet,  saw,  with  internal 
shuddering,  the  fatal  cabinet  of  ebony,  bound  with  silver,  which 
had  never  been  opened  but  to  overwhelm  him  with  weariness, 
and  dolefully  calculated  how  many  yawns  he  must  strangle  ere 
he  sustained  the  consideration  of  its  contents.  They  proved, 
however,  when  laid  before  him,  of  a  kind  that  excited  even  his 
interest,  though  painfully. 

His  daughter  presented  him  with  a  short  and  clear  view  of 
the  debts  which  were  secured  on  his  dominions,  and  ior  which 
they  were  mortgaged  in  various  pieces  and  parcels.  She  then 
showed  him,  by  another  schedule,  the  large  claims  of  which  pay- 
ment was  instantly  demanded,  to  discharge  which  no  funds 
could  be  found  or  assigned.  The  King  defended  himself  like 
others  in  his  forlorn  situation.  To  every  claim  of  six,  seven,  or 
eight  thousand  ducats,  he  replied  by  the  assertion,  that  he  had 
ten  thousand  crowns  in  his  chancery,  and  showed  some  reluctance 
to  be  convinced,  till  repeatedly  urged  upon  him,  that  the  same 
sum  could  not  be  adequate  to  the  discharge  of  thirty  times  the 
amount. 

"Then,"  said  the  King,  somewhat  impatiently,  why  not 
pay  off  those  who  are  most  pressing,  and  let  the  others  wait  till 
receipts  come  round  1  " 

"  It  is  a  practice  which  has  been  too  often  resorted  to," 
replied  the  Queen,  "  and  it  is  but  a  part  of  honesty  to  pay 
creditors  who  have  advanced  their  all  in  your  Grace's  service." 

"  But  are  we  not,"  said  Ren^,  "  King  of  both  the  Sicilies, 
Naples,  Arragon,  and  Jerusalem  t  And  why  is  the  monarch  of 
such  fair  kingdoms  to  be  pushed  to  the  wall,  like  a  bankrupt 
yeoman,  for  a  few  bags  of  paltry  crowns  ?  " 

"  You  are  indeed  monarch  of  these  kingdoms,"  said  Mar- 
garet ;  "  but  is  it  necessary  to  remind  your  Majesty  that  it  is 
but  as  I  am  Queen  of  England,  in  which  I  have  not  an  acre  of 
land,  and  cannot  command  a  penny  of  revenue  ?    You  have  no 


373 


dominions  which  are  a  source  of  revenue,  save  those  which  you 
see  in  this  scroll,  with  an  exact  list  of  the  income  they  afford. 
It  is  totally  inadequate,  you  see,  to  maintain  your  state  and  to 
pay  the  large  engagements  incurred  to  former  creditors/' 

"  It  is  cruel  to  press  me  to  the  wall  thus,''  said  the  poor  King. 
"  What  can  I  do  ?  If  I  am  poor,  I  cannot  help  it.  I  am  sure  I 
would  pay  the  debts  you  talk  of,  if  I  knew  the  way." 

"  Royal  father,  I  will  show  it  you. — Resign  your  useless  and 
unavailing  dignity,  which,  with  the  pretensions  attending  it, 
serves  but  to  make  your  miseries  ridiculous.  Resign  your 
rights  as  a  sovereign,  and  the  income  which  cannot  be  stretch- 
ed out  to  the  empty  excesses  of  a  beggarly  court,  will  enable 
you  to  enjoy,  in  ease  and  opulence,  all  the  pleasures  you  most 
delight  in  as  a  private  baron." 

"  Margaret,  you  speak  folly,"  answered  Rene,  somewhat 
sternly.  "  A  king  and  his  people  are  bound  by  ties  which 
neither  can  sever  without  guilt.  My  subjects  are  my  flock,  I 
am  their  shepherd.  They  are  assigned  to  my  governance  by 
Heaven,  and  I  dare  not  renounce  the  charge  of  protecting 
them." 

"  Were  you  in  condition  to  do  so,"  answered  the  Queen, 
"  Margaret  would  bid  you  fight  to  the  death.  But  don  your 
harness,  long  disused — mount  your  war-steed — cry,  Rene  for 
Provence  !  and  see  if  a  hundred  men  will  gather  round  your 
standard.  Your  fortresses  are  in  the  hands  of  strangers  ; 
army  you  have  none ;  your  vassals  may  have  good-will,  but 
they  lack  all  military  skill  and  soldier-like  discipline.  You 
stand  but  the  mere  skeleton  of  monarchy,  which  France  or 
Burgundy  may  prostrate  on  the  earth,  whichever  first  puts 
forth  his  arm  to  throw  it  down." 

The  tears  trickled  fast  down  the  old  King's  cheeks,  when 
this  unflattering  prospect  was  set  before  him,  and  he  could  not 
forbear  owning  his  total  want  of  power  to  defend  himself,  and 
his  dominions,  and  admitting  that  he  had  often  thought  of  the 
necessity  of  compounding  for  his  resignation  with  one  of  his 
powerful  neighbors. 

"  It  was  thy  interest,  Margaret,  harsh  and  severe  as  you  are, 
which  prevented  my  entering,  before  now,  into  measures  most 
painful  to  my  feelings,  but  perhaps  best  calculated  for  my 
advantage.  But  1  had  hoped  it  would  hold  on  for  my  day ; 
and  thou,  my  child,  with  the  talents  Heaven  has  given  thee, 
wouldst,  I  thought,  have  found  remedy  for  distresses,  which  I 
cannot  escape,  otherwise  than  by  shunning  the  thoughts  of 
them." 

"  If  it  is  in  earnest  you  speak  of  my  interest,"  said  Mar- 


ANME  OF  GEtEkSTEW, 


garet,  know,  that  your  resigning  Provence  will  satisfy  the 
nearest,  and  almost  the  only  wish  that  my  bosom  can  form ; 
but,  so  judge  me  Heaven,  as  it  is  on  your  account,  gracious 
sire,  as  well  as  mine,  that  I  advise  your  compliance." 

^'  Say  no  more  on't,  child  ;  give  me  the  parchment  of  resig- 
nation, and  I  will  sign  it  :  I  see  thou  hast  it  ready  drawn  ;  let 
us  sign  it,  and  then  we  will  overtake  the  hawkers.  We  must 
suffer  woe,  but  there  is  little  need  to  sit  down  and  weep  for  it.'* 

"  Do  you  not  ask,'*  said  Margaret,  surprised  at  his  apathy, 
to  whom  you  cede  your  dominions  ?  ** 

"  What  boots  it,**  an^^wered  the  King,  "  since  they  must  be 
no  more  my  own  1  It  must  be  either  to  Charles  of  Burgundy, 
or  my  nephew  Louis — both  powerful  and  politic  princes.  God 
send  my  poor  people  may  have  no  cause  to  wish  their  old  man 
back  again,  whose  only  pleasure  was  to  see  them  happy  and 
mirthful." 

"  It  is  to  Burgundy  you  resign  Provence,**  said  Margaret. 

"  I  would  have  preferred  him,'*  answered  Ren^  ;  he  is 
fierce,  but  not  malignant.  One  word  more — are  my  subjects' 
privileges  and  immunities  fully  secured  t  ** 

^'  Amply,**  replied  the  Queen  ;  "  and  your  own  \A^nts  of  all 
kinds  honorably  provided  for.  I  would  not  leave  the  stipula- 
tions in  your  favor  in  blank,  though  I  might  perhaps  have 
trusted  Charles  of  Burgundy,  where  money  alone  is  concerned.** 

**  I  ask  not  for  myself — with  my  viol  and  my  pencil,  Ren^ 
the  Troubadour  will  be  as  happy  as  ever  was  Ren^  the  King.** 

So  saying,  with  practical  philosophy  he  whistled  the  burden 
of  his  last  composed  ariette,  and  signed  away  the  rest  of  his 
royal  possessions  without  pulling  off  his  glove,  or  even  reading 
the  instrument. 

"  What  is  this  ?  **  he  said,  looking  at  another  and  separate 
parchment  of  much  briefer  contents.  "  Must  my  kinsman 
Charles  have  both  the  Sicilies,  Catalonia,  Naples,  and  Jeru- 
salem, as  well  as  the  poor  remainder  of  Provence  t  Methinks, 
in  decency,  some  greater  extent  of  parchment  should  have  been 
allowed  to  so  ample  a  cession.** 

"  That  deed,**  said  Margaret,  only  disowns  and  relin- 
quishes all  countenance  of  Ferrand  de  Vaudemont's  rash  attempt 
on  Lorraine,  and  renounces  all  quarrel  on  that  account  against 
Charles  of  Burgundy.*' 

For  once  Margaret  miscalculated  the  tractability  of  her 
father*s  temper.  Rend  positively  started,  colored,  and  stam- 
mered with  passion,  as  he  interrupted  her. — "  Only  disown — 
only  relinquish — 07ily  renounce  the  cause  of  my  grandchild,  the 
son  of  my  dear  Yolande — his  rightful  claims  on  his  mother's 


inheritance  !— Margaret,  I  am  ashamed  for  thee.  Thy  pride  is 
an  excuse  for  thy  evil  temper ;  but  what  is  pride  worth  which 
can  stoop  to  commit  an  act  of  dishonorable  meanness  ?  To 
desert,  nay  disown,  my  own  flesh  and  blood,  because  the  youth 
is  a  bold  knight  under  shield,  and  disposed  to  battle  for  his 
right — I  were  worthy  that  harp  and  horn  rung  out  shame  on 
me,  should  I  listen  to  thee." 

Margaret  was  overcome  in  some  measure  by  the  old  man's 
unexpected  opposition.  She  endeavored,  however,  to  show 
that  there  was  no  occasion,  in  point  of  honor,  why  Rene  should 
engage  in  the  cause  of  a  wild  adventurer,  whose  right,  be  it 
good  be  it  bad,  was  only  upheld  by  some  petty  and  underhand 
supplies  of  money  from  France,  and  the  countenance  of  a  few 
of  the  restless  banditti  who  inhabit  the  borders  of  all  nations. 
But  ere  Rene  could  answer,  voices,  raised  to  an  unusual  pitch, 
were  heard  in  the  antechamber,  the  door  of  which  was  flung 
open  by  an  armed  knight,  covered  with  dust,  who  exhibited  all 
the  marks  of  a  long  journey. 

Here  I  am,''  he  said,  "father  of  my  mother — behold  your 
grandson — Ferrand  de  Vaudemont ;  the  son  of  your  lost  Yo- 
lande  kneels  at  your  feet,  and  implores  a  blessing  on  him  and 
his  enterprise." 

"  Thou  hast  it,"  replied  Rend,  and  may  it  prosper  with 
thee,  gallant  youth,  image  of  thy  sainted  mother — my  blessings, 
my  prayers,  my  hopes,  go  with  you  !  " 

"  And  you,  fair  aunt  of  England,"  said  the  young  knight, 
addressing  Margaret,  you  who  are  yourself  dispossessed  by 
traitors,  will  you  not  own  the  cause  of  a  kinsman  who  is 
Struggling  for  his  inheritance  ?  " 

I  wish  all  good  to  your  person,  fair  nephew,"  answered  the 
Queen  of  England,  "  although  your  features  are  strange  to  me. 
But  to  advise  this  old  man  to  adopt  your  cause,  when  it  is 
desperate  in  the  eyes  of  all  wise  men,  were  impious  madness." 

"  Is  my  cause  then  so  desperate  ? "  said  Ferrand  ;  "  forgive 
me  if  I  was  not  aware  of  it.  And  does  my  aunt  Margaret  say 
this,  whose  strength  of  mind  supported  Lancaster  so  long,  after 
the  spirits  of  her  warriors  had  been  quelled  by  defeat  ?  What 
— forgive  me,  for  my  cause  must  be  pleaded — what  would  you 
have  said  had  my  mother  Yolande  been  capable  to  advise  her 
father  to  disown  your  own  Edward,  had  God  permitted  him  to 
reach  Provence  in  safety  ?  " 

Edward,"  said  Margaret,  weeping  as  she  spoke,  "  was  in- 
capable of  desiring  his  friends  to  espouse  a  quarrel  that  was 
irremediable.  His,  too,  was  a  cause  for  which  mighty  princes 
and  peers  laid  lance  in  rest." 


376  AJVi^E  OP  GMIERSTEW. 

"  Yet  Heaven  blessed  it  not  " — said  Vaudemont. 

"  Thine/'  continued  Margaret,  "  is  but  embraced  by  the 
robber  nobles  of  Germany,  the  upstart  burghers  of  the  Rhine 
cities,  the  paltry  and  clownish  Confederates  of  the  Cantons." 

But  Heaven  has  blessed  it^^'  replied  Vaudemont.  "  Know, 
proud  woman,  that  I  come  to  interrupt  your  treacherous 
intrigues  ;  no  petty  adventurer,  subsisting  and  maintaining 
warfare  by  sleight  rather  than  force,  but  a  conqueror  from  a 
bloody  field  of  battle,  in  which  Heaven  has  tamed  the  pride  of 
the  tyrant  of  Burgundy/' 

"  It  is  false  !  ''  said  the  Queen,  starting  \  "  I  believe  it 
not." 

It  is  true,"  said  De  Vaudemont,  as  true  as  heaven  is 
above  us. — It  is  four  days  since  I  left  the  field  of  Granson, 
heaped  with  Burgundy's  mercenaries — his  wealth,  his  jewels, 
his  plate,  his  magnificent  decorations,  the  prize  of  the  poor 
Swiss,  who  scarce  can  tell  their  value.  Know  you  this.  Queen 
Margaret  ?  "  continued  the  young  soldier,  showing  the.  well- 
known  jewel  which  decorated  the  Duke's  order  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  ;  "  think  you  not  the  lion  was  closely  hunted  when  he 
left  such  trophies  as  these  behind  him  ">  " 

Margaret  looked,  with  dazzled  eyes  and  bewildered  thoughts, 
upon  a  token  which  confirmed  the  Duke's  defeat,  and  the 
extinction  of  her  last  hopes.  Her  father,  on  the  contrary,  was 
struck  with  the  heroism  of  the  young  warrior,  a  quality  which, 
except  as  it  existed  in  his  daughter  Margaret,  had,  he  feared, 
taken  leave  of  his  family.  Admiring  in  his  heart  the  youth 
who  exposed  himself  to  danger  for  the  meed  of  praise,  almost 
as  much  as  he  did  the  poets  by  whom  the  warrior's  fame 
is  rendered  immortal,  he  hugged  his  grandson  to  his  bosom, 
bidding  him  "  gird  on  his  sword  in  strength,"  and  assuring  him, 
if  money  could  advance  his  affairs,  he.  King  Ren^,  could  com- 
mand ten  thousand  crowns,  any  part,  or  the  whole  of  which,  was 
at  Ferrand's  command  ;  thus  giving  proof  of  what  had  been 
said  of  him,  that  his  head  was  incapable  of  containing  two  ideas 
at  the  same  time. 

We  return  to  Arthur,  who,  with  the  Queen  of  England's 
secretary,  Mordaunt,  had  been  not  a  little  surprised  by  the 
entrance  of  the  Count  de  Vaudemont,  calling  himself  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  into  the  anteroom,  in  which  they  kept  a  kind  of  guard, 
followed  by  a  tall  strong  Swiss,  with  a  huge  halberd  over  his 
shoulder.  The  prince  naming  himself,  A^rthur  did  not  think  it 
becoming  to  oppose  his  entrance  to  the  presence  of  his  grand- 
father and  aunt,  especially  as  it  was  obvious  that  his  opposition 
must  have  created  an  affray.    In  the  huge  staring  halberdier, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


377 


who  had  sense  enough  to  remain  in  the  anteroom,  Arthur  was 
not  a  little  surprised  to  recognize  Sigismund  Biederman,  who, 
after  staring  wildly  at  him  for  a  moment,  like  a  dog  which 
suddenly  recognizes  a  favorite,  rushed  up  to  the  young 
Englishman  with  a  wild  cry  of  gladness,  and  in  hurried  accents 
told  him  how  happy  he  was  to  meet  wdth  him,  and  that  he  had 
matters  of  importance  to  tell  him.  It  was  at  no  time  easy  for 
Sigismund  to  arrange  his  ideas,  and  now  they  were  altogether 
confused  by  the  triumphant  joy  which  he  expressed  for  the  recent 
victory  of  his  countrymen  over  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  ;  and  it 
was  with  wonder  that  Arthur  heard  his  confused  and  rude,  but 
faithful  tale. 

"  Look  you,  King  Arthur,  the  Duke  had  come  up  with  his 
huge  army  as  far  as  Granson,  which  is  near  the  outlet  of  the 
great  lake  of  Neufchatel.  There  were  five  or  six  hundred 
Confederates  in  the  place,  and  they  held  it  till  provisions  failed, 
and  then  you  know  they  were  forced  to  give  it  over.  But  though 
hunger  is  hard  to  bear,  they  had  better  have  borne  it  a  day  or 
two  longer,  for  the  butcher  Charles  hung  them  all  up  by  the 
neck,  upon  trees  round  the  place, — and  there  was  no  swallowing 
for  them,  you  know,  after  such  usage  as  that.  Meanwhile  all 
was  busy  on  our  hills,  and  every  man  that  had  a  sword  or  lance 
accoutred  himself  with  it.  We  met  at  Neufchatel,  and  some 
Germans  joined  us  with  the  noble  Duke  of  Lorraine.  Ah, 
King  Arthur,  there  is  a  leader  ! — we  all  think  him  second 
but  to  Rudolph  of  Donnerhugel — you  saw  him  even  now — it 
was  he  that  went  into  that  room — and  you  saw  him  before, — it 
is  he  that  was  the  Blue  Knight  of  Bale  ;  but  we  called  him 
Laurenz  then,  for  Rudolph  said  his  presence  among  us  must 
not  be  known  to  our  father,  and  I  did  not  know  myself  at  that 
time  who  he  really  was.  Well,  when  we  came  to  Neufchatel 
we  were  a  goodly  company ;  we  were  fifteen  thousand  stout 
Confederates,  and  of  others,  Germans  and  Lorraine  men,  I  will 
warrant  you  five  thousand  more.  We  heard  that  the  Burgun- 
dian  was  sixty  thousand  in  the  field  ;  but  we  heard  at  the  same 
time  that  Charles  had  hung  up  our  brethren  like  dogs,  and  the 
man  was  not  among  us — among  the  Confederates,  I  mean — 
who  would  stay  to  count  heads,  when  the  question  was  to 
avenge  them.  I  would  you  could  have  heard  the  roar  of  fifteen 
thousand  Swiss  demanding  to  be  led  against  the  butcher  of 
their  brethren  !  My  father  himself,  who,  you  know,  is  usually 
so  eager  for  peace,  now  gave  the  first  voice  for  battle  ;  so,  in 
the  gray  of  the  morning,  we  descended  the  lake  toward  Gran- 
son, with  tears  in  our  eyes  and  weapons  in  our  hands,  deter- 
mined to  have  death  or  vengeance.    We  came  to  a  sort  of 


378 


ANNE  OP  GElKkSTKIN. 


strait,  between  Vauxmoreux  and  the  lake  ;  there  were  horse  on 
the  level  ground  between  the  mountain  and  the  lake  ;  and  a 
large  body  of  infantry  on  the  side  of  the  hill.  The  Duke  of 
Lorraine  and  his  followers  engaged  the  horse,  while  we  climbed 
the  hill  to  dispossess  the  infantry.  It  was  with  us  the  affair  of 
a  moment.  Every  man  of  us  was  at  home  among  the  crags, 
and  Charles's  men  were  stuck  among  them  as  thou  wert,  Arthur, 
when  thou  didst  first  come  to  Geierstein.  But  there  were  no 
kind  maidens  to  lend  them  their  hands  to  help  them  down. 
No,  no. — There  were  pikes,  clubs,  and  halberds,  many  a  one, 
to  dash  and  thrust  them  from  places  where  they  could  hardly 
keep  their  feet  had  there  been  no  one  to  disturb  them.  So  the 
horsemen,  pushed  by  the  Lorrainers,  and  seeing  us  upon  their 
flanks,  fled  as  fast  as  their  horses  could  carry  them.  Then  we 
drew  together  again  on  a  fair  field,  which  is  buon  campagna^  as 
the  Italian  says,  where  the  hills  retire  from  the  lake.  But  lo 
you,  we  had  scarce  arrayed  our  ranks,  when  we  heard  such  a 
din  and  clash  of  instruments,  such  a  trample  of  their  great 
horses,  such  a  shouting  and  crying  of  men,  as  if  all  the  soldiers 
and  all  the  minstrels  in  France  and  Germany  were  striving 
which  should  make  the  loudest  noise.  Then  there  was  a  huge 
cloud  of  dust  approaching  us,  and  we  began  to  see  we  must  do 
or  die,  for  this  was  Charles  and  his  whole  army  come  to  support 
his  vanguard.  A  blast  from  the  mountain  dispersed  the  dust, 
for  they  had  halted  to  prepare  for  battle.  Oh,  good  Arthur  ! 
you  would  have  given  ten  years  of  life  but  to  have  seen  the 
sight.  There  w^ere  thousands  of  horse,  all  in  complete  array, 
glancing  against  the  sun,  and  hundreds  of  knights  with  crowns 
of  gold  and  silver  on  their  helmets,  and  thick  masses  of  spears 
on  foot,  and  cannon,  as  they  call  them.  I  did  not  know  what 
things  they  were,  which  they  drew  on  heavily  with  bullocks,  and 
placed  before  their  army,  but  I  knew  more  of  them  before 
the  morning  was  over.  Well,  we  were  ordered  to  draw  up  in  a 
hollow  square,  as  we  are  taught  at  exercise,  and  before  we 
pushed  forward,  we  were  commanded,  as  is  the  godly  rule  and 
guise  of  our  warfare,  to  kneel  down  and  pray  to  God,  Our  Lady, 
and  the  blessed  saints  ;  and  we  afterward  learned  that  Charles, 
in  his  arrogance,  thought  that  we  asked  for  mercy.  Ha  !  ha! 
ha  !  a  proper  jest.  If  my  father  once  knelt  to  him,  it  was  for 
the  sake  of  Christian  blood  and  godly  peace  ;  but  on  the  field 
of  battle,  Arnold  ]jiederman  w^ould  not  have  knelt  to  him  and 
his  whole  chivalry,  though  he  had  stood  alone  with  his  sons  on 
that  field.  Well,  but  Charles,  supposing  we  asked  grace,  was 
determined  to  show  us  that  we  had  asked  it  at  a  graceless  face, 
for  he  cried,  *  Fire  my  cannon  on  the  coward  slaves  ;  it  is  all 


ANm  OF  GEiEksmm. 


the  mercy  they  have  to  expect  from  me  ! ' — Bang — bang — bang 
— off  went  the  things  I  told  you  of,  Hke  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  some  mischief  they  did,  but  the  less  that  we  were  kneel- 
ing ;  and  the  saints  doubtless  gave  the  huge  balls  a  hoist  over 
the  heads  of  those  who  were  asking  grace  from  them,  but  from 
no  mortal  creatures.  So  we  had  the  signal  to  rise  and  rush  on, 
and  I  promise  you  there  were  no  sluggards.  Every  man  felt  ten 
men's  strength.  My  halberd  is  no  child's  toy — if  you  have  for- 
gotten it,  there  it  is — and  yet  it  trembled  in  my  grasp  as  if  it 
had  been  a  Vv^illow-wand  to  drive  cows  with.  On  we  went,  when 
suddenly  the  cannon  were  silent,  and  the  earth  shook  with 
another  and  continued  growl  and  battering,  like  thunder  under 
ground.  It  was  the  men-at-arms  rushing  to  charge  us.  But 
our  leaders  knew  their  trade,  and  had  seen  such  a  sight  before 
— It  was.  Halt,  halt — kneel  down  in  the  front — stoop  in  the 
second  rank — close  shoulder  to  shoulder  like  brethren,  lean  all 
spears  forward,  and  receive  them  like  an  iron  wall  !  On  they 
rushed,  and  there  was  a  rending  of  lances  that  would  have 
served  the  Unterwalden  old  women  with  splinters  of  firewood 
for  a  twelvemonth.  Down  went  armed  horse — down  went  ac- 
coutred knight — down  went  banner  and  bannerman — down 
went  peaked  boot  and  crowned  helmet,  and  of  those  who  fell 
not  a  man  escaped  with  life.  So  they  drew  off  in  confusion,  and 
were  getting  in  order  to  charge  again,  when  the  Noble  Duke 
Ferrand  and  his  horsemen  dashed  at  them  in  their  own  way,  and 
we  moved  onward  to  support  him.  Thus  on  we  pressed,  and 
the  foot  hardly  waited  for  us,  seeing  their  cavalry  so  handled. 
Then  if  you  had  seen  the  dust  and  heard  the  blows  !  the  noise 
of  a  hundred  thousand  thrashers,  the  flight  of  the  chaff  which 
they  drive  about,  would  be  but  a  type  of  it.  On  my  word,  I 
almost  thought  it  shame  to  dash  about  my  halberd,  the  rout  was 
so  helplessly  piteous.  Hundreds  were  slain  unresisting,  and 
the  whole  army  was  in  complete  flight.'^ 

"My  father — my  father!"  exclaimed  Arthur;  "  in  such  a 
rout,  what  can  have  become  of  him  ? " 

"  He  escaped  safely,"  said  the  Swiss  ;  "  fled  with  Charles." 

"  It  must  have  been  a  bloody  field  ere  he  fled,"  replied  the 
Englishman. 

"  Nay,"  answered  Sigismund,  "he  took  no  part  in  the  fight, 
but  merely  remained  by  Charles  ;  and  prisoners  said  it  was  well 
for  us,  for  that  he  is  a  man  of  great  counsel  and  action  in  the 
wars.  And  as  to  flying,  a  man  in  such  a  matter  must  go  back 
if  he  cannot  press  forward,  and  there  is  no  shame  in  it,  especially 
if  you  be  not  engaged  in  your  own  person." 

As  he  spoke  thus,  their  conversation  was  interrupted  by  Mor- 
daunt,  with  "  Hush,  hush— the  King  and  Queen  come  forth." 


38o 


"What  am  I  to  do  ?  ^'  said  Sigismund,  in  some  alarm.  1 
care  not  for  the  Duke  of  Lorraine ;  but  what  am  I  to  do  when 
Kings  and  Queens  enter  ?  " 

Do  nothing  but  rise,  unbonnet  yourself,  and  be  silent." 

Sigismund  did  as  he  was  directed. 

King  Rene  came  forth  arm  in  arm  with  his  grandson  ;  and 
Margaret  followed,  with  deep  disappointment  and  vexation  on 
her  brow.  She  signed  to  Arthur  as  she  passed,  and  said  to  him 
— "  Make  thyself  master  of  the  truth  of  this  most  unexpected 
news,  and  bring  the  particulars  to  me.  Mordaunt  will  introduce 
thee.'' 

She  then  cast  a  look  on  the  young  Swiss,  and  replied  cour- 
teously to  his  awkward  salutation.  The  royal  party  then  left 
the  room,  Ren^  bent  on  carrying  his  grandson  to  the  sporting- 
party,  which  had  been  interrupted,  and  Margaret  to  seek  the 
solitude  of  her  private  apartment,  and  await  the  confirmation  of 
what  she  regarded  as  evil  tidings. 

They  had  no  sooner  passed,  than  Sigismund  observed, — 
"  And  so  that  is  a  King  and  Queen  ! — Pest !  the  King  looks 
somewhat  like  old  Jacomo,  the  violer,  that  used  to  scrape  on  the 
fiddle  to  us  when  he  came  to  Geierstein  in  his  rounds.  But  the 
Queen  is  a  stately  creature.  The  chief  cow  of  the  herd,  who 
carries  the  bouquets  and  garlands,  and  leads  the  rest  to  the 
chalet,  has  not  a  statelier  pace.  And  how  deftly  you  approached 
her  and  spoke  to  her  !  I  could  not  have  done  it  with  so  much 
grace — but  it  is  like  that  you  have  served  apprentice  to  the  court 
trade  ? 

Leave  that  for  the  present,  good  Sigismund,"  answered 
Arthur,    and  tell  me  more  of  this  battle." 

By  Saint  Mary,  but  I  must  have  some  victuals  and  drink 
first,"  said  Sigismund,  ^*  if  your  credit  in  this  fine  place  reaches 
so  far." 

"  Doubt  it  not,  Sigismund,"  said  Arthur ;  and,  by  the  inter- 
vention of  Mordaunt,  he  easily  procured,  in  a  more  retired 
apartment,  a  collation  and  wine,  to  which  the  young  Biederman 
did  great  honor,  smacking  his  lips  with  much  gusto  after  the 
delicious  wines,  to  which,  in  spite  of  his  father's  ascetic  precepts, 
/lis  palate  was  beginning  to  be  considerably  formed  and  habit- 
uated. When  he  found  himself  alone  with  a  flask  of  coic  ?vti 
and  a  biscuit,  and  his  friend  Arthur,  he  was  easily  led  to  con- 
tinue his  tale  of  conquest. 

"Well — where  was  I  ? — Oh,  where  we  broke  their  infantry — 
well — they  never  rallied,  and  fell  into  greater  confusion  at 
every  step — and  we  might  have  slaughtered  one  half  of  them, 
had  we  not  stopped  to  examine  Charles's  camp.    Mercy  on  us, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


381 


Arthur,  what  a  sight  was  there  !  Every  pavilion  was  full  of  rich 
clothes,  splendid  armor,  and  great  dishes  and  flagons,  which 
some  men  said  were  of  silver ;  but  I  knew  there  was  not  so 
much  silver  in  the  world,  and  was  sure  they  must  be  of  pewter, 
rarely  burnished.  Here  there  were  hosts  of  laced  lackeys 
and  grooms,  and  pages,  and  as  many  attendants  as  there  were 
soldiers  in  the  army  ;  and  thousands,  for  what  I  knew,  of 
pretty  maidens.  By  the  same  token  both  menials  and  maidens 
placed  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the  victors  ;  but  I  promise 
you  that  my  father  was  right  severe  on  any  who  would  abuse  the 
rights  of  war.  But  some  of  our  young  men  did  not  mind  him, 
till  he  taught  them  obedience  with  the  staff  of  his  halberd. 
Well,  Arthur,  there  was  fine  plundering,  for  the  Germans  and 
French  that  were  with  us  rifled  everything,  and  some  of  our 
men  followed  the  example — it  is  very  catching — So  I  got  into 
Charles's  own  pavilion,  where  Rudolph  and  some  of  his  people 
were  trying  to  keep  out  every  one,  that  he  might  have  the  spoil- 
ing of  it  himself,  I  think ;  but  neither  he,  nor  any  Bernese  of 
them  all,  dared  lay  truncheon  over  my  pate  ;  so  I  entered,  and 
saw  them  putting  piles  of  pewter  trenchers,  so  clean  as  to  look 
like  silver,  into  chests  and  trunks.  I  pressed  through  them 
into  the  inner-place,  and  there  was  Charles's  pallet-bed — I  will 
do  him  justice,  it  was  the  only  hard  one  in  his  camp — and  there 
were  fine  sparkling  stones  and  pebbles  lying  about  among 
gauntlets,  boots,  vambraces,  and  such-like  gear — So  I  thought 
of  your  father  and  you,  and  looked  for  something,  when,  what 
should  I  see  but  my  old  friend  here  ''  (here  he  drew  Queen 
Margaret's  necklace  from  his  bosom),  which  I  knew,  because 
you  remember  I  recovered  it  from  the  Scharfgerichter  at 
Breisach. — Oho  !  you  pretty  sparklers,'  said  I,  *  you  shall  be 
Burgundian  no  longer,  but  go  back  to  my  honest  English 
friends,'  and  therefore  "  

"  It  is  of  immense  value,"  said  Arthur,  "  and  belongs  not 
to  my  father  or  to  me,  but  to  the  Queen  you  saw  but  now." 

"  And  she  will  become  it  rarely,"  answered  Sigismund. 
Were  she  but  a  score,  or  a  score  and  a  half  years  3^ounger, 
she  were  a  gallant  wife  for  a  Swiss  landholder.    I  would  war- 
rant her  to  keep  his  household  in  high  order." 

She  will  reward  thee  liberally  for  recovering  her  prop- 
erty," said  Arthur,  scarce  suppressing  a  smile  at  the  idea  of 
the  proud  Margaret  becoming  the  housewife  of  a  Swiss  shep- 
herd. 

"  How — reward  !  "  said  the  Swiss.  "  Bethink  thee,  I  am 
Sigismund  Biederman,  the  son  of  the  Landamman  of  Unter- 
walden — I  am  not  a  base  lanz-knccht^  to  be  paid  for  courtesy  with 


382 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


piastres.  Let  her  grant  me  a  kind  word  of  thanks,  or  the 
matter  a  of  kiss,  and  I  am  well  contented/' 

A  kiss  of  her  hand,  perhaps,"  said  Arthur,  again  smiling 
at  his  friend's  simplicity. 

Umph,  the  hand  !  Well  !  it  may  do  for  a  Queen  of  some 
fifty  years  and  odd,  but  would  be  poor  homage  to  a  Queen  of 
May." 

Arthur  here  brought  back  the  youth  to  the  subject  of  his 
battle,  and  learned  that  the  slaughter  of  the  Duke's  forces  in 
the  flight  had  been  in  no  degree  equal  to  the  importance  of  the 
action. 

Many  rode  off  on  horseback,"  said  Sigismund  ;  "  and  our 
German  reiters  flew  on  the  spoil  when  they  should  have  fol- 
lowed the  chase.  And  besides,  to  speak  truth,  Charles's  camp 
delayed  our  very  selves  in  the  pursuit ;  but  had  we  gone  half- 
a-mile  further,  and  se^n  our  friends  hanging  on  trees,  not  a 
Confederate  would  have  stopped  from  the  chase  while  he  had 
limbs  to  carry  him  in  pursuit." 

And  what  has  become  of  the  Duke  ?  " 
"  Charles  has  retreated  into  Burgundy,  like  a  boar  who  has 
felt  the  touch  of  the  spear,  and  is  more  enraged  than  hurt ;  but 
is,  they  say,  sad  and  sulky.  Others  report  that  he  has  collected 
all  his  scattered  army,  and  immense  forces  besides,  and  has 
screwed  his  subjects  to  give  him  money,  so  that  we  may  expect 
another  brush.  But  all  Switzerland  will  join  us  after  such  a 
victory." 

"  And  my  father  is  with  him  ?  "  said  Arthur. 

"  Truly  he  is,  and  has  in  a  right  godly  manner  tried  to  set 
afoot  a  treaty  of  peace  with  my  own  father.  But  it  will  scarce  suc- 
ceed. Charles  is  as  mad  as  ever  ;  and  our  people  are  right  proud 
of  our  victory,  and  so  they  well  may.  Nevertheless,  my  father 
for  ever  preaches  that  such  victories,  and  such  heaps  of  wealth, 
will  change  our  ancient  manners,  and  that  the  ploughman  will 
leave  his  labor  to  turn  soldier.  He  says  much  about  it ;  but 
why  money,  choice  meat  and  wine,  and  fine  clothing,  should  do 
so  much  harm,  I  cannot  bring  my  poor  brains  to  see — And 
many  better  heads  than  mine  are  as  much  puzzled — Here's  to 
you,  friend  Arthur — This  is  choice  liquor!  " 

And  what  brings  you  and  your  General,  Prince  Ferrand, 
post  to  Nancy  ?  "  said  the  yoimg  Englishman. 

Faith,  you  are  yourself  the  cause  of  our  journey." 

T  the  cause   "  said  Arthur.—  "  Why,  how  could  that  be  ?  " 

"  Why,  it  is  said  you  and  Queen  Margaret  are  urging  this 
old  fiddling  King  Ren^  to  yield  up  his  territories  to  Charles, 
and  to  disown  Ferrand  in  his  claim  upon  Lorraine.    And  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


Duke  of  Lorraine  sent  a  man  that  you  know  well — that  is,  you 
do  not  know  him^  but  you  know  some  of  his  family,  and  he 
knows  more  of  you  than  you  wot — to  put  a  spoke  in  your 
wheel,  and  prevent  your  getting  for  Charles  the  county  of  Pro- 
vence, or  preventing  Ferrand  being  troubled  or  traversed  in 
his  natural  rights  over  Lorraine/' 

On  my  word,  Sigismund,  I  cannot  comprehend  you,''  said 
Arthur. 

"Well,''  replied  the  Swiss,  '^my  lot  is  a  hard  one.  All  our 
house  say  that  I  can  comprehend  nothing,  and  I  shall  be  next 
told  that  nobody  can  comprehend  me. — Well,  in  plain  language, 
I  mean,  my  uncle.  Count  Albert,  as  he  calls  himself,  of  Geier- 
stein — my  father's  brother." 

"  Anne  of  Geierstein's  father  ?  "  echoed  Arthur. 
Ay,  truly ;  I  thought  we  should  find  some  mark  to  make 
you  know  him  by." 

'*  But  I  never  saw  him." 

"  Ay,  but  you  have  though — An  able  man  he  is,  and  knows 
more  of  every  man's  business  than  the  man  does  himself.  Oh ! 
it  was  not  for  nothing  that  he  married  the  daughter  of  a 
Salamander !  " 

"  Pshaw,  Sigismund,  how  can  you  believe  that  nonsense  ?  " 
answered  Arthur. 

Rudolph  told  me  you  were  as  much  bewildered  as  I  was 
that  night  at  Graffs-lust,"  answered  the  Swiss. 

If  I  were  so,  I  was  the  greater  ass  for  my  pains,"  answered 
Arthur. 

Well,  but  this  uncle  of  mine  has  got  some  of  the  old  con- 
juring books  from  the  library  at  Arnheim,  and  they  say  he  can 
pass  from  place  to  place  with  more  than  mortal  speed  ;  and 
that  he  is  helped  in  his  designs  by  mightier  counselors  than 
mere  men.  Always,  however,  though  so  ably  and  highly  en- 
dowed, his  gifts,  whether  coming  from  a  lawful  or  unlawful 
quarter,  bring  him  no  abiding  advantage.  He  is  eternally 
plunged  into  strife  and  danger." 

"  I  know  few  particulars  of  his  life,"  said  Arthur,  disguising 
as  much  as  he  could  his  anxiety  to  hear  more  of  him  ;  but  I 
have  heard  that  he  left  Switzerland  to  join  the  Emperor." 

"  True,"  answered  the  young  Swiss,  "  and  married  the 
young  Baroness  of  Arnheim — but  afterward  he  incurred  my 
namesake's  imperial  displeasure,  and  not  less  that  of  the  Duke 
of  Austria.  They  say  you  cannot  live  in  Rome  and  strive  with 
the  Pope ;  so  my  uncle  thought  it  best  to  cross  the  Rhine,  and 
betake  himself  to  Charles's  court,  who  willingly  received  noble- 
men from  all  countries,  so  that  they  had  good  sounding  names, 


3^4 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSrEIN. 


with  the  title  of  Count,  Marquis,  Baron,  or  such-like,  to  march 
in  front  of  them.  So  my  uncle  was  most  kmdly  received ;  but 
within  this  year  or  two  all  this  friendship  has  been  broken  up. 
Uncle  Albert  obtained  a  great  lead  in  some  mysterious  societies 
of  which  Charles  disapproved,  and  set  so  hard  at  my  poor 
uncle,  that  he  was  fain  to  take  orders  and  shave  his  hair, 
rather  than  lose  his  head.  But  though  he  cut  off  his  hair,  his 
brain  remains  as  busy  as  ever  ;  and  although  the  Duke  suffered 
him  to  be  at  large,  yet  he  found  him  so  often  in  his  way,  that 
all  men  believed  he  waited  but  an  excuse  for  seizing  upon  him 
and  putting  him  to  death.  But  my  uncle  persists  that  he  fears 
not  Charles  :  and  that,  Duke  as  he  is,  Charles  has  more  occa- 
sion to  be  afraid  of  him. — And  so  you  saw  how  boldly  he  played 
his  part  at  La  Ferette." 

"  By  Saint  George  of  Windsor !  exclaimed  Arthur,  "  the 
Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's  !  " 

"  Oh,  ho  !  you  understand  me  now.  Well,  he  took  it  upon 
him  that  Charles  would  not  dare  to  punish  him  for  his  share  in 
De  Hagenbach's  death  ;  and  no  more  did  he,  although  uncle 
Albert  sat  and  voted  in  the  Estates  of  Burgundy,  and  stirred 
them  up  all  he  could  to  refuse  giving  Charles  the  money  he 
asked  of  them.  But  when  the  Swiss  war  broke  out,  uncle 
Albert  became  assured  his  being  a  clergyman  would  be  no 
longer  his  protection,  and  that  the  Duke  intended  to  have  him 
accused  of  corresponding  with  his  brother  and  countrymen  ; 
and  so  he  appeared  suddenly  in  Ferrand's  camp  at  Neufchatel, 
and  sent  a  message  to  Charles  that  he  renounced  his  al- 
legiance, and  bid  him  defiance." 

"  A  singular  story  of  an  active  and  versatile  man,*'  said  the 
young  Englishman. 

"  Oh,  you  may  seek  the  world  for  a  man  like  uncle  Albert. 
Then  he  knows  everything ;  and  he  told  Duke  Ferrand  what 
you  were  about  here,  and  offered  to  go  and  bring  more  certain 
information — ay,  though  he  left  the  Swiss  camp  but  five  or  six 
days  before  the  battle,  and  the  distance  between  Aries  and 
N'jufchatel  be  four  hundred  miles  complete,  yet  he  met  him  on 
his  return,  when  Duke  Ferrand,  with  me  to  show  him  the  way, 
was  hastening  hitherward,  having  set  off  from  the  very  field  of 
battle.'' 

"  Met  him  !  "  said  Arthur—''  Met  whom  ? — Met  the  Black 
Priest  of  St.  Paul's  ? " 

Ay,  I  mean  so,"  replied  Sigismund ;  "  but  he  was  habited 
as  a  Carmelite  monk." 

A  Carmelite  !  "  said  Arthur,  a  sudden  light  flashing  on 
him  ;  "  and  I  was  so  blind  as  to  recommend  his  services  to  the 


Al^NK  OF  GElERSTEIISt.  385 

Queen  !  I  remember  well  that  he  kept  his  face  much  concealed 
in  his  cowl — and  I,  foolish  beast,  to  fall  so  grossly  into  the 
snare  ! — And  yet  perhaps  it  is  as  well  the  transaction  was  in- 
terrupted, since  I  fear,  if  carried  successfully  through,  all  must 
have  been  disconcerted  by  this  astounding  defeat.'' 

Their  conversation  had  thus  far  proceeded,  when  Mordaunt 
appearing,  summoned  Arthur  to  his  royal  mistress's  apartment. 
In  that  gay  palace,  a  gloomy  room,  whose  windows  looked  upon 
some  part  of  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  edifice,  but  excluded  every 
other  object,  save  broken  walls  and  tottering  columns,  was  the 
retreat  which  Margaret  had  chosen  for  her  own.  She  received 
Arthur  with  a  kindness,  more  touching  that  it  was  the  inmate 
of  so  proud  and  fiery  a  disposition, — of  a  heart  assailed  with 
many  woes,  and  feeling  them  severely. 

Alas,  poor  Arthur  !  "  she  said,  thy  life  begins  where  thy 
father's  threatens  to  end,  in  useless  labor  to  save  a  sinking 
vessel.  The  rushing  leak  pours  in  its  waters  faster  than  human 
force  can  lighten  or  discharge.  All — all  goes  wrong,  when  our 
unhappy  cause  becomes  connected  with  it — Strength  becomes 
weakness,  wisdom  folly,  and  valor  cowardice.  The  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  hitherto  victorious  in  all  his  bold  undertakings,  has 
but  to  entertain  the  momentary  thought  of  yielding  succor  to 
Lancaster,  and  behold  his  sword  is  broken  by  a  peasant's  flail ; 
and  his  disciplined  army,  held  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world,  flies 
like  chaff  before  the  wind  ;  while  their  spoils  are  divided  by 
renegade  German  hirelings,  and  barbarous  Alpine  shepherds  ! — 
What  more  hast  thou  learned  of  this  strange  tale  ? " 

*^  Little,  madam,  but  what  you  have  heard.  The  worst 
additions  are,  that  the  battle  was  shamefully  cowardlike,  and 
completely  lost,  with  every  advantage  to  have  won  it — the  best, 
that  the  Burgundian  army  has  been  rather  dispersed  than  de- 
stroyed, and  that  the  Duke  himself  has  escaped,  and  is  rallying 
his  forces  in  Upper  Burgundy." 

"  To  sustain  a  new  defeat,  or  engage  in  a  protracted  and 
doubtful  contest,  fatal  to  his  reputation  as  defeat  itself.  Where 
is  thy  father  ?  " 

"  With  the  Duke,  madam,  as  I  have  been  informed,"  replied 
Arthur. 

Hie  to  him,  and  say  I  charge  him  to  look  after  his  own 
safety,  and  care  no  further  for  my  interests.  This  last  blow 
has  sunk  me,  I  am  without  an  ally,  without  a  friend,  without 
treasure  "  

Not  so,  madam,"  replied  Arthur.  "  One  piece  of  good 
fortune  has  brought  back  to  your  Grace  this  inestimable  relic  of 


386 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


your  fortunes/' — And,  producing  the  precious  necklace,  he  gave 
the  history  of  its  recovery. 

"  I  rejoice  at  the  chance  which  has  restored  these  diamonds," 
said  the  Queen,  "  that  in  point  of  gratitude,  at  least,  I  may  not 
be  utterly  bankrupt.  Carry  them  to  your  father — tell  him  my 
schemes  are  over — and  my  heart,  which  so  long  clung  to  hope, 
is  broken  at  last. — Tell  him  the  trinkets  are  his  own,  and  to 
his  own  use  let  him  apply  them.  They  will  but  poorly  repay 
the  noble  earldom,  of  Oxford,  lost  in  the  cause  of  her  who  sends 
them." 

"  Royal  madam,"  said  the  youth,  "  be  assured  my  father 
would  sooner  live  by  service  as  a  schwarzreiter,  than  become  a 
burden  on  your  misfortunes." 

"  He  never  yet  disobeyed  command  of  mine,"  said  Margaret ; 
and  this  is  the  last  I  will  lay  upon  him.    If  he  is  too  rich  or 
too  proud  to  benefit  by  his  Queen's  behest,  he  will  find  enough 
of  poor  Lancastrians  who  have  fewer  means,  or  fewer  scruples." 

"  There  is  yet  a  circumstance  I  have  to  communicate,''  said 
Arthur,  and  recounted  the  history  of  Albert  of  Geierstein,  and 
the  disguise  of  a  Carmelite  monk. 

Are  you  such  a  fool,"  answered  the  Queen,  "  as  to  suppose 
this  man  has  any  supernatural  powers  to  aid  him  in  his  ambi- 
tious projects  and  his  hasty  journeys  ? " 

"  No,  madam — but  it  is  whispered  that  the  Count  Albert  of 
Geierstein,  or  this  Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's,  is  a  chief  amongst 
the  Secret  Societies  of  Germany,  which  even  princes  dread 
whilst  they  hate  them  ;  for  the  man  that  can  command  a  hundred 
daggers  must  be  feared  even  by  those  who  rule  thousands  of 
swords." 

"  Can  this  person,"  said  the  Queen,  "  being  now  a  churchman, 
retain  authority  amongst  those  who  deal  in  life  and  death  It 
is  contrary  to  the  canons." 

"  It  would  seem  so,  royal  madam  ;  but  everything  in  these 
dark  institutions  differs  from  what  is  practiced  in  the  light  of 
day.  Prelates  are  often  heads  of  a  Vehmique  bench,  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Cologne  exercises  the  dreadful  office  of  their  chief 
as  Duke  of  Westphalia,  the  principal  region  in  which  these 
societies  flourish."  *  Such  privileges  attach  to  the  secret  influ- 

*  The  Archl)ishop  of  Cologne  was  recognized  as  head  of  all  the  free 
Tribunals  [i.e.  the  Vehmique  benches)  in  Westphalia,  by  a  writ  of  privilege 
granted  in  1335  by  the  Emperor  Charles  TV.  Winceslaus  confirmed  this 
act  by  a  privilege  dated  13(82,  in  which  the  Archbishop  is  termed  Grand 
Master  of  the  Vehme,  or  firand  Inquisitor.  And  this  prelate  and  other 
priests  were  encouraged  to  exercise  such  office  by  Pope  Boniface  III.,  whose 
ecclesiastical  discipline  permitted  them  in  such  cases  to  assume  the  right  of 
judging  in  matters  of  life  and  death. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


ence  of  the  chiefs  of  this  dark  association,  as  may  well  seem 
supernatural  to  those  who  are  unapprized  of  circumstances,  of 
which  men  shun  to  speak  in  plain  terms/' 

Let  him  be  wizard  or  assassin/'  said  the  Queen,  I  thank 
him  for  having  contributed  to  interrupt  my  plan  of  the  old  man's 
cession  of  Provence,  which,  as  events  stand,  would  have  stripped 
Rene  of  his  dominions  without  furthering  our  plan  of  invading 
England. — Once  more,  be  stirring  with  the  dawn,  and  bend  thy 
way  back  to  thy  father,  and  charge  him  to  care  for  himself,  and 
think  no  more  of  me.  Bretagne,  where  the  heir  of  Lancaster 
resides,  will  be  the  safest  place  of  refuge  for  its  bravest  follower. 
Along  the  Rhine,  the  Invisible  Tribunal,  it  would  seem,  haunts 
both  shores,  and  to  be  innocent  of  ill  is  no  security ;  even  here 
the  proposed  treaty  with  Burgundy  may  take  air,  and  the  Pro- 
vengaux  carry  daggers  as  well  as  crooks  and  pipes.  But  I  hear 
the  horses  fast  returning  from  the  hawking  party,  and  the  silly 
old  man,  forgetting  all  the  eventful  proceedings  of  the  day, 
whistling  as  he  ascends  the  steps.  Well,  we  will  soon  part, 
and  my  removal  will  be,  I  think,  a  relief  to  him.  Prepare  for 
banquet  and  ball,  for  noise  and  nonsense — above  all,  to  bid 
adieu  to  Aix  with  morning  dawn." 

Thus  dismissed  from  the  Queen's  presence,  Arthur's  first  care 
was  to  summon  Thiebault  to  have  all  things  in  readiness  for  his 
departure  ;  his  next  to  prepare  himself  for  the  pleasures  of  the 
evening,  not,  perhaps,  so  heavily  affected  by  the  failure  of  his 
negotiation  as  to  be  incapable  of  consolation  in  such  a  scene;  for 
the  truth  was,  that  his  mind  secretly  revolted  at  the  thoughts  of 
the  simple  old  King  being  despoiled  of  his  dominions  to  further 
an  invasion  of  England,  in  which,  whatever  interest  he  might 
have  in  his  daughters  rights,  there  was  little  chance  of  success. 

If  such  feelings  were  censurable,  they  had  their  punishment. 
Although  few  knew  how  completely  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  and  the  intelligence  he  brought  with  him,  had  discon- 
certed the  plans  of  Queen  Margaret,  it  was  well  known  there  had 
been  little  love  betwixt  the  Queen  and  his  mother  Yolande  ;  and 
the  young  Prince  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  party 
in  the  court  of  his  grandfather,  who  disliked  his  aunt's  haughty 
manners,  and  were  wearied  by  the  unceasing  melancholy  of  her 
looks  and  conversation,  and  her  undisguised  contempt  of  the 
frivolities  which  passed  around  her.  Ferrand,  besides,  was 
young,  handsome,  a  victor  just  arrived  from  a  field  of  battle, 
fought  gloriously,  and  gained  against  all  chances  to  the  contrary. 
That  he  was  a  general  favorite,  and  excluded  Arthur  Philipson, 
as  an  adherent  of  the  unpopular  Queen,  from  the  notice  her  in- 
fluence had  on  a  former  evening  procured  him,  was  only  a  nat- 


388 


ANNE  OF  GEIRRSTEIN 


ural  consequence  of  their  relative  condition.  But  what  some* 
what  hurt  Arthur's  feelings  was  to  see  his  friend  Sigismund  the 
Simple,  as  his  brethren  called  him,  shining  with  the  reflected 
glory  of  the  Duke  Ferrand  of  Lorraine,  who  introduced  to  all 
the  ladies  present  the  gallant  young  Swiss  as  Count  Sigismund 
of  Geierstein.  His  care  had  procured  for  his  follower  a  dress 
rather  more  suitable  for  such  a  scene  than  the  country  attire  of 
the  Count,  otherwise  Sigismund  Biederman. 

For  a  certain  time,  whatever  of  novelty  is  introduced  into 
society  is  pleasing,  though  it  has  nothing  else  to  recommend  it. 
The  Swiss  were  little  known  personally  out  of  their  own  country, 
but  they  were  much  talked  of ;  it  was  a  recommendation  to  be 
of  that  country.  Sigismund's  manners  were  blunt  ;  a  mixture 
of  awkwardness  and  rudeness,  which  was  termed  frankness  dur- 
ing the  moment  of  his  favor.  He  spoke  bad  French  and  worse 
Italian — it  gave  naivete  to  all  he  said.  His  limbs  were  too  bulky 
to  be  elegant ;  his  dancing,  for  Count  Sigismund  failed  not  to 
dance,  was  the  bounding  and  gamboling  of  a  young  elephant  ; 
yet  they  were  preferred  to  the  handsome  proportions  and  courtly 
movements  of  the  youthful  Englishman,  even  by  the  black-eyed 
Countess,  in  whose  good  graces  Arthur  had  made  some  progress 
on  the  preceding  evening.  Arthur,  thus  thrown  into  the  shade, 
felt  as  Mr.  Pepys  afterward  did  when  he  tore  his  camlet  cloak 
— the  damage  was  not  great,  but  it  troubled  him. 

Nevertheless,  the  passing  evening  brought  him  some  re- 
venge. There  are  some  works  of  art,  the  defects  of  which  are 
not  seen  till  they  are  injudiciously  placed  in  loo  strong  a  light, 
and  such  was  the  case  with  Sigismund  the  Simple.  The  quick- 
witted, though  fantastic  Provengaux,  soon  found  out  the 
heaviness  of  his  intellect,  and  the  extent  of  his  good-nature, 
and  amused  themselves  at  his  expense,  by  ironical  compliments 
and  well-veiled  raillery.  It  is  probable  they  would  have  been 
less  delicate  on  the  subject,  had  not  the  Swiss  brought  into  the 
dancing-room  along  Vvith  him  his  eternal  halberd,  the  size,  and 
weight,  and  thickness  of  which  boded  little  good  to  any  one 
whom  the  owner  might  detect  in  the  act  of  making  merry  at 
his  expense.  But  Sigismund  did  no  further  mischief  that  night, 
except  that,  in  achieving  a  superb  entrecJiat,  he  alighted  with 
his  whole  weight  on  the  miniature  foot  of  his  pretty  partner, 
which  he  well-nigh  crushed  to  pieces. 

Arthur  had  hitherto  avoided  looking  toward  Queen  Mar- 
garet during  the  course  of  the  evening,  lest  he  should  disturb 
her  thoughts  from  the  channel  in  which  they  were  rolling,  by 
seeming  to  lay  a  claim  on  her  protection.  But  there  was  some- 
thing so  whimsical  in  the  awkward  physiognomy  of  the  mal- 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


3^9 


adroit  Swiss,  that  he  could  not  help  glancing  an  eye  to  the 
alcove  where  the  Queen's  chair  of  state  was  placed,  to  see  if 
she  observed  hun.  The  very  first  view  was  such  as  to  rivet  his 
attention.  Margaret's  head  was  reclined  on  the  chair,  her  eyes 
scarcely  open,  her  features  drawn  up  and  pinched,  her  hands 
closed  with  effort.  The  English  lady  of  honor  who  stood  behind 
her — old,  deaf,  and  dim-sighted — had  not  discovered  anything 
in  her  mistress's  position  more  than  the  abstracted  and  in- 
different attitude  with  which  the  Queen  was  wont  to  be  present 
in  body  and  absent  in  mind  during  the  festivities  of  the  Pro- 
venyal  court.  But  when  iVrthur,  greatly  alarmed,  came  behind 
the  seat  to  press  her  attention  to  her  mistress,  she  exclaimed, 
after  a  minute's  investigation,  Mother  of  Heaven,  the  Queen 
is  dead  !  "  And  it  was  so.  It  seemed  that  the  last  fibre  of 
life  in  that  fiery  and  ambitious  mind  had,  as  she  herself 
prophesied,  given  way  at  the  same  time  with  the  last  thread  of 
political  hope. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-THIRD. 

Toll,  toll  the  bell! 

Greatness  is  o'er, 

The  heart  has  broke, 

To  ache  no  more; 
An  unsubstantial  pageant  all — 
Drop  o'er  the  scene  the  funcral-pall. 

Old  Poem. 

The  commotion  and  shrieks  of  fear  and  amazement  which 
were  excited  among  the  ladies  of  the  court  by  an  event  so 
singular  and  shocking,  had  begun  to  abate,  and  the  sighs, 
more  serious  though  less  intrusive,  of  the  few  English  attend- 
ants of  the  deceased  Queen  began  to  be  heard,  together  with 
the  groans  of  old  King  Rene,  whose  emotions  were  as  acute 
as  they  were  shortlived.  The  leeches  had  held  a  busy  but  un- 
availing consultation,  and  the  body  that  was  once  a  Queen's, 
was  delivered  to  the  Priest  of  St.  Sauveur,  that  beautiful  church 
in  which  the  spoils  of  Pagan  temples  have  contributed  to  fill 
up  the  magnificence  of  the  Christian  edifice.  The  stately  pile 
was  duly  lighted  up,  and  the  funeral  provided  with  such 
splendor  as  Aix  could  supply.  The  Queen's  papers  being  ex- 
amined, it  was  found  that  Margaret,  by  disposing  of  jewels  and 
living  at  small  expense,  had  realized  the  means  of  making  a 


390 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


decent  provision  for  life,  for  her  very  few  English  attendants. 
Her  diamond  necklace,  described  in  her  last  will,  as  in  the 
hands  of  an  English  merchant  named  John  Philipson,  or  his 
son,  or  the  price  thereof,  if  by  them  sold  or  pledged,  she  left  to 
the  said  John  Philipson  and  his  son  Arthur  Philipson,  with  a 
view  to  the  prosecution  of  the  design  which  they  had  been 
destined  to  advance,  or  if  that  should  prove  impossible,  to  their 
own  use  and  profit.  The  charge  of  her  funeral  rites  was 
wholly  intrusted  to  Arthur,  called  Philipson,  with  a  request 
that  they  should  be  conducted  entirely  after  the  forms  observed 
in  England.  This  trust  was  expressed  in  an  addition  to  her 
will,  signed  the  very  day  on  which  she  died. 

Arthur  lost  no  time  in  despatching  Thiebault  express  to  his 
father,  with  a  letter,  explaining  in  such  terms  as  he  knew  would 
be  understood,  the  tenor  of  all  that  had  happened  since  he 
came  to  Aix,  and  above  all,  the  death  of  Queen  Margaret. 

Finally,  he  requested  directions  for  his  motions,  since  the 
necessary  delay  occupied  by  the  obsequies  of  a  person  of  such 
eminent  rank  must  detain  him  at  Aix  till  he  should  receive 
them. 

The  old  King  sustained  the  shock  of  his  daughter's  death  so 
easily,  that  on  the  second  day  after  the  event,  he  was  engaged 
in  arranging  a  pompous  procession  for  the  funeral,  and  com- 
posing an  elegy,  to  be  sung  to  a  tune  also  of  his  own  composing, 
in  honor  of  the  deceased  Queen,  who  was  likened  to  the  god- 
desses of  heathen  mythology,  and  to  Judith,  Deborah,  and 
all  the  other  holy  women,  not  to  mention  the  saints  of  the 
Christian  dispensation.  It  cannot  be  concealed,  that  when  the 
first  burst  of  grief  was  over.  King  Ren^  could  not  help  feeling 
that  Margaret's  death  cut  a  political  knot  which  he  might  have 
otherwise  found  it  difficult  to  untie,  and  permitted  him  to  take 
open  part  with  his  grandson,  so  far  indeed  as  to  afford  him 
a  considerable  share  of  the  contents  of  the  Provencal  treasury, 
which  amounted  to  no  larger  sum  than  ten  thousand  crowns. 
Ferrand  having  received  the  blessing  of  his  grandfather,  in  a 
form  which  his  affairs  rendered  most  important  to  him,  returned 
to  the  resolutes  whom  he  commanded ;  and  with  him,  after  a 
most  loving  farewell  to  Arthur,  went  the  stout  but  simple-minded 
young  Swiss,  Sigismund  Biederman. 

The  little  court  of  Aix  were  left  to  their  mourning.  King 
Rend,  for  whom  ceremonial  and  show,  whether  of  a  joyful  or 
melancholy  character,  was  always  matter  of  importance,  would 
willingly  have  bestowed  in  solemnizing  the  obsequies  of  his 
daughter  Margaret  what  remained  of  his  revenue,  but  was 
prevented  from  doing  so,  partly  by  remonstrances  from  his 


AIVNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


ministers,  partly  by  the  obstacles  opposed  by  the  young  Eng- 
lishman, who,  acting  upon  the  presumed  will  of  the  dead,  inter- 
fered to  prevent  any  such  fantastic  exhibitions  being  produced 
at  the  obsequies  of  the  Queen,  as  had  disgusted  her  during  her 
life. 

The  funeral,  therefore,  after  many  days  had  been  spent  in 
public  prayers,  and  acts  of  devotion,  was  solemnized  with  the 
mournful  magnificence  due  to  the  birth  of  the  deceased,  and 
with  which  the  Church  of  Rome  so  well  knows  how  to  effect  at 
once  the  eye,  ear,  and  feelings. 

Amid  the  various  nobles  who  assisted  on  the  solemn  occasion, 
there  was  one  who  arrived  just  as  the  tolling  of  the  great  bells 
of  St.  Sauveur  had  announced  that  the  procession  was  already 
on  its  way  to  the  Cathedral.  The  stranger  hastily  exchanged 
his  traveling  dress  for  a  suit  of  deep  mourning,  which  was  made 
after  the  fashion  proper  to  England.  So  attired,  he  repaired  to 
the  Cathedral,  where  the  noble  mien  of  the  cavalier  imposed 
such  respect  on  the  attendants,  that  he  was  permitted  to  ap- 
proach close  to  the  side  of  the  bier ;  and  it  was  across  the 
cofBn  of  the  Queen  for  whom  he  had  acted  and  suffered  so  much, 
that  the  gallant  Earl  of  Oxford  exchanged  a  melancholy  glance 
with  his  son.  The  assistants,  especially  the  English  servants 
of  Margaret,  gazed  on  them  both  with  respect  and  wonder,  and 
the  elder  cavalier,  in  particular,  seemed  to  them  no  unapt  rep- 
resentative of  the  faithful  subjects  of  England,  paying  their 
last  duty  at  the  tomb  of  her  who  had  so  long  swayed  the 
sceptre,  if  not  faultlessly,  yet  always  with  a  bold  and  resolved 
hand. 

The  last  sound  of  the  solemn  dirge  had  died  away,  and 
almost  all  the  funeral  attendants  had  retired,  when  the  father  and 
son  still  lingered  in  mournful  silence  beside  the  remains  of 
their  sovereign.  The  clergy  at  length  approached,  and  inti- 
mated they  were  about  to  conclude  the  last  duties,  by  removing 
the  body  which  had  been  lately  occupied  and  animated  by  so 
haughty  and  restless  a  spirit,  to  the  dust,  darkness,  and  silence 
of  the  vault,  where  the  long-descended  Counts  of  Provence 
awaited  dissolution.  Six  priests  raised  the  bier  on  their  shoul- 
ders, others  bore  huge  waxen  torches  before  and  behind  the 
body,  as  they  carried  it  down  a  private  staircase  which  yawned 
in  the  floor  to  admit  their  descent.  The  last  notes  of  the 
requiem,  in  which  the  churchmen  joined,  had  died  away  along 
the  high  and  fretted  arches  of  the  Cathedral,  the  last  flash  of 
light  which  arose  from  the  mouth  of  the  vault  had  glimmered 
and  disappeared,  when  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  taking  his  son  by 
the  arm,  led  him  in  silence  forth  into  a  small  cloistered  court 


392 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


behind  the  building,  where  they  found  themselves  alone.  They 
were  silent  for  a  few  minutes,  for  both,  and  particularly  the 
father,  were  deeply  affected.    At  length  the  Earl  spoke. 

"  And  this,  then,  is  her  end,''  said  he.  "  Here,  royal  lady, 
all  that  we  have  planned  and  pledged  life  upon  falls  to  pieces 
with  thy  dissolution  !  The  heart  of  resolution,  the  head  of 
policy,  is  gone ;  and  wJiat  avails  it  that  the  limbs  of  the  enter- 
prise still  have  motion  and  life  ?  Alas,  Margaret  of  Anjou ! 
may  Heaven  reward  thy  virtues,  and  absolve  thee  from  the 
consequence  of  thine  errors  !  Both  belonged  to  thy  station,  and 
if  thou  didst  hoist  too  high  a  sail  in  prosperity,  never  lived  there 
princess  who  defied  more  proudly  the  storms  of  adversity,  or 
bore  up  against  them  with  such  dauntless  nobility  of  determi- 
nation. With  this  event  the  drama  has  closed,  and  our  parts, 
my  son,  are  ended.'' 

"  We  bear  arms,  then,  against  the  infidels,  my  lord }  "  said 
Arthur,  with  a  sigh  that  was,  however,  hardly  audible. 

''Not,"  answered  the  Earl,  "until  I  learn  that  Henry  of 
Richmond,  the  undoubted  heir  of  the  House  of  Lancaster,  has 
no  occasion  for  my  services.  In  these  jewels,  of  which  you 
wrote  me,  so  strangely  lost  and  recovered,  I  may  be  able  to 
supply  him  with  resources  more  needful  than  either  your  ser- 
vices or  mine.  But  I  return  no  more  to  the  camp  of  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy  ;  for  in  him  there  is  no  help." 

Can  it  be  possible  that  the  power  of  so  great  a  sovereign 
has  been  overthrown  in  one  fatal  battle  ? "  said  Arthur. 

"  By  no  means,"  replied  his  father.  "  The  loss  at  Granson 
was  very  great ;  but  to  the  strength  of  Burgundy  it  is  but  a 
scratch  on  the  shoulders  of  a  giant.  It  is  the  spirit  of  Charles 
himself,  his  wisdom  at  least,  and  his  foresight,  which  have 
given  way  under  the  mortification  of  a  defeat,  by  such  as  he  ac- 
counted inconsiderable  enemies,  and  expected  to  have  trampled 
down  with  a  few  squadrons  of  his  men-at-arms,.  Then  his 
temper  is  become  froward,  peevish,  and  arbitrary,  devoted  to 
those  who  flatter,  and,  as  there  is  too  much  reason  to  believe, 
betray  him ;  and  suspicious  of  those  counselors  who  give  him 
wholesome  advice.  Even  I  have  had  my  share  of  distrust. 
Thou  knowest  I  refused  to  bear  arms  against  our  late  hosts  the 
Swiss ;  and  he  saw  in  that  no  reason  for  rejecting  my  attend- 
ance on  his  march.  But  since  the  defeat  of  Granson,  I  have 
observed  a  strong  and  sudden  change,  owing,  perhaps,  in  some 
degree  to  the  insinuations  of  Campo-Basso,  and  not  a  little  to 
the  injured  pride  of  the  Duke,  who  was  unwilling  that  an 
indifferent  person  in  my  situation,  and  thinking  as  I  do,  should 
witness  the  disgrace  of  his  arms.    He  spoke  in  my  hearing  of 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


393 


lukewarm  friends,  cold-blooded  neutrals, — of  those  who,  not 
being  with  him,  must  be  against  him.  I  tell  thee,  Arthur  de 
Vere,  the  Duke  has  said  that  which  touched  my  honor  so 
nearly,  that  nothing  but  the  commands  of  Queen  Margaret, 
and  the  interests  of  the  House  of  Lancaster,  could  have  made 
me  remain  in  his  camp.  That  is  over — My  royal  mistress  has 
no  more  occasion  for  my  poor  services — the  Duke  can  spare  no 
aid  to  our  cause — and  if  he  could,  we  can  no  longer  dispose  of 
the  only  bribe  which  might  have  induced  him  to  afford  us  suc- 
cors. The  power  of  seconding  his  views  on  Provence  is  buried 
with  Margaret  of  Anjou." 

"  What,  then,  is  your  purpose  t    demanded  his  son. 

"  I  propose, said  Oxford,  to  wait  at  the  court  of  King 
Rene  until  I  can  hear  from  the  Earl  of  Richmond,  as  we  must 
still  call  him.  I  am  aware  that  banished  men  are  rarely  wel- 
come at  the  court  of  a  foreign  prince ;  but  I  have  been  the 
faithful  follower  of  his  daughter  Margaret.  I  only  propose  to 
reside  in  disguise,  and  desire  neither  notice  nor  maintenance  ; 
so  methinks  King  Rene  will  not  refuse  to  permit  me  to  breathe 
the  air  of  his  dominions,  untill  I  learn  in  what  direction  fortune 
or  duty  shall  call  me.'* 

Be  assured  he  will  not,''  answered  Arthur.  "  Rene  is  in- 
capable of  a  base  or  ignoble  thought  ;  and  if  he  could  despise 
trifles  as  he  detests  dishonor,  he  might  be  ranked  high  in  the 
list  of  monarchs." 

This  resolution  being  adopted,  the  son  presented  his  father  at 
King  Rene's  court,  whom  he  privately  made  acquainted  that  he 
was  a  man  of  quality,  and  a  distinguished  Lancastrian.  The 
good  King  would  in  his  heart  have  preferred  a  guest  of  lighter 
accomplishments  and  gayer  temper,  to  Oxford,  a  statesman 
and  a  soldier  of  melancholy  and  grave  habits.  The  Earl  was 
conscious  of  this,  and  seldom  troubled  his  benevolent  and  light- 
hearted  host  with  his  presence.  He  had,  however,  an  opportunity 
of  rendering  the  old  King  a  favor  of  peculiar  value.  This  was 
in  conducting  an  important  treaty  betwixt  Rene  and  Louis  XL 
of  France,  his  nephew.  Upon  that  crafty  monarch,  Ren^  finally 
settled  his  principality,  for  the  necessity  of  extricating  his  affairs 
by  such  a  measure  was  now  apparent  even  to  himself,  every 
thought  of  favoring  Charles  of  Burgundy  in  the  arrangement 
having  died  with  Queen  Margaret.  The  policy  and  wisdom  of 
the  English  Earl,  who  was  intrusted  with  almost  the  sole  charge 
of  this  secret  and  delicate  measure,  were  of  the  utmost  advantage 
to  good  King  Ren^,  who  was  freed  from  personal  and  pecuniary 
vexations,  and  enabled  to  go  piping  and- taboring  to  his  grave. 
Louis*  did  not  fail  to  propitiate  the  plenipotentiary,  by  throwing 


394 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


out  distant  hopes  of  aid  to  the  efforts  of  the  Lancastrian  party 
in  England.  A  faint  and  insecure  negotiation  was  entered  into 
upon  the  subject ;  and  these  affairs,  which  rendered  two  jour- 
neys to  Paris  necessary  on  the  part  of  Oxford  and  his  son,  in 
the  spring  and  summer  of  the  year  1476,  occupied  them  until 
that  year  was  half  spent. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  wars  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  with 
the  Swiss  Cantons  and  Count  Ferrand  of  Lorraine  continued  to 
rage.  Before  midsummer,  1476,  Charles  had  assembled  a  new 
army  of  at  least  sixty  thousand  men,  supported  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  for  the  purpose  of  invading  Switzer- 
land, where  the  warlike  mountaineers  easily  levied  a  host  of 
thirty  thousand  Switzers,  now  accounted  almost  invincible,  and 
called  upon  their  confederates,  the  Free  Cities  on  the  Rhine,  to 
support  them  with  a  powerful  body  of  cavalry.  The  first  efforts 
of  Charles  were  successful.  He  overran  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  and 
recovered  most  of  the  places  which  he  had  lost  after  the  defeat 
at  Granson.  But  instead  of  attempting  to  secure  a  well-defended 
frontier,  or  what  would  have  been  still  more  politic,  to  achieve 
a  peace  upon  equitable  terms  with  his  redoubtable  neighbors, 
this  most  obstinate  of  princes  resumed  the  purpose  of  penetrat- 
ing into  the  recesses  of  the  Alpine  mountains,  and  chastising 
the  mountaineers  even  within  their  own  strongholds,  though 
experience  might  have  taught  him  the  danger,  nay  desperation, 
of  the  attempt.  Thus  the  news  received  by  Oxford  and  his 
son,  when  they  returned  to  Aix  in  midsummer,  was,  that  Duke 
Charles  had  advanced  to  Morat  (or  Murten),  situated  upon  a 
lake  of  the  same  name,  at  the  very  entrance  of  Switzerland. 
Here  report  said  that  Adrian  de  Bubenburg,  a  veteran  knight 
of  Berne,  commanded,  and  maintained  the  most  obstinate  de- 
fence, in  expectation  of  the  relief  which  his  countrymen  were 
hastily  assembling. 

"Alas,  my  old  brother-in-arms  ! said  the  Earl  to  his  son, 
on  hearing  these  tidings,  this  town  besieged,  these  assaults 
repelled,  this  vicinity  of  an  enemy's  country,  this  profound  lake, 
these  inaccessible  cliffs,  threaten  a  second  part  of  the  tragedy 
of  Granson,  more  calamitous  perhaps  than  even  the  former.'' 

On  the  last  week  of  June  the  capital  of  Provence  was 
agitated  by  one  of  those  unauthorized,  yet  generally  received 
rumors,  which  transmit  great  events  with  incredible  swiftness, 
as  an  apple  flung  from  hand  to  hand  by  a  number  of  people  will 
pass  a  given  space  infinitely  faster  than  if  borne  by  the  most 
rapid  scries  of  expresses.  The  report  announced  a  second  de 
feat  of  the  Burgundians,  in  terms  so  exaggerated,  as  induced 
the  Earl  of  Oxford  to  consider  the  greater  part,  if  not  the 
whole,  as  a  fabrication. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


395 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FOURTH. 

And  is  the  hostile  troop  arrived, 

And  have  they  won  the  day  ? 
It  must  have  been  a  bloody  field 

Ere  Darwent  fled  away  ! 

The  Ettrick  Shepherd. 

Sleep  did  not  close  the  eyes  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford  or  his 
son  ;  for  although  the  success  or  defeat  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
could  not  now  be  of  importance  to  their  own  private  or  political 
affairs,  yet  the  father  did  not  cease  to  interest  himself  in  the 
fate  of  his  former  companion-in-arms  ;  and  the  son,  with  the 
fire  of  youth,  always  eager  after  novelty,^  expected  to  find 
something  to  advance  or  thwart  his  own  progress  in  every  re- 
markable event  which  agitated  the  world. 

Arthur  had  risen  from  his  bed,  and  was  in  the  act  of  attiring 
himself,  when  the  tread  of  a  horse  arrested  his  attention.  He 
had  no  sooner  looked  out  of  the  window,  than,  exclaiming, 
"  News,  my  father,  news  from  the  army  ! he  rushed  into  the 
street,  where  a  cavalier,  who  appeared  to  have  ridden  very 
hard,  was  inquiring  for  the  two  Philipsons,  father  and  son. 
He  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  Colvin,  the  master  of  the 
Burgundian  ordnance.  His  ghastly  look  bespoke  distress  of 
mind ;  his  disordered  array  and  broken  armor,  which  seemed 
rusted  with  rain,  or  stained  with  blood,  gave  the  intelligence  of 
some  affray  in  which  he  had  probably  been  worsted  ;  and  so 
exhausted  was  his  gallant  steed,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  the 
animal  could  stand  upright.  The  condition  of  the  rider  was 
not  much  better.  When  he  alighted  from  his  horse  to  greet 
Arthur,  he  reeled  so  much  that  he  would  have  fallen  without 
instant  support.  His  horny  eye  had  lost  the  power  of  specula- 
tion ;  his  limbs  possessed  imperfectly  that  of  motion,  and  it  was 
with  a  half  suffocated  voice  that  he  muttered,  Only  fatigue — • 
want  of  rest  and  of  food.'' 

Arthur  assisted  him  into  the  house,  and  refreshments  were 
procured  ;  but  he  refused  all  except  a  bowl  of  wine,  after  tast- 
ing which  he  set  it  down,  and  looking  at  the  Earl  of  Oxford 
with  an  eye  of  the  deepest  affliction,  he  ejaculated,  "  The  Duke 
of  Burgundy  !  " 

Slain  ? replied  the  Earl ;  "  I  trust  not !  " 

*  Cupidus  novarum  rerum. 


39^ 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


"  It  might  have  been  better  if  he  were/'  said  the  English- 
man ;     but  dishonor  has  come  before  death." 
Defeated,  then  ? said  Oxford. 

"  So  completely  and  fearfully  defeated/'  answered  the 
soldier,  that  all  that  I  have  seen  of  loss  before  was  slight  in 
comparison." 

But  how,  or  where  1  "  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford  ;  "you  were 
superior  in  numbers,  as  we  were  informed." 

Two  to  one  at  least,"  answered  Colvin  ;  "  and  when  I  speak 
of  our  encounter  at  this  moment,  I  could  rend  my  flesh  with 
my  teeth  for  being  here  to  tell  such  a  tale  of  shame.  We  had 
sat  down  for  about  a  week  before  that  paltry  town  of  Murten, 
or  Morat,  or  whatever  it  is  called.  The  governor,  one  of  those 
stubborn  mountain  bears  of  Berne,  bade  us  defiance.  He  would 
not  even  condescend  to  shut  his  gates,  but  when  we  summoned 
the  town,  returned  for  answer,  we  might  enter  if  we  pleased — 
we  should  be  suitably  received.  I  would  have  tried  to  bring 
him  to  reason  by  a  salvo  or  two  of  artillery,  but  the  Duke  was 
too  much  irritated  to  listen  to  good  counsel.  Stimulated  by 
that  black  traitor,  Campo-Basso,  he  deemed  it  better  to  run  for- 
ward with  his  whole  force  upon  a  place,  which,  though  I  could 
soon  have  battered  it  about  their  German  ears,  was  yet  too 
strong  to  be  carried  by  swords,  lances,  and  hagbuts.  We  were 
beaten  off  with  great  loss,  and  much  discouragement  to  the 
soldiers.  We  then  commenced  more  regularly,  and  my  batteries 
would  have  brought  these  mad  Switzers  to  their  senses.  Walls 
and  ramparts  went  down  before  the  lusty  cannoniers  of  Bur- 
gundy ;  we  were  well  secured  also  by  entrenchments  against 
those  whom  we  heard  of  as  approaching  to  raise  the  siege.  But 
on  the  evening  of  the  twentieth  of  this  month,  we  learned  that 
they  were  close  at  hand,  and  Charles  consulting  only  his  own 
bold  spirit,  advanced  to  meet  them,  relinquishing  the  advantage 
of  our  batteries  and  strong  position.  By  his  orders,  though 
against  my  own  judgment,  I  accompanied  him  wdth  twenty 
good  pieces,  and  the  flower  of  my  people.  We  broke  up  on  the 
next  morning,  and  had  not  advanced  far  before  we  saw  the 
lances  and  thick  array  of  halberds  and  two-handed  sw^ords  which 
crested  the  mountain.  Heaven,  too,  added  its  terrors — A 
thunderstorm,  with  all  the  fury  of  those  tempestuous  climates, 
descended  on  both  armies,  but  did  most  annoyance  to  ours,  as 
our  troops,  especially  the  Italians,  were  more  sensible  to  the 
torrents  of  rain  which  poured  down,  and  the  rivulets,  which 
swelled  into  torrents,  inundated  and  disordered  our  position. 
The  Duke  for  once  saw  it  necessary  to  alter  his  purpose  of  in- 
stant battle.    He  rode  up  to  me,  and  directed  me  to  defend 


AI^JVE  OF  GElEkSTEm. 


397 


\tith  the  cannon  the  retreat  which  he  was  about  to  commence, 
adding,  that  he  himself  would  in  person  sustain  me  with  the 
men-at-arms.  The  order  was  given  to  retreat.  But  the  move- 
ment gave  new  spirit  to  an  enemy  already  sufficiently  audacious. 
The  ranks  of  the  Swiss  instantly  prostrated  themselves  in  prayer 
— a  practice  in  the  field  of  battle  which  I  have  ridiculed — but  I 
will  do  so  no  more.  When,  after  five  minutes  they  sprung 
again  on  their  feet,  and  began  to  advance  rapidly,  sounding 
their  horns  and  crying  their  war-cries  with  all  their  usual 
ferocity — behold,  my  lord,  the  clouds  of  Heaven  opened,  shed- 
ding on  the  Confederates  the  blessed  light  of  the  returning  sun, 
while  our  ranks  were  still  in  the  gloom  of  the  tempest.  My 
men  were  discouraged.  The  host  behind  them  was  retreating ; 
the  sudden  light  thrown  on  the  advancing  Switzers  showed 
along  the  mountain  a  profusion  of  banners,  a  glancing  of  arms, 
giving  to  the  enemy  the  appearance  of  double  the  numbers  that 
had  hitherto  been  visible  to  us.  I  exhorted  my  followers  to 
stand  fast,  but  in  doing  so  1  thought  a  thought  and  spoke  a 
word,  which  was  a  grievous  sin.  *  Stand  fast,  my  brave  can- 
noniers/  I  said,  *  we  will  presently  let  them  hear  louder  thunders, 
and  show  them  more  fatal  lightnings,  than  their  prayers  have 
put  down  !  ' — My  men  shouted — But  it  was  an  impious  thought 
— a  blasphemous  speech — and  evil  came  after  it.  We  leveled 
our  guns  on  the  advancing  masses  as  fairly  as  cannon  were  ever 
pointed — I  can  vouch  it,  for  I  laid  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Bur- 
gundy myself — Ah,  poor  Duchess  !  what  rude  hands  manage 
thee  now  ! — The  volley  was  fired,  and  ere  the  smoke  spread  from 
the  muzzles,  I  could  see  many  a  man  and  many  a  banner  go 
down.  It  was  natural  to  think  such  a  discharge  should  have 
checked  the  attack,  and  whilst  the  smoke  hid  the  enemy  from 
us,  I  made  every  effort  again  to  load  our  cannon,  and  anxiously 
endeavored  to  look  through  the  mist  to  discover  the  state  of 
our  opponents.  But  ere  our  smoke  was  cleared  away,  or  the 
cannon  again  loaded,  they  came  headlong  down  on  us,  horse 
and  foot,  old  men  and  boys,  men-at-arms  and  varlets,  charging 
up  to  the  muzzle  of  the  guns,  and  over  them,  with  total  dis- 
regard to  their  lives.  My  brave  fellows  were  cut  down,  pierced 
through  and  overrun,  while  they  were  again  loading  their  pieces, 
nor  do  I  believe  that  a  single  cannon  was  fired  a  second  time.*' 
. "  And  the  Duke  ? said  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  did  he  not 
support  you  ? 

"  Most  loyally  and  bravely,''  answered  Colvin,  "  with  his 
own  body-guard  of  Walloons  and  Burgundians.  But  a  thousand 
Italian  mercenaries  went  off,  and  never  showed  face  again. 
The  pass,  too,  was  cumbered  with  the  artillery,  and  in  itself 


398 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


narrow,  bordering  on  mountains  and  cliffs,  a  deep  lake  close 
beside.  In  short,  it  was  a  place  totally  unfit  for  horsemen  to 
act  in.  In  spite  of  the  Duke's  utmost  exertions,  and  those  of 
the  gallant  Flemings  who  fought  around  him,  all  were  borne 
back  in  complete  disorder.  I  was  on  foot,  fighting  as  I  could, 
without  hopes  of  my  life,  or  indeed  thoughts  of  saving  it,  when 
I  saw  the  guns  taken  and  my  faithful  cannoniers  slain.  But  I 
saw  Duke  Charles  hard  pressed,  and  took  my  horse  from  my 
page  that  held  him — Thou,  too,  art  lost,  my  poor  orphan  boy  ! 
I  could  only  aid  Monseigneur  de  la  Croye  and  others  to  extri- 
cate the  Duke.  Our  retreat  became  a  total  rout,  and  when  we 
reached  our  rear-guard,  which  we  had  left  strongly  encamped, 
the  banners  of  the  Switzers  were  waving  on  our  batteries,  for  a 
large  division  had  made  a  circuit,  through  mountain-passes 
known  only  to  themselves,  and  attacked  our  camp,  vigorously 
seconded  by  that  accursed  Adrian  de  Bubenburg,  who  sallied 
from  the  beleagured  town,  so  that  our  intrenchments  were 
stormed  on  both  sides  at  once. — I  have  more  to  say,  but  having 
ridden  day  and  night  to  bring  you  these  evil  tidings,  my  tongue 
clings  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  and  I  feel  that  I  can  speak  no 
more.  The  rest  is  all  flight  and  massacre,  disgraceful  to  every 
soldier  that  shared  in  it.  For  my  part,  I  confess  my  contume- 
lious self-confidence  and  insolence  to  man,  as  well  as  blas- 
phemy to  Heaven.  If  I  live,  it  is  but  to  hide  my  disgraced 
head  in  a  cowl,  and  expiate  the  numerous  sins  of  a  licentious 
life." 

With  difficulty  the  broken-minded  soldier  was  prevailed 
upon  to  take  some  nourishment  and  repose,  together  with  an 
opiate,  which  was  prescribed  by  the  physician  of  King  Rend, 
who  recommended  it  as  necessary  to  preserve  even  the  reason 
of  his  patient,  exhausted  by  the  events  of  the  battle,  and  sub- 
sequent fatigue. 

The  Earl  of  Oxford,  dismissing  other  assistance,  watched 
alternately  with  his  son  at  Colvin's  bedside.  Notwithstanding 
the  draught  that  had  been  administered,  his  repose  was  far  from 
sound.  Sudden  starts,  the  perspiration  which  sprung  from  his 
brow,  the  distortions  of  his  countenance,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  clenched  his  fists  and  flung  about  his  limbs,  showed 
that  in  his  dreams  he  was  again  encountering  the  terrors  of  a 
desperate  and  forlorn  combat.  This  lasted  for  several  hours  ; 
but  about  noon  fatigue  and  medicine  prevailed  over  nervous 
excitation,  and  the  defeated  commander  fell  into  a  deep  and 
untroubled  repose  till  evening.  About  sunset  he  awakened, 
and,  after  learning  with  whom  and  where  he  was,  he  partook  of 
refreshments,  and  without  any  apparent  consciousness  of  having 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


399 


told  them  before,  detailed  once  more  all  the  particulars  of  the 
battle  of  Murten. 

"  It  were  little  wide  of  truth,"  he  sadd,  to  calculate  that 
one  half  of  the  Duke's  army  fell  by  the  sword,  or  were  driven 
into  the  lake.  Those  who  escaped  are  great  part  of  them  scat- 
tered, never  again  to  unite.  Such  a  desperate  and  irretrievable 
rout  was  never  witnessed.  We  fled  like  deer,  sheep,  or  any 
other  timid  animals,  which  only  remain  in  company  because 
they  are  afraid  to  separate,  but  never  think  of  order  or  of 
defence. 

"  And  the  Duke  ? said  the  Earl  of  Oxford. 

"  We  hurried  him  with  us,"  said  the  soldier,  rather  from 
instinct  than  loyalty,  as  men  flying  from  a  conflagration  snatch 
up  what  they  have  of  value  without  knowing  what  they  are 
doing.  Knight  and  knave,  officer  and  soldier,  fled  in  the  same 
panic,  and  each  blast  of  the  horn  of  Uri  in  our  rear  added 
new  wings  to  our  flight." 

And  the  Duke    "  repeated  Oxford. 

"  At  first  he  resisted  our  efforts,  and  strove  to  turn  back  on 
the  foe  ;  but  when  the  flight  became  general,  he  galloped  along 
with  us,  without  a  word  spoken  or  a  command  issued.  At  first 
we  thought  his  silence  and  passiveness,  so  unusual  in  a  temper 
so  fiery,  were  fortunate  for  securing  his  personal  safety.  But 
when  we  rode  the  whole  day  without  being  able  to  obtain  a 
word  of  reply  to  all  our  questions — when  he  sternly  refused 
refreshments  of  every  kind,  though  he  had  tasted  no  food  all 
that  disastrous  day — when  every  variation  of  his  moody  and 
uncertain  temper  was  sunk  into  silent  and  sullen  despair,  we 
took  counsel  what  was  to  be  done,  and  it  was  by  the  general 
voice  that  I  was  despatched  to  entreat  that  you,  for  whose 
counsels  alone  Charles  has  been  known  to  have  haa  some  occa- 
sional deference,  would  come  instantly  to  his  place  of  retreat, 
and  exert  all  your  influence  to  awaken  him  from  this  lethargy, 
which  may  otherwise  terminate  his  existance." 

*'  And  what  remedy  can  I  interpose  ?  "  said  Oxford.  "  You 
know  how  he  neglected  my  advice,  when  following  it  might 
have  served  my  interest  as  well  as  his  own.  You  are  aware 
that  my  life  was  not  safe  among  the  miscreants  that  surrounded 
the  Duke,  and  exercised  influence  over  him." 

Most  true,"  answered  Colvin  ;  "  but  I  also  know  he  is 
your  ancient  companion-in-arms,  and  it  would  ill  become  me  to 
teach  the  noble  Earl  of  Oxford  what  the  laws  of  chivalry  re- 
quire. For  your  lordship's  safety,  every  honest  man  in  the 
army  will  give  willing  security." 

It  is  for  that  I  care  least,"  said  Oxford,  indifferently  ;  "  and 


400 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


if  indeed  my  presence  can  be  of  service  to  the  Duke — if  I  could 

believe  that  he  desired  it  

He  does — he  does,  my  lord !  "  said  the  faithful  soldier, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes.  We  heard  him  name  your  name,  as  if 
the  words  escaped  him  in  a  painful  dream/' 

"  I  will  go  to  him,  such  being  the  case,''  said  Oxford. — I 
will  go  instantly.  Where  did  he  purpose  to  establish  his  head' 
quarters  ? " 

"  He  had  fixed  nothing  for  himself  on  that  or  other  matters  ; 
but  Monsieur  de  Contay  named  La  Riviere,  near  Salins,  in 
Upper  Burgundy,  as  the  place  of  his  retreat." 

"  Thither,  then,  will  we,  my  son,  with  all  haste  of  prepara- 
tion. Thou,  Colvin,  hadst  better  remain  here,  and  see  some 
holy  man,  to  be  assoilzied  for  thy  hasty  speech  on  the  battle- 
field of  Morat.  There  was  offence  in  it  without  doubt,  but  it 
will  be  ill  atoned  for  by  quitting  a  generous  master  when  he 
hath  most  need  of  your  good  service  ;  and  it  is  but  an  act  of 
cowardice  to  retreat  into  the  cloister  till  we  have  no  longer  ac- 
tive duties  to  perform  in  this  world." 

"  It  is  true,"  said  Colvin,  that  should  I  leave  the  Duke 
now,  perhaps  not  a  man  would  stay  behind  that  could  stell  a 
cannon  properly.  The  sight  of  your  lordship  cannot  but  oper- 
ate favorably  on  my  noble  master,  since  it  has  waked  the  old 
soldier  in  myself.  If  your  lordship  can  delay  your  journey  till 
to-morrow  I  will  have  my  spiritual  aflfairs  settled,  and  my  bodily 
health  sufficiently  restored  to  be  your  guide  to  La  Riviere  ;  and 
for  the  cloister,  I  will  think  of  it  when  I  have  regained  the  good 
name  which  I  have  lost  at  Murten.  But  I  will  have  masses 
said,  and  these  right  powerful,  for  the  souls  of  my  poor  can- 
noniers." 

The  proposal  of  Colvin  was  adopted,  and  Oxford,  with  his 
son,  attended  by  Thiebault,  spent  the  day  in  preparation,  ex- 
cepting the  time  necessary  to  take  formal  leave  of  King  Ren^, 
who  seemed  to  part  with  them  with  regret.  In  company  with 
the  ordnance  officer  of  the  discomfited  Duke,  they  traversed 
those  parts  of  Province,  Dauphin^,  and  Franche  Comptd,  which 
lie  between  Aix  and  the  place  to  which  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
had  retreated  ;  but  the  distance  and  inconvenience  of  so  long 
a  route  consumed  more  than  a  fortnight  on  the  road,  and  the 
month  of  July  1476  was  commenced,  when  the  travelers  arrived 
in  Upper  Burgundy,  and  at  the  Castle  of  La  Riviere,  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Salins.  The  castle, 
which  was  but  of  small  size,  was  surrounded  by  very  many  tents, 
which  were  pitched  in  a  crowded,  disordered  and  unsoldierlike 
manner,  very  unlike  the  discipline  usually  observed  in  the  camp 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


401 


of  Charles  the  Bold.  That  the  Duke  was  present  there,  how- 
ever, was  attested  by  his  broad  banner,  which,  rich  with  all  its 
quarterings,  streamed  from  the  battlements  of  the  castle.  The 
guard  turned  out  to  receive  the  strangers,  but  in  a  manner  so 
disorderly,  that  the  Earl  looked  to  Colvin  for  explanation.  The 
master  of  the  ordnance  shrugged  up  his  shoulders,  and  was 
silent. 

Colvin  having  sent  in  notice  of  his  arrival,  and  that  of  the 
English  Earl,  Monsieur  de  Contay  caused  them  presently  to  be 
admitted,  and  expressed  much  joy  at  their  arrival. 

A  few  of  us,"  he  said,  true  servants  of  the  Duke,  are 
holding  council  here,  at  which  your  assistance,  my  noble  Lord 
of  Oxford,  will  be  of  the  utmost  importance.  Messieurs  De  la 
Croye,  De  Craon,  Rubempre,  and  others,  nobles  of  Burgundy, 
are  now  assembled  to  superintend  the  defence  of  the  country 
at  this  exigence." 

They  all  expressed  delight  to  see  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  and 
had  only  abstained  from  thrusting  their  attentions  on  him  the 
last  time  he  was  in  the  Duke's  camp,  as  they  understood  it  was 
his  wish  to  observe  incognito. 

His  Grace,"  said  De  Craon,  "  has  asked  after  you  twice, 
and  on  both  times  by  your  assumed  name  of  Philipson." 

"  I  wonder  not  at  that,  my  Lord  of  Craon,"  replied  the 
English  nobleman  ;  the  origin  of  the  name  took  its  rise  in 
former  days,  when  1  was  here  during  my  first  exile.  It  was 
then  said,  that  we  poor  Lancastrian  nobles  must  assume  other 
names  than  our  own,  and  the  good  Duke  Philip  said,  as  I  was 
brother-in-arms  to  his  son  Charles,  I  must  be  called  after  him- 
self, by  the  name  of  Philipson.  In  memory  of  the  good  sover- 
eign, I  took  that  name  when  the  day  of  need  actually  arrived, 
and  I  see  that  the  Duke  thinks  of  our  early  intimacy  by  his 
distinguishing  me  so. — How  fares  his  Grace  t  " 

The  Burgundians-  looked  at  each  other,  and  there  was  a 
pause. 

*'  Even  like  a  man  stunned,  brave  Oxford,"  at  length  De 
Contay  replied.  "  Sieur  d'Argentin,"*  you  can  best  inform  the 
noble  Earl  of  the  condition  of  our  sovereign." 

He  is  like  a  man  distracted,"  said  the  future  historian  of 
that  busy  period.  "  After  the  battle  of  Granson,  he  v/as  never, 
to  my  thinking,  of  the  same  sound  judgment  as  before.  But 
then,  he  was  capricious,  unreasonable,  peremptory,  and  incon- 
sistent, and  resented  every  counsel  that  was  offered,  as  if  it  had 
been  meant  in  insult ;  was  jealous  of  the  least  trespass  in  point 

*  [Philip  des  Comines,  Sieur  d*Argentin,  author  of  Historical  Memoirs, 
gee  notes  to  Quentin  Durward,  pp.  414,  418.J 


402 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


of  ceremonial,  as  if  his  subjects  were  holding  him  in  contempt 
Now  there  is  a  total  change,  as  if  this  second  blovv  had  stunned 
him,  and  suppressed  the  violent  passions  which  the  first  called 
into  action.  He  is  silent  as  a  Carthusian,  solitary  as  a  hermit, 
expresses  interest  in  nothing,  least  of  all  in  the  guidance  of 
his  army.  He  was,  you  know,  anxious  about  his  dress  ;  so 
much  so,  that  there  was  some  affectation  even  in  the  rude- 
nesses which  he  practiced  in  that  matter.  But,  woe's  me,  you 
will  see  a  change  now  ;  he  will  not  suffer  his  hair  or  nails  to 
be  trimmed  or  arranged.  He  is  totally  heedless  of  respect  or 
disrespect  toward  him,  takes  little  or  no  nourishment,  uses 
strong  wines,  which,  however,  do  not  seem  to  affect  his  under- 
standing; he  will  hear  nothing  of  war  or  state  affairs,  as  little 
of  hunting  or  of  sport.  Suppose  an  anchorite  brought  from  a 
cell  to  govern  a  kingdom,  you  see  in  him,  except  in  point  of 
devotion,  a  picture  of  the  fiery  active  Charles  of  Burgundy." 

"  You  speak  of  a  mind  deeply  wounded,  Sieur  d'Argentin," 
replied  the  Englishman.  Think  you  it  fit  I  should  present 
myself  before  the  Duke  '' 

I  will  inquire,'*  said  Contay  ;  and  leaving  the  apartment, 
returned  presently,  and  made  a  sign  to  the  Earl  to  follow  him. 

In  a  cabinet,  or  closet,  the  unfortunate  Charles  reclined  in 
a  large  arm-chair,  his  legs  carelessly  stretched  on  a  footstool, 
but  so  changed  that  the  Earl  of  Oxford  could  have  believed 
what  he  saw  to  be  the  ghost  of  the  once  fiery  Duke.  Indeed, 
the  shaggy  length  of  hair  which,  streaming  from  his  head, 
mingled  with  his  beard  ;  the  hollowness  of  the  caverns,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  rolled  his  wild  eyes  ;  the  falling  in  of  the 
breast,  and  the  advance  of  the  shoulders,  gave  the  ghastly  ap- 
pearance of  one  who  has  suffered  the  final  agony  which  takes 
from  mortality  the  signs  of  life  and  energy.  His  very  costume 
(a  cloak  flung  loosely  over  him)  increased  his  resemblance  to  a 
shrouded  phantom.  De  Contay  named  the  Earl  of  Oxford  ; 
but  the  Duke  gazed  on  him  with  a  lustreless  eye,  and  gave  him 
no  answer. 

"  Speak  to  him,  brave  Oxford,"  said  the  Burgundian  in  a 
whisper;  "he  is  even  worse  than  usual,  but  perhaps  he  may 
know  your  voice." 

Never,  when  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  in  the  most  palmy 
state  of  his  fortunes,  did  the  noble  Englishman  kneel  to  kiss 
his  hand  with  such  sincere  reverence.  He  respected  in  him, 
not  only  the  afflicted  friend,  but  the  humbled  sovereign,  upon 
whose  tower  of  trust  the  lightning  had  so  recently  broken.  It 
was  probably  the  falling  of  a  tear  upon  his  hand  which  seemed 
ro  awake  the  Dukes's  attention,  for  he  looked  toward  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


403 


Earl,  and  said,  Oxford — Philipson — my  old — my  only  friend, 
hast  thou  found  me  out  in  this  retreat  of  shame  and  misery?  " 

"  I  am  not  your  only  friend,  my  lord,"  said  Oxford.  "  Heaven 
has  given  you  many  affectionate  friends  among  your  natural  and 
loyal  subjects.  But  though  a  stranger,  and  saving  the  allegi- 
ance I  owe  to  my  lawful  sovereign,  I  will  yield  to  none  of  them 
in  the  respect  and  deference  which  I  have  paid  to  your  Grace 
in  prosperity,  and  now  come  to  render  to  you  in  adversity." 

Adversity,  indeed  !  "  said  the  Duke  ;  ^'  irremediable,  intol- 
erable adversity  !  I  was  lately  Charles  of  Burgundy,  called  the 
Bold — now  am  I  twice  beaten  by  a  scum  of  German  peasants  ; 
my  standard  taken,  my  men-at-arms  put  to  flight,  my  camp  twice 
plundered,  and  each  time  of  value  more  than  equal  to  the  price 
of  all  Switzerland  fairly  lost ;  myself  hunted  like  a  caitiff  goat 
or  chamois — The  utmost  spite  of  hell  could  never  accumulate 
more  shame  on  the  head  of  a  sovereign  !  " 

On  the  contrary,  my  lord,"  said  Oxford,  "  it  is  a  trial  of 
Heaven,  which  calls  for  patience  and  strength  of  mind.  The 
bravest  and  best  knight  may  lose  the  saddle ;  he  is  but  a  lag- 
gard who  lies  rolling  on  the  sand  of  the  lists  after  the  accident 
has  chanced." 

"  Ha,  laggard,  say'st  thou  ?  "  said  the  Duke,  some  part  of 
his  ancient  spirit  awakened  by  the  broad  taunt ;  "  Leave  my 
presence,  sir,  and  return  to  it  no  more,  till  you  are  summoned 
thither  "  

"  Which  I  trust  will  be  no  later  than  your  Grace  quits  your 
dishabille,  and  disposes  yourself  to  see  your  vassals  and  friends 
with  such  ceremony  as  befits  you  and  them,"  said  the  Earl 
composedly. 

"  How  mean  you  by  that.  Sir  Earl  ?    You  are  unmannerly." 

"  If  I  be,  my  lord,  I  am  taught  my  ill-breeding  by  circum- 
stances. I  can  mourn  over  fallen  dignity  ;  but  I  cannot  honor 
him  who  dishonors  himself  by  bending,  like  a  regardless  boy, 
beneath  the  scourge  of  evil  fortune." 

"  And  who  am  I  that  you  should  term  me  such } "  said 
Charles,  starting  up  in  all  his  natural  pride  and  ferocity  ;  "  or 
who  are  you  but  a  miserable  exile,  that  you  should  break  in 
upon  my  privacy  with  such  disrespectful  upbraiding  " 

"  For  me,"  replied  Oxford,  "  I  am,  as  you  say,  an  unre- 
spected  exile  ;  nor  am  I  ashamed  of  my  condition,  since  un- 
shaken loyalty  to  my  king  and  his  successors  has  brought  me  to 
it.  But  in  you,  can  I  recognize  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  in  a  sullen 
hermit,  whose  guards  are  a  disorderly  soldiery,  dreadful  only  to 
their  friends ;  whose  councils  are  in  confusion  for  want  of  their 
sovereign,  and  who  himself  lurks,  like  a  lamed  wolf  in  its  den,  in  an 


404 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEJN. 


obscure  castle,  waiting  but  a  blast  of  the  Switzer's  horn  to  fling 
open  its  gates,  which  there  are  none  to  defend  ;  who  wears  not 
a  knightly  sword  to  protect  his  person,  and  cannot  even  die 
like  a  stag  at  bay,  but  must  be  worried  like  a  hunted  fox  ? 

Death  and  hell,  slanderous  traitor!  thundered  the  Duke, 
glancing  a  look  at  his  side,  and  perceiving  himself  without  a 
weapon, — It  is  well  for  thee  I  have  no  sword,  or  thou  shouldst 
never  boast  of  thine  insolence  going  unpunished. — Contay  step 
forth  like  a  good  knight,  and  confute  the  calumniator.  Say,  are 
not  my  soldiers  arrayed,  disciplined,  and  in  order  t 

"  My  lord,^^  said  Contay,  trembling  (brave  as  he  was  in 
battle)  at  the  frantic  rage  which  Charles  exhibited,  there  are 
a  numerous  soldiery  yet  under  your  command,  but  they  are  in 
evil  order,  and  in  worse  discipline,  I  think,  than  they  were 
wont." 

"  I  see  it — I  see  it.''  said  the  Duke  ;  idle  and  evilcoynsel- 
ors  are  ye  all. — Hearken,  Sir  of  Contay,  what  have  you  and 
the  rest  of  you  been  doing,  holding  as  you  do  large  lands  and 
high  fiefs  of  us,  that  I  cannot  stretch  my  limbs  on  a  sick-bed, 
when  my  heart  is  half  broken,  but  my  troops  must  fall  into  such 
scandalous  disorder  as  exposes  me  to  the  scorn  and  repoach  of 
each  beggarly  foreigner  t  " 

"  My  lord,''  replied  Contay  more  firmly,  "  we  have  done 
what  we  could.  But  your  Grace  has  accustomed  your  mer- 
cenary generals  and  leaders  of  Free  Companies  to  take  their 
orders  only  from  your  own  mouth,  or^and.  They  clamor  also 
for  pay,  and  the  treasurer  refuses  to  issue  it  without  your  Grace's 
order,  as  he  alleges  it  might  cost  him  his  head  ;  and  they  will 
not  be  guided  and  restrained,  either  by  us  or  those  who  compose 
your  council." 

The  Duke  laughed  sternly,  but  was  evidently  somewhat 
pleased  with  the  reply. 

"  Ha,  ha  !  "  he  said,  "  it  is  only  Burgundy  who  can  ride  his 
own  wild  horses,  and  rule  his  own  wild  soldiery.  Hark  thee, 
Contay — To-morrow  I  ride  forth  to  review  the  troops — for  what 
disorder  has  passed  allowance  shall  be  made.  Pay  also  shall  be 
issued — but  woe  to  those  who  shall  have  offended  too  deeply  ! 
Let  my  grooms  of  the  chamber  know  to  provide  me  fitting  dress 
and  arms.  I  have  got  a  lesson  "  (glancing  a  dark  look  at 
Oxford),  "  and  I  will  not  again  be  insulted  without  the  means 
of  wreaking  my  vengeance.  Begone,  both  of  you.  And, 
Contay,  send  the  treasurer  hither  with  his  accounts,  and  woe  to 
his  soul  if  I  find  aught  to  complain  of  !  Begone,  I  say,  and 
send  him  hither." 

They  left  the  apartment  with  suitable  obeisance.    As  they 


retired,  the  Duke  said  abruptly,  "  Lord  of  Oxford,  a  word  with 
you.  Where  did  you  study  medicine  ?  In  your  own  famed 
university,  I  suppose.  Thy  physic  hath  wrought  a  wonder. 
Yet,  Doctor  Philipson,  it  might  have  cost  thee  thy  Hfe.*' 

"  I  have  ever  thought  my  Hfe  cheap,"  said  Oxford,  when  the 
object  was  to  help  my  friend." 

''Thou  art  indeed  a  friend,"  said  Charles,  '*  and  a  fearless 
one.  But  go — I  have  been  sore  troubled,  and  thou  hast  tasked 
my  temper  closely.  To-morrow  we  will  speak  further  ;  mean- 
time, I  forgive  thee,  and  I  honor  thee." 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  retired  to  the  Council-hall,  where  the 
Burgundian  nobility,  aware  of  what  had  passed,  crowded  around 
him  with  thanks,  compliments,  and  congratulations.  A  general 
bustle  now  ensued  ;  orders  were  hurried  off  in  every  direction. 
Those  officers  who  had  duties  to  perform  which  had  been  neg- 
lected, hastened  to  conceal  or  to  atone  for  their  negligence. 
There  was  a  general  tumult  in  the  camp,  but  it  was  a  tumult  of 
joy;  for  soldiers  are  always  most  pleased  when  they  are  best  in 
order  for  performing  their  military  service ;  and  licence  or  in- 
activity, however  acceptable  at  times,  are  not,  when  continued, 
so  agreeable  to  their  nature,  as  strict  discipline  and  a  prospect 
of  employment. 

The  treasurer,  who  was,  luckily  for  him,  a  man  of  sense  and 
method,  having  been  two  hours  in  private  with  the  Duke,  re- 
turned with  looks  of  wonder,  and  professed,  that  never  in 
Charles's  most  prosperous  days,  had  he  showed  himself  more 
acute  in  the  department  of  finance,  of  which  he  had  but  that 
morning  seemed  totally  incapable  ;  and  the  merit  was  universally 
attributed  to  the  visit  of  Lord  Oxford,  whose  timely  reprimand 
had,  like  the  shot  of  a  cannon  dispersing  foul  mists,  awakened 
the  Duke  from  his  black  and  bilious  melancholy. 

On  the  following  day  Charles  reviewed  his  troops  with  his 
usual  attention,  directed  new  levies,  made  various  dispositions 
of  his  forces,  and  corrected  the  faults  of  their  discipline  by 
severe  orders,  which  were  enforced  by  some  deserved  punish- 
ments (of  which  the  Italian  mercenaries  of  Campo-Basso  had  a 
large  share),  and  rendered  palatable  by  the  payment  of  arrears, 
which  was  calculated  to  attach  them  to  the  standard  under  which 
they  served. 

The  Duke  also,  after  consulting  with  his  council,  agreed  to 
convoke  meetings  of  the  States  in  his  different  territories,  re- 
dress certain  popular  grievances,  and  grant  some  boons  which 
he  had  hitherto  denied  ;  and  thus  began  to  open  a  new  account 
of  popularity  with  his  subjects,  in  place  of  that  which  his  rash- 
ness had  exhausted. 


4o6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTJSIN. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIFTH. 

•  Here's  a  weapon  now, 

Shall  shake  a  conquering  general  in  his  tent, 
A  monarch  on  his  throne,  or  reach  a  prelate. 

However  holy  be  his  offices. 

E'en  while  he  serves  the  altar. 

Old  Play. 

From  this  time  all  was  activity  in  the  Duke  of  Burgundy^s 
court  and  army.  Money  was  collected,  soldiers  were  levied,  and 
certain  news  of  the  Confederates'  motions  only  were  wanting  to 
bring  on  the  campaign.  But  although  Charles  was,  to  all  out- 
ward appearance,  as  active  as  ever,  yet  those  who  were  more 
immediately  about  his  person  were  of  opinion  that  he  did  not 
display  the  soundness  of  mind,  or  the  energy  of  judgment, 
which  had  been  admired  in  him  before  these  calamities.  He 
was  still  liable  to  fits  of  moody  melancholy,  similar  to  those 
which  descended  upon  Saul,  and  was  vehemently  furious  when 
aroused  out  of  them.  Indeed,  the  Earl  of  Oxford  himself  seemed 
to  have  lost  the  power  which  he  had  exercised  over  him  at  first. 
Nay,  though  in  general  Charles  was  both  grateful  and  affection- 
ate toward  him,  he  evidently  felt  humbled  by  the  recollection  of 
his  having  witnessed  his  impotent  and  disastrous  condition,  and 
was  so  much  afraid  of  Lord  Oxford  being  supposed  to  lead  his 
counsels,  that  he  often  repelled  his  advice,  merely,  as  it  seemed 
to  show  his  own  independence  of  mind. 

In  these  froward  humors,  the  Duke  was  much  encouraged 
by  Campo-Basso.  That  wily  traitor  now  saw  his  master's  affairs 
tottering  to  their  fall,  and  he  resolved  to  lend  his  lever  to  the 
work,  so  as  to  entitle  him  to  a  share  of  the  spoil.  He  regarded 
Oxford  as  one  of  the  most  able  friends  and  counselors  who 
adhered  to  the  Duke  ;  he  thought  he  saw  in  his  looks  that  he 
fathomed  his  own  treacherous  purpose,  and  therefore  he  hated 
and  feared  him.  Besides,  in  order  perhaps  to  color  over, 
even  to  his  own  eyes,  the  abominable  perfidy  he  meditated,  he 
affected  to  be  exceedingly  enraged  against  the  Duke  for  the 
late  punishment  of  marauders  belonging  to  his  Italian  bands. 
He  believed  that  chastisement  to  have  been  inflicted  by  the 
advice  of  Oxford  ;  and  he  suspected  that  the  measure  was 
pressed  with  the  hope  of  discovering  that  the  Italians  had  not 
pillaged  for  their  own  emolument  only,  but  for  that  of  their 
commander.    Believing  that  Oxford  was  thus  hostile  to  him, 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


407 


CampoBasso  would  have  speedily  found  means  to  take  him 
out  of  his  path,  had  not  the  Earl  himself  found  it  prudent  to 
observe  some  precautions  ;  and  the  lords  of  Flanders  and  Bur- 
gundy, who  loved  him  for  the  very  reasons  for  which  the  Italian 
abhorred  him,  watched  over  his  safety  with  a  vigilance,  of  which 
he  himself  was  ignorant,  but  which  certainly  was  the  means  of 
preserving  his  life. 

It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  Ferrand  of  Lorraine  should 
have  left  his  victory  so  long  unimproved  ;  but  the  Swiss  Con- 
federates, who  were  the  strength  of  his  forces,  insisted  that  the 
first  operations  should  take  place  in  Savoy  and  the  Pays  de 
Vaud,  where  the  Burgundians  had  many  garrisons,  which, 
though  they  received  no  relief,  yet  were  not  easily  or  speedily 
reduced.  Besides,  the  Switzers  being,  like  most  of  the  national 
soldiers  of  the  time,  a  kind  of  militia,  most  of  them  returned 
home,  to  get  in  their  harvest,  and  to  deposit  their  spoil  in 
safety.  Ferrand,  therefore,  though  bent  on  pursuing  his  suc- 
cess with  all  the  ardor  of  youthful  chivalry,  was  prevented 
from  making  any  movement  in  advance  until  the  month  of 
December  1476.  In  the  meantime  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's 
forces,  to  be  least  burdensome  to  the  country,  were  cantoned  in 
distant  places  of  his  dominions,  where  every  exertion  was  made 
to  perfect  the  discipline  of  the  new  levies.  The  Duke,  if  left 
to  himself,  would  have  precipitated  the  struggle  by  again 
assembling  his  forces,  and  pushing  forward  into  the  Helvetian 
territories  ;  but  though  he  inwardly  foamed  at  the  recollection 
of  Granson  and  Murten,  the  memory  of  these  disasters  was  too 
recent  to  permit  such  a  plan  of  the  campaign.  Meantime, 
weeks  glided  past,  and  the  month  of  December  was  far  ad- 
vanced, when  one  morning,  as  the  Duke  was  sitting  in  council, 
Campo-Basso  suddenly  entered,  with  a  degree  of  extravagant 
rapture  in  his  countenance,  singularly  different  from  the  cold, 
regulated,  and  subtle  smile  which  was  usually  his  utmost  ad- 
vance toward  laughter.  "  Giia7ites''  ^  he  said,  "  Guantes,  for 
luck's  sake,  if  it  please  your  Grace. 

"  And  what  of  good  fortune  comes  nigh  us  ? ''  said  the  Duke, 
— "  Methought  she  had  forgot  the  way  to  our  gates," 

"  She  has  returned  to  them,  please  pour  Highness,  with  her 
cornucopia  full  of  choicest  gifts,  ready  to  your  her  fruit,  her 
flowers,  her  treasures,  on  the  head  of  the  sovereign  of  Europe 
most  worthy  to  receive  them.'' 

*  Guantes^  used  by  the  Spanish  as  the  French  say  etrennes,  or  the 
Engh'sh  handsell  or  luckpenny — phrases  used  by  inferiors  to  their  patrons 
as  the  bringers  of  good  news. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTFJN 


"  The  meaning  of  all  this  ?  said  Duke  Charles  ;  "  riddles 
are  for  children." 

The  harebrained  young  madman  Ferrand,  who  calls  him- 
self of  Lorraine,  has  broken  down  from  the  mountains,  at  the 
head  of  a  desultory  army  of  scape-graces  like  himself ;  and  what 
think  you, — ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! — they  are  overrunning  Lorraine,  and 
have  taken  Nance — ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  " 

"  By  my  good  faith.  Sir  Count,'*  said  Contay,  astonished  at 
the  gay  humor  with  which  the  Italian  treated  a  matter  so 
serious,  "  I  have  seldom  heard  a  fool  laugh  more  gayly  at  a  more 
scurvy  jest,  than  you,  a  wise  man,  laugh  at  the  loss  of  the  prin- 
cipal town  of  the  province  we  are  fighting  for." 

"  I  laugh,"  said  Campo-Basso,  among  the  spears,  as  my 
war-horse  does — ha  !  ha  ! — among  the  trumpets.  I  laugh  also 
over  the  destruction  of  the  enemy,  and  the  dividing  of  the  spoil, 
as  eagles  scream  their  joy  over  the  division  of  their  prey  ;  I 
laugh  "  

You  laugh,"  said  the  Lord  of  Contay,  waxing  impatient, 
"  when  you  have  all  the  mirth  to  yourself,  as  you  laughed  after 
our  losses  at  Granson  and  Murten." 

"  Peace,  sir  !  "  said  the  Duke.  "  The  Count  of  Campo- 
Basso  has  viewed  the  case  as  I  do.  This  young  knight-errant 
ventures  from  the  protection  of  his  mountains  ;  and  Heaven 
deal  with  me  as  I  keep  my  oath,  when  I  swear  that  the  next 
fair  field  on  which  we  meet  shall  see  one  of  us  dead  !  It  is  now 
the  last  week  of  the  old  year,  and  before  Twelfth-Day  we  will 
see  whether  he  or  I  shall  find  the  bean  in  the  cake.  To  arms, 
my  lords  ;  let  our  camp  instantly  break  up,  and  our  troops  move 
forward  toward  Lorraine.  Send  off  the  Italian  and  Albanian 
light  cavalry,  and  the  Stradiots,  to  scour  the  country  in  the  van 
— Oxford,  thou  wilt  bear  arms  in  this  journey,  wilt  thou 
not  ?  " 

Surely,"  said  the  Earl.  "  I  am  eating  your  Highnesses 
bread  ;  and  when  enemies  invade,  it  stands  with  my  honor  to 
fight  for  your  Grace  as  if  I  was  your  born  subject.  With  your 
Grace's  permission,  I  will  despatch  a  pursuivant,  who  shall 
carry  letters  to  my  late  kind  host,  the  Landamman  of  Unter- 
walden,  acquainting  him  with  my  purpose." 

I'he  Duke  having  given  a  ready  assent,  the  pursuivant  was 
dismissed  accordingly,  and  returned  in  a  few  hours,  so  near  had 
the  armies  approached  to  each  other.  He  bore  a  letter  from 
the  Landamman,  in  a  tone  of  courtesy  and  even  kindness,  re- 
gretting that  any  cause  should  have  occurred  for  bearing  arms 
against  his  late  guest,  for  whom  he  expressed  high  personal 
regard.    The  same  pursuivant  also  brought  greetings  from  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


family  of  the  Biedermans  to  their  friend  Arthur,  and  a  separate 
letter,  addressed  to  the  same  person,  of  which  the  contents  ran 
thus : — 

"  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  is  desirous  to  give  the  young  mer- 
chant, Arthur  Philipson,  the  opportunity  of  finishing  the  bargain 
which  remained  unsettled  between  them  in  the  castle-court  of 
Geierstein.  He  is  the  more  desirous  of  this,  as  he  is  aware 
that  the  said  Arthur  has  done  him  wrong,  in  seducing  the 
affections  of  a  certain  maiden  of  rank,  to  whom  he,  Philipson, 
is  not,  and  cannot  be,  anything  beyond  an  ordinary  acquaint- 
ance. Rudolph  Donnerhugel  will  send  Arthur  Philipson  word, 
when  a  fair  and  equal  meeting  can  take  place  on  neutral 
ground.  In  the  meantime,  he  will  be  as  often  as  possible  in 
the  first  rank  of  the  skirmishers." 

Young  Arthur's  heart  leapt  high  as  he  read  the  defiance, 
the  piqued  tone  of  which  showed  the  state  of  the  writer's  feel- 
ings, and  argued  sufficiently  Rudolph's  disappointment  on  the 
subject  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  his  suspicion  that  she  had 
bestowed  her  affections  on  the  youthful  stranger.  Arthur 
found  means  of  despatching  a  reply  to  the  challenge  of  the 
Swiss,  assuring  him  of  the  pleasure  with  which  he  would  attend 
his  commands,  either  in  front  of  the  line  or  elsewhere,  as 
Rudolph  might  desire. 

Meantime  the  armies  were  closely  approaching  to  each 
other,  and  the  light  troops  sometimes  met.  The  Stradiots 
from  the  Venetian  territory,  a  sort  of  cavalry  resembling  that 
of  the  Turks,  performed  much  of  that  service  on  the  part  of 
the  Burgundian  army,  for  which,  indeed,  if  their  fidelity  could 
have  been  relied  on,  they  were  admirably  well  qualified.  The 
Earl  of  Oxford  observed,  that  these  men,  who  were  under  the 
command  of  Campo-Basso,  always  brought  in  intelligence  that 
the  enemy  were  in  indifferent  order,  and  in  full  retreat. 
Besides,  information  was  communicated  through  their  means, 
that  sundry  individuals,  against  whom  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
entertained  peculiar  personal  dislike,  and  whom  he  specially 
desired  to  get  into  his  hands,  had  taken  refuge  in  Nancy. 
This  greatly  increased  the  Duke's  ardor  for  retaking  that  place, 
which  became  perfectly  ungovernable  when  he  learned  that 
Ferrand  and  his  Swiss  allies  had  drawn  off  to  a  neighboring 
position  called  Saint  Nicholas,  on  the  news  of  his  arrival.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Burgundian  counselors,  together  with  the 
Earl  of  Oxford,  protested  against  his  besieging  a  place  of  some 
strength,  while  an  active  enemy  lay  in  the  neighborhood  to 
relieve  it.  They  remonstrated  on  the  smallness  of  his  army, 
on  the  severity  of  the  weather,  on  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 


410 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


provisions,  and  exhorted  the  Duke,  that  having  made  such  a 
movement  as  had  forced  the  enemy  to  retreat,  he  ought  to 
suspend  decisive  operations  till  spring.  Charles  at  first  tried 
to  dispute  and  repel  these  arguments  ;  but  when  his  counselors 
reminded  him  that  he  was  placing  himself  and  his  army  in  the 
same  situation  as  at  Granson  and  Murten,  he  became  furious  at 
the  recollection,  foamed  at  the  mouth,  and  only  answered  by 
oaths  and  imprecations,  that  he  would  be  master  of  Nancy 
before  Twelfth-Day. 

Accordingly,  the  army  of  Burgundy  sat  down  before  Nancy, 
in  a  strong  position,  protected  by  the  hollow  of  a  water-course, 
and  covered  with  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  which  Colvin  had 
under  his  charge. 

Having  indulged  his  obstinate  temper  in  thus  arranging  the 
campaign,  the  Duke  seemed  to  give  a  little  more  heed  to  the 
advice  of  his  counselors  touching  the  safety  of  his  person,  and 
permitted  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  with  his  son,  and  two  or  three 
officers  of  his  household,  men  of  approved  trust,  to  sleep 
within  his  pavilion,  in  addition  to  the  usual  guard. 

It  wanted  three  days  of  Christmas  when  the  Duke  sat  down 
before  Nancy,  and  on  that  very  evening  a  tumult  happened 
which  seemed  to  justify  the  alarm  for  his  personal  safety.  It 
was  midnight,  and  all  in  the  ducal  pavilion  were  at  rest,  when 
a  cry  of  treason  arose.  The  Earl  of  Oxford,  drawing  his  sword, 
and  snatching  up  a  light  which  burned  beside  him,  rushed  into 
the  Duke's  apartment,  and  found  him  standing  on  the  floor 
totally  undressed,  but  with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  and  striking 
around  him  so  furiously,  that  the  Earl  himself  had  difficulty  in 
avoiding  his  blows.  The  rest  of  his  officers  rushed  in,  their 
weapons  drawn,  and  their  cloaks  wrapped  around  their  left 
arms.  When  the  Duke  was  somewhat  composed,  and  found 
himself  surrounded  by  his  friends,  he  informed  them  with  rage 
and  agitation,  that  the  officers  of  the  Secret  Tribunal  had,  in 
spite  of  the  vigilant  precautions  taken,  found  means  to  gain 
entrance  into  his  chamber,  and  charged  him,  under  the  highest 
penalty,  to  appear  before  the  Holy  Vehme  upon  Christmas 
night. 

The  bystanders  heard  this  story  with  astonishment,  and 
some  of  them  were  uncertain  whether  they  ought  to  consider  it 
as  a  reality  or  a  dream  of  the  Duke's  irritable  fancy.  But  the 
citation  was  found  on  the  Duke's  toilet,  written,  as  was  the 
form,  upon  parchment  signeted  with  three  crosses,  and  stuck 
to  the  table  with  a  knife.  A  slip  of  wood  had  been  also  cut 
from  the  table.  Oxford  read  the  summons  with  attention.  It 
named  as  usual  a  place,  where  the  Duke  was  cited  to  come 


ANNE  OF  GEIERST&m. 


4il 


unarmed  and  unattended,  and  from  which  it  was  said  he  would 
be  guided  to  the  seat  of  judgment. 

Charles,  after  looking  at  the  scroll  for  some  time,  gave 
vent  to  his  thoughts. 

"  I  know  from  what  quiver  this  arrow  comes,"  he  said.  "  It 
is  shot  by  that  degenerate  noble,  apostate  priest,  and  accomplice 
of  sorcerers,  Albert  of  Geierstein.  We  have  heard  that  he  is 
among  the  motley  group  of  murderers  and  outlaws,  whom  the 
old  fiddler  of  Provence's  grandson  has  raked  together.  But, 
by  Saint  George  of  Burgundy  !  neither  monk's  cowl,  soldier's 
casque,  nor  conjuror's  cap,  shall  save  him  after  such  an  insult 
as  this.  I  will  degrade  him  from  knighthood,  hang  him  from 
the  highest  steeple  in  Nancy,  and  his  daughter  shall  choose 
between  the  meanest  herd-boy  in  my  army,  and  the  convent  of 
fiUes  repentees  I " 

"  Whatever  are  your  purposes,  my  lord,"  said  Contay,  "  it 
were  surely  best  to  be  silent,  when,  from  this  late  apparition, 
we  may  conjecture  that  more  than  we  wot  of  may  be  within 
hearing." 

The  Duke  seemed  struck  with  this  hint,  and  was  silent,  or 
at  least  only  muttered  oaths  and  threats  betwixt  his  teeth,  while 
the  strictest  search  was  made  for  the  intruder  on  his  repose. 
But  it  was  in  vain. 

Charles  continued  his  researches,  incensed  at  a  flight  of 
audacity  higher  than  ever  had  been  ventured  upon  by  these 
Secret  Societies,  who,  whatever  might  be  the  dread  inspired  by 
them,  had  not  as  yet  attempted  to  cope  with  sovereigns.  A 
trusty  party  of  Burgundians  were  sent  on  Christmas  night  to 
watch  the  spot  (a  meeting  of  four  cross  roads)  named  in  the 
summons,  and  make  prisoners  of  any  whom  they  could  lay 
hands  upon  ;  but  no  suspicious  person  appeared  at  or  near  the 
place.  The  Duke  not  the  less  continued  to  impute  the  affront 
he  had  received  to  Albert  of  Geierstein.  There  was  a  price  set 
upon  his  head  ;  and  Campo-Basso,  always  willing  to  please  his 
master's  mood,  undertook  that  some  of  his  Italians,  sufficiently 
experiencd  in  such  feats,  should  bring  the  obnoxious  baron 
before  him,  alive  or  dead.  Colvin,  Contay,  and  others,  laughed 
in  secret  at  the  Italian's  promises. 

Subtle  as  he  is,"  said  Colvin,  "he  will  lure  the  wild  vul- 
ture from  the  heavens  before  he  get  Albert  of  Geierstein  into 
his  power." 

Arthur,  to  whom  the  words  of  the  Duke  had  given  subject 
for  no  small  anxiety,  on  account  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  and  of 
her  father  for  her  sake,  breathed  more  lightly  on  hearing  his 
menaces  held  so  cheaply. 


Al^NE  OF  GElBkSTEtN. 


It  was  the  second  day  after  this  alarm  that  Oxford  felt  a 
desire  to  reconnoitre  the  camp  of  Ferrand  of  Lorraine,  having 
some  doubts  whether  the  strength  and  position  of  it  were  accu- 
rately reported.  He  obtained  the  Duke's  consent  for  this  pur- 
pose, who  at  the  same  time  made  him  and  his  son  a  present  of 
two  noble  steeds  of  great  power  and  speed,  which  he  himself 
highly  valued. 

So  soon  as  the  Duke's  pleasure  was  communicated  to  the 
Italian  Count,  he  expressed  the  utmost  joy  that  he  was  to  have 
the  assistance  of  Oxford's  age  and  experience  upon  an  explora- 
tory party,  and  selected  a  chosen  band  of  a  hundred  Stradiots, 
whom  he  said  he  had  sent  sometimes  to  skirmish  up  to  the 
very  beards  of  the  Switzers.  The  Earl  showed  him.self  much 
satisfied  with  the  active  and  intelligent  manner  in  which  these 
men  performed  their  duty,  and  drove  before  them  and  dispersed 
some  parties  of  Ferrand's  cavalry.  At  the  entrance  of  a  little 
ascending  valley,  Campo-Basso  communicated  to  the  English 
noblemen,  that  if  they  could  advance  to  the  further  extremity 
they  would  have  a  full  view  of  the  enemy's  position.  Two  or 
three  Stradiots  then  spurred  on  to  examine  this  defile,  and 
returning  back,  communicated  with  their  leader  in  their  own 
language,  who,  pronouncing  the  passage  safe,  invited  the  Earl 
of  Oxford  to  accompany  him.  They  proceeded  through  the 
valley  without  seeing  an  enemy,  but  on  issuing  upon  a  plain 
at  the  point  intimated  by  Campo-Basso,  Arthur,  who  was  in 
the  van  of  the  Stradiots,  and  separated  from  his  father,  did 
indeed  see  the  camp  of  Duke  Ferrand  within  half-a-mile's  dis- 
tance ;  but  a  body  of  cavalry  had  that  instant  issued  from  it, 
and  were  riding  hastily  toward  the  gorge  of  the  valley,  from 
which  he  had  just  emerged.  He  was  about  to  wheel  his 
horse  and  ride  off,  but,  conscious  of  the  great  speed  of  the 
animal,  he  thought  he  might  venture  to  stay  for  a  moment's 
more  accurate  survey  of  the  camp.  The  Stradiots  who  attend- 
ed him  did  not  wait  his  orders  to  retire,  but  went  off,  as  was 
indeed  their  duty,  when  attacked  by  a  surperior  force. 

Meantime,  Arthur  observed  that  the  knight  who  seemed 
leader  of  the  advancing  squadron,  mounted  on  a  powerful 
horse  that  shook  the  earth  beneath  him,  bore  on  his  shield  the 
Bear  of  Berne,  and  had  otherwise  the  appearance  of  the  mas- 
sive fra>me  of  Rudolph  Donnerhugel.  He  was  satisfied  of 
this  when  he  beheld  the  cavalier  halt  his  party  and  advance 
toward  him  alone,  putting  his  lance  in  rest,  and  moving  slow- 
ly, as  if  to  give  him  time  for  preparation.  To  accept  such  a 
challenge,  in  such  a  moment,  was  dangerous,  but  to  refuse  it 
was  disgraceful ;  and  while  Arthur's  blood  boiled  at  the  idea 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


of  chastising  an  insolent  rival,  he  was  not  a  little  pleased  at 
heart  that  their  meeting  on  horseback  gave  him  an  advantage 
over  the  Swiss,  through  his  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  prac- 
tice of  the  tournay,  in  which  Rudolph  might  be  supposed  more 
ignorant. 

They  met,  as  was  the  phrase  of  the  time,  "manful  under 
shield."  The  lance  of  the  Swiss  glanced  from  the  helmet  of 
the  Englishman,  against  which  it  was  addressed,  while  the 
spear  of  Arthur,  directed  right  against  the  centre  of  his  adver- 
sary's body,  was  so  justly  aimed,  and  so  truly  seconded  by  the 
full  fury  of  the  career,  as  to  pierce,  not  only  the  shield  which 
hung  round  the  ill-fated  warrior's  neck,  but  a  breast-plate,  and 
a  shirt  of  mail  which  he  wore  beneath  it.  Passing  clear 
through  the  body,  the  steel  point  of  the  weapon  was  only  stop- 
ped by  the  back-piece  of  the  unfortunate  cavalier,  who  fell 
headlong  from  his  horse,  as  if  struck  by  lightning,  rolled  twice 
or  thrice  over  on  the  ground,  tore  the  earth  with  his  hands,  and 
then  lay  prostrate  a  dead  corpse. 

There  was  a  cry  of  rage  and  grief  among  those  men-at-arms 
whose  ranks  Rudolph  had  that  instant  left,  and  many  couched 
their  lances  to  avenge  him  ;  but  Ferrand  of  Lorraine,  who  was 
present  in  person,  ordered  them  to  make  prisoner,  but  not  to 
harm,  the  successful  champion.  This  was  accomplished,  foi 
Arthur  had  not  time  to  turn  his  bridle  for  flight,  and  resistance 
would  have  been  madness. 

When  brought  before  Ferrand,  he  raised  his  visor,  and  said, 
"  Is  it  well,  my  lord,  to  make  captive  an  adventurous  knight, 
for  doing  his  devoir  against  a  personal  challenger.'^'' 

"  Do  not  complain.  Sir  Arthur  of  Oxford,"  said  Ferrand, 
before  you  experience  injury — You  are  free.  Sir  Knight. 
Your  father  and  you  were  faithful  to  my  royal  aunt  Margaret, 
and  although  she  was  my  enemy,  I  do  justice  to  your  fidelity 
in  her  behalf ;  and  from  respect  to  her  memory,  disinherited 
as  she  was  like  myself,  and  to  please  my  grandfather,  who  I 
think  had  some  regard  for  you,  I  give  you  your  freedom.  But 
I  must  also  care  for  your  safety  during  your  return  to  the  camp 
of  Burgundy.  On  this  side  of  the  hill  we  are  loyal  and  true- 
hearted  men,  on  the  other,  they  are  traitors  and  murderers. — 
You,  Sir  Count,  will,  I  think,  gladly  see  our  captive  placed  in 
safety." 

The  Knight  to  whom  Ferrand  addressed  himself,  a  tall 
stately  man,  put  himself  in  motion  to  attend  on  Arthur,  while 
the  former  was  expressing  to  the  young  Duke  of  Lorraine  the 
sense  he  entertained  of  his  chivalrous  conduct.  Farewell, 
Sir  Arthur  de  Vere,"  $aid  Ferrand,      You  have  slain  a  noble 


414 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


champion,  and  to  me  a  most  useful  and  faithful  friend.  But  it 
was  done  nobly  and  openly,  with  equal  arms,  and  in  the  front 
of  the  line  ;  and  evil  befall  him  who  entertains  feud  first !  " 
Arthur  bowed  to  his  saddlebow.  Ferrand  returned  the  saluta- 
tion, and  they  parted. 

Arthur  and  his  new  companion  had  ridden  but  a  little  way 
up  the  ascent  when  the  stranger  spoke  thus : — 

We  have  been  fellow-travelers  before,  young  man,  yet  you 
remember  me  not.'^ 

Arthur  turned  his  eyes  on  the  cavalier,  and  observing  that 
the  crest  which  adorned  his  helmet  was  fashioned  like  a  vulture, 
strange  suspicions  began  to  cross  his  mind,  which  were  con- 
firmed, when  the  knight,  opening  his  helmet,  showed  him  the 
dark  and  severe  features  of  the  Priest  of  Saint  Paul's. 

"  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein  !  "  said  Arthur. 

"The  same,"  replied  the  Count,  though  thou  hast  seen 
him  in  other  garb  and  headgear.  But  tyranny  drives  all  men 
to  arms,  and  I  have  resumed,  by  the  license  and  command  of 
my  superiors,  those  which  I  had  laid  aside.  A  war  against 
cruelty  and  oppression  is  holy  as  that  waged  in  Palestine,  in 
which  priests  bear  armor." 

"  My  Lord  Count,"  said  Arthur,  eagerly,  "I  cannot  too 
soon  entreat  you  to  withdraw  to  Sir  Ferrand  of  Lorraine's 
squadron.  Here  you  are  in  peril,  where  no  strength  or  courage 
can  avail  you.  The  Duke  has  placed  a  price  on  your  head ; 
and  the  country  betwixt  this  and  Nancy  swarms  with  Stradiots 
and  Italian  light  horsemen." 

I  laugh  at  them,"  answered  the  count.  "  I  have  not  lived 
so  long  in  a  stormy  world,  amid  intrigues  of  war  and  policy,  to 
fall  by  the  mean  hand  of  such  as  they — besides,  thou  art  with 
me,  and  I  have  seen  but  now  that  thou  canst  bear  thee 
nobly." 

"  In  your  defence,  my  Lord,"  said  Arthur,  who  thought  of 
his  companion  as  the  father  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  I  should 
try  to  do  my  best.'' 

"  What,  youth  !  "  replied  Count  Albert  with  a  stern  sneer, 
that  was  peculiar  to  his  countenance ;  "  wouldst  thou  aid  the 
enemy  of  the  lord  under  whose  banner  thou  servest,  against  his 
waged  soldiers  1  " 

Arthur  was  somewhat  abashed  at  the  turn  given  to  his 
ready  offer  of  assistance,  for  which  he  had  expected  at  least 
thanks;  but  ho  instantly  collected  himself,  and  replied,  My 
Lord  Count  Albert,  you  have  been  pleased  to  put  yourself  in 
peril  to  protect  me  from  partisans  of  your  party — I  am  equally 
bound  to  defend  you  from  those  of  our  side." 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


It  is  happily  answered,"  said  the  Count ; — "  yet  I  think 
there  is  a  little  blind  partisan,  of  whom  troubadours  and  mins- 
trels talk,  to  whose  instigation  I  might,  in  case  of  need,  owe 
the  great  zeal  of  my  protector." 

He  did  not  allow  Arthur,  who  was  a  good  deal  embarrassed, 
time  to  reply,  but  proceeded  :  ^'  Hear  me,  young  man — Thy 
lance  has  this  day  done  an  evil  deed  to  Switzerland,  to  Berne, 
and  Duke  Ferrand,  in  slaying  their  bravest  champion.  But  to 
me,  the  death  of  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  is  a  welcome  event. 
Know  that  he  was,  as  his  services  grew  more  indispensable, 
become  importunate  in  requiring  Duke  Ferrand^s  interest  wdth 
me  for  my  daughter's  hand.  And  the  Duke  himself,  the  son 
of  a  princess,  blushed  not  to  ask  me  to  bestow  the  last  of  my 
house — for  my  brother's  family  are  degenerate  mongrels — upon 
a  presumptuous  young  man,  whose  uncle  was  a  domestic  in  the 
house  of  my  wife's  father,  though  they  boasted  some  relation- 
ship, I  believe,  through  an  illegitimate  channel,  which  yonder 
Rudolph  was  wont  to  make  the  most  of,  as  it  favored  his 
suit." 

"  Surely,"  said  Arthur,  "  a  match  with  one  so  unequal  in 
birth,  and  far  more  in  every  other  respect,  was  too  monstrous 
to  be  mentioned  ?  " 

While  I  live,"  replied  Count  Albert,  never  should  such 
union  have  been  formed,  if  the  death  both  of  bride  and  bride- 
groom by  my  dagger  could  have  saved  the  honor  of  my  house 
from  violation.  But  when  I — I  whose  days,  whose  very  hours 
are  numbered — shall  be  no  more,  wdiat  could  prevent  an  un- 
daunted suitor,  fortified  by  Duke  Ferrand 's  favor,  by  the  gen- 
eral applause  of  his  country,  and  perhaps  by  the  unfortunate 
prepossession  of  my  brother  Arnold,  from  carrying  his  point 
against  the  resistance  and  scruples  of  a  solitary  maiden  ? " 

Rudolph  is  dead,"  replied  Arthur,  "  and  may  Heaven  as- 
soilzie him  from  guilt !  But  were  he  alive,  and  urging  his  suit 
on  Anne  of  Geierstein,  he  would  find  there  was  a  combat  to  be 
fought "  

"Which  has  been  already  decided,"  answered  Count  Albert. 
"  Now,  mark  me,  Arthur  de  Vere  !  My  daughter  has  told  me 
of  the  passages  betwixt  you  and  her.  Your  sentiments  and 
conduct,  are  worthy  of  the  noble  house  you  descend  from, 
which  I  well  know  ranks  with  the  most  illustrious  in  Europe. 
You  are  indeed  disinherited,  but  so  is  Anne  of  Geierstein,  save 
such  pittance  as  her  uncle  may  impart  to  her  of  her  paternal 
inheritance.  If  you  share  it  together  till  better  days  (always 
supposing  your  noble  father  gives  his  consent,  for  my  child 
shall  enter  no  house  against  the  will  of  its  head),  my  daughter 


4i6 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


knows  that  she  has  my  willing  consent  and  my  blessing.  My 
brother  shall  also  know  my  pleasure.  He  will  approve  my 
purpose  ;  for  though  dead  to  thoughts  of  honor  and  chivalry, 
he  is  alive  to  social  feelings,  loves  his  niece,  and  has  friendship 
for  thee  and  for  thy  father.  What  say'st  thou,  young  man,  to 
take  a  beggarly  Countess  to  aid  thee  in  the  journey  of  life  ?  I 
believe — nay,  I  prophesy  (for  1  stand  so  much  on  the  edge  of 
the  grave,  that  methinks  I  command  a  view  beyond  it)  that  a 
lustre  will  one  day,  after  I  have  long  ended  my  doubtful  and 
stormy  life,  beam  on  the  coronets  of  De  Vere  and  Geier- 
stein.'' 

De  Vere  threw  himself  from  his  horse,  clasped  the  hand  of 
Count  Albert,  and  was  about  to  exhaust  himself  in  thanks ;  but 
the  Count  insisted  on  his  silence. 

"  We  are  about  to  part,"  he  said.  "  The  time  is  short — the 
place  is  dangerous.  You  are  to  me,  personally  speaking,  less 
than  nothing.  Had  any  one  of  the  many  schemes  of  ambition 
which  I  have  pursued  led  me  to  success,  the  son  of  a  banished 
Earl  had  not  been  the  son-in-law  I  had  chosen.  Rise  and 
remount  your  horse — thanks  are  unpleasing  when  they  are  not 
merited.'' 

Arthur  arose,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  threw  his  raptures 
into  a  more  acceptable  form,  endeavoring  to  describe  how  his 
love  for  Anne,  and  efforts  for  her  happiness,  should  express  his 
gratitude  to  her  father,  and  observing  that  the  Count  listened 
with  some  pleasure  to  the  picture  he  drew  of  their  future  life, 
he  could  not  help  exclaiming — "  And  you,  my  lord — you  who 
have  been  the  author  of  all  this  happiness,  will  you  not  be  the 
witness  and  partaker  of  it  ?  Believe  me,  we  will  strive  to 
soften  the  effect  of  the  hard  blows  which  fortune  has  dealt  to 
you,  and  should  a  ray  of  better  luck  shine  upon  us,  it  will  be 
the  more  welcome  that  you  can  share  it." 

"  Forbear  such  foll)^,"  said  the  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein. 
I  know  my  4ast  scene  is  approaching. — Hear  and  tremble. 
The  Duke  of  Burgundy  is  sentenced  to  die,  and  the  secret  and 
Invisible  Judges,  who  doom  in  secret,  and  avenge  in  secret, 
like  the  Deity,  have  given  the  cord  and  the  dagger  to  my 
hand  !  " 

"Oh,  cast  from  you  these  vile  symbols!  "exclaimed  Arthur, 
with  enthusiasm  ;  let  them  find  butcliers  and  common  stab- 
bers  to  do  such  an  office,  and  not  dishonor  the  noble  Lord  of 
Geierstein  !  " 

"  Peace,  foolish  boy  !  "  answered  the  Count.  "  The  oath 
by  which  I  am  sworn  is  higher  than  the  clouded  sky,  more 
deeply  fixed  than  those  distant  mountains.    Nor  think  my  aqt 


ANNE  OF  GElERSTklN. 


is  that  of  an  assassin,  though  for  such  I  might  plead  the  Duke's 
own  example.  I  send  not  hirelings,  like  these  base  Stradiots, 
to  hunt  his  life,  without  imperiling  mine  own.  1  give  not  his 
his  daughter — innocent  of  his  offences — the  choice  betwixt  a 
disgraceful  marriage  and  a  discreditable  retreat  from  the  world. 
No,  Arthur  de  Vere,  I  seek  Charles  with  the  resolved  mind  of 
one,  who,  to  take  the  life  of  an  adversary,  exposes  himself  to 
certain  death.'' 

"  I  pray  you  speak  no  further  of  it,'*  said  Arthur,  very 
anxiously.    "  Consider  I  serve  for  the  present  the  Prince  whom 

you  threaten  "  

And  art  bound,"  interrupted  the  Count,  to  unfold  to  him 
what  I  tell  you.  I  desire  you  should  do  so ;  and  though  he 
hath  already  neglected  a  summons  of  the  Tribunal,  I  am  glad 
to  have  this  opportunity  of  sending  him  personal  defiance.  Say 
to  Charles  of  Burgundy,  that  he  has  wronged  Albert  of 
Geierstein.  He  who  is  injured  in  his  honor  loses  all  value  for 
his  life,  and  whoever  does  so  has  full  command  over  that  of 
another  man.  Bid  him  keep  himself  well  from  me,  since  if  he 
see  a  second  sun  of  the  approaching  year  rise  over  the  distant 
Alps,  Albert  of  Geierstein  is  forsworn. — And  now  begone,  for 
I  see  a  party  approach  under  a  Burgundian  banner.  They  will 
ensure  your  safety,  but,  should  I  remain  longer,  would  endan- 
ger mine." 

So  saying,  the  Count  of  Geierstein  turned  his  horse  and 
rode  off. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SIXTH. 

Faint  the  din  of  battle  bray'd 

Distant  down  the  heavy  wind; 
War  and  terror  fled  before, 

Wounds  and  death  were  left  behind. 

MiCKLE. 

Arthur,  left  alone,  and  desirous  perhaps  to  cover  the  re- 
treat of  Count  Albert,  rode  toward  the  approaching  body  of 
Burgundian  cavalry,  who  were  arrayed  under  the  Lord  Contay's 
banner. 

Welcome,  welcome,"  said  that  nobleman,  advancing  hastily 
to  the  young  knight.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  is  a  mile 
hence,  with  a  body  of  horse  to  support  the  reconnoitring  party. 
It  is  not  half-an-hour  since  your  father  galloped  up,  and  stated 
that  you  had  been  led  into  an  ambuscade  by  the  treachery  of 


4i8 


ANNE  OP  GEIERSTEIN 


I  the  Stradiots,  and  made  prisoner.  He  has  impeached  Campo 
Basso  of  treason,  and  challenged  him  to  the  combat.  They 
have  both  been  sent  to  the  camp,  under  charge  of  the  tjrand 
Marshal,  to  prevent  their  fighting  on  the  spot,  though  I  think 
our  Italian  showed  little  desire  to  come  to  blows.  The  Duke 
holds  their  gages,  and  they  are  to  fight  upon  Twelfth-Day." 

I  doubt  that  day  will  never  dawn  for  some  who  look  for 
it,"  said  Arthur  ;  *'but  if  it  do,  I  will  myself  claim  the  combat, 
by  my  father's  permission." 

He  then  turned  with  Contay,  and  met  a  still  larger  body  of 
cavalry  under  the  Duke's  broad  banner.  He  was  instantly 
brought  before  Charles.  The  Duke  heard,  with  some  apparent 
anxiety,  Arthur^s  support  of  his  father's  accusations  against  the 
Italian,  in  whose  favor  he  was  so  deeply  prejudiced.  When 
assured  that  the  Stradiots  had  been  across  the  hill,  and  com- 
municated with  their  leader  just  before  he  encouraged  Arthur  to 
advance,  as  it  proved,  into  the  midst  of  an  ambush,  the  Duke 
shook  his  head,  lowered  his  shaggy  brows,  and  muttered  to  him- 
self,— "  111  will  to  Oxford,  perhaps — these  Italians  are  vindic' 
tive." — Then,  raising  his  head,  he  commanded  Arthur  to  pro- 
ceed. 

He  heard  with  a  species  of  ecstasy  the  death  of  Rudolph 
Donnerhugel,  and,  taking  a  ponderous  gold  chain  from  his  own 
neck,  flung  it  over  Arthur's. 

"  Why,  thou  hast  forestalled  all  our  honors,  young  Arthur 
— this  was  the  biggest  bear  of  them  all — the  rest  are  but  suck- 
ling whelps  to  him  !  I  think  I  have  found  a  youthful  David  to 
match  their  huge  thick-headed  Goliath.  But  the  idiot  to  think 
his  peasant  hand  could  manage  a  lance  !  Well,  my  brave  boy 
— what  more  t  How  camest  thou  off  t  By  some  wily  device 
or  agile  stratagem,  I  warrant." 

"  Pardon  me,  my  lord,"  answered  Arthur.  "  I  was  pro- 
tected by  their  chief,  Ferrand,  who  considered  my  encounter 
with  Rudolph  Donnerhugel  as  a  personal  duel  ;  and,  desirous 
to  use  fair  war,  as  he  said,  dismissed  me  honorably,  with  my 
horse  and  arms." 

"  Umph  !  "  said  Charles,  his  bad  humor  returning  ;  "  your 
Prince  Adventurer  must  play  the  generous — Umph — well,  it  be- 
longs to  his  part,  but  shall  not  be  a  line  for  me  to  square  my 
conduct  by-    Proceed  with  your  story.  Sir  Arthur  de  Vere." 

As  Arthur  proceeded  to  tell  how  and  under  what  circum- 
stances Count  Albert  of  Geierstein  named  himself  to  him,  the 
Duke  fixed  on  him  an  eager  look,  and  trembled  with  impatience 
as  he  fiercely  intcrruptocl  him  with  the  question — "And  you— ^ 


AhtNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


419 


you  struck  him  with  your  poniard  under  the  fifth  rib,  did  you 
not  ? 

"  I  did  not,  my  Lord  Duke — we  were  pledged  in  mutual 
assurance  to  each  other/' 

"  Yet  you  knew  him  to  be  my  mortal  enemy  ?  said  the 
Duke.  Go,  young  man,  thy  lukewarm  indifference  has  can- 
celed thy  merit.  The  escape  of  Albert  of  Geierstein  hath 
counterbalanced  the  death  of  Rudolph  Donnerhugel.'' 

"  Be  it  so,  my  lord,"  said  Arthur,  boldly.  I  neither  claim 
your  praises,  nor  deprecate  your  censure.  I  had  to  move  me 
in  either  case  motives  personal  to  myself. — Donnerhugel  was 
my  enemy,  and  to  Count  Albert  I  owe  some  kindness.'* 

The  Burgundian  nobles  who  stood  around  were  terrified  for 
the  effect  of  this  bold  speech.  But  it  was  never  possible  to 
guess  with  accuracy  how  such  things  would  affect  Charles.  He 
looked  around  him  with  a  laugh — "  Hear  you  this  English 
cockerel,  my  lords — what  a  note  will  he  one  day  sound,  that 
already  crows  so  bravely  in  a  Prince  presence  ! '' 

A  few  horsemen  now  came  in  from  different  quarters,  re- 
counting that  the  Duke  Ferrand  and  his  company  had  retired 
into  their  encampment,  and  the  country  was  clear  of  the  enemy. 

"  Let  us  then  draw  back  also,"  said  Charles,  since  there  is 
no  chance  of  breaking  spears  to-day.  And  thou,  Arthur  de 
Vere,  attend  me  closely." 

Arrived  at  the  Duke's  pavilion,  Arthur  underwent  an  exam- 
ination, in  which  he  said  nothing  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  or  her 
father's  designs  concerning  him,  with  which  he  considered 
Charles  as  having  nothing  to  do ;  but  he  frankly  conveyed  to 
him  the  personal  threats  which  the  Count  had  openly  used. 
The  Duke  listened  with  more  temper,  and  when  he  heard  the 
expression,  ^'  That  a  man  who  is  desperate  of  his  own  life  might 
command  that  of  any  other  person,"  he  said,  But  there  is  a 
life  beyond  this,  in  which  he  who  is  treacherously  murdered, 
and  his  base  and  desperate  assassin,  shall  each  meet  their 
deserts."  He  then  took  from  his  bosom  a  gold  cross,  and 
kissed  it,  with  much  appearance  of  devotion.  "  In  this,"  said 
he,  "  I  will  place  my  trust  If  I  fail  in  this  world,  may  I  find 
grace  in  the  next — Ho,  Sir  Marshal  !  "  he  exclaimed — "  Let 
your  prisoners  attend  us." 

The  Marshal  of  Burgundy  entered  with  the  Eail  of  Oxford, 
and  stated  that  his  other  prisoner,  Campo-Basso,  had  desired 
so  earnestly  that  he  might  be  suffered  to  go  and  post  his  senti- 
nels on  that  part  of  the  camp  intrusted  to  the  protection  of  his 
troops,  shat  he,  the  Marshal,  had  thought  fit  to  comply  with  his 
request. 


4^0 


A^NE  OF  CElEkSTMm. 


"  It  Is  well,"  said  Burgundy,  without  further  remark — "  Then 
to  you,  my  Lord  Oxford,  I  would  present  your  son,  had  you  not 
already  locked  him  in  your  arms.  He  has  won  great  los  and 
honor,  and  done  m-e  brave  service.  This  is  a  period  of  the 
year  when  good  men  forgive  their  enemies  ; — I  know  not  why 
— my  mind  was  little  apt  to  be  charged  with  such  matters — but 
I  feel  an  unconquerable  desire  to  stop  the  approaching  combat 
betwixt  you  and  Campo-Basso.  For  my  sake,  consent  to  be 
friends,  and  to  receive  back  your  gage  of  battle,  and  let  me 
conclude  this  year — perhaps  the  last  I  may  see — with  a  deed 
of  peace." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Oxford,  "  it  is  a  small  thing  you  ask  of 
me,  since  your  request  only  enforces  a  Christian  duty.  I  was 
enraged  at  the  loss  of  my  son.  I  am  grateful  to  Heaven  and 
your  Grace  for  restoring  him.  To  be  friends  with  Campo-Basso 
is  to  me  impossible.  Faith  and  treason,  truth  and  falsehood, 
might  as  soon  shake  hands  and  embrace.  But  the  Italian  shall 
be  to  me  no  more  than  he  has  been  before  this  rupture  ;  and 
that  is  literally  nothing.  I  put  my  honor  in  your  Grace's 
hands ; — if  he  receives  back  his  gage,  I  am  willing  to  receive 
mine.  John  de  Vere  needs  not  be  apprehensive  that  the  world 
will  suppose  that  he  fears  Campo-Basso." 

The  Duke  returned  sincere  thanks,  and  detained  the  officers 
to  spend  the  evening  in  his  tent.  His  manners  seemed  to 
Arthur  to  be  more  placid  than  he  had  ever  seen  them  before, 
while  to  the  Earl  of  Oxford  they  recalled  the  earlier  days  in 
which  their  intimacy  commenced,  ere  absolute  power  and  un- 
bounded success  had  spoiled  Charles's  rough  but  not  ungen- 
erous disposition.  The  Duke  ordered  a  distribution  of  pro- 
visions and  wine  to  the  soldiers,  and  expressed  an  anxiety 
about  their  lodgings,  the  cure  of  the  wounded,  and  the  health 
of  the  army,  to  which  he  received  only  unpleasing  answers. 
To  some  of  his  counselors,  apart,  he  said,  "  Were  it  not  foT 
our  vow,  we  would  relinquish  this  purpose  till  spring,  when  our 
poor  soldiers  might  take  the  field  with  less  of  suffering." 

Nothing  else  remarkable  appeared  in  the  Duke's  manner, 
save  that  he  inquired  repeatedly  after  Campo-Basso,  and  at 
length  received  accounts  that  he  was  indisposed,  and  that  his 
physician  had  recommended  rest ;  he  had  therefore  retired  to 
repose  himself,  in  order  that  he  might  be  stirring  on  his  duty  at 
peep  of  day,  the  safety  of  the  camp  depending  much  on  his 
vigilance. 

The  Duke  made  no  observation  on  the  apology,  which  he 
considered  as  indicating  some  lurking  disinclination,  on  the 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Italian's  part,  to  meet  Oxford.  The  guests  at  the  ducal  pavilion 
were  dismissed  an  hour  before  midnight. 

When  Oxford  and  his  son  were  in  their  own  tent,  the  Earl 
fell  into  a  deep  reverie,  which  lasted  nearly  ten  minutes.  At 
length,  starting  suddenly  up,  he  said,  "  My  son,  give  orders  to 
Thiebault  and  thy  yeoman  to  have  horses  before  the  tent 
by  break  of  day,  or  rather  before  it ;  and  it  would  not  be  amiss 
if  you  ask  our  neighbor  Colvin  to  ride  along  with  us.  I  will 
visit  the  outposts  by  daybreak." 

"  It  is  a  sudden  resolution,  my  lord,"  said  Arthur. 

"  And  yet  it  may  be  taken  too  late,"  said  his  father.  Had 
it  been  moonlight,  I  would  have  made  the  rounds  to-night." 

"  It  is  as  dark  as  a  wolf's  throat,"  said  Arthur.  "  But 
wherefore,  my  lord,  can  this  night  in  particular  excite  your 
apprehensions  " 

"  Son  Arthur,  perhaps  you  will  hold  your  father  credulous. 
But  my  nurse,  Martha  Nixon,  was  a  northern  woman,  and  full 
of  superstitions.  In  particular,  she  was  wont  to  say,  that  any 
sudden  and  causeless  change  of  man's  nature,  as  from  license 
to  sobriety,  from  temperance  to  indulgence,  from  avarice  to 
extravagance,  from  prodigality  to  love  of  money,  or  the  like, 
indicates  an  immediate  change  of  his  fortunes — that  some  great 
alteration  of  circumstances,  either  for  good  or  evil  (and  for  evil 
most  likely,  since  we  live  in  an  evil  world),  is  impending  over 
him  whose  disposition  is  so  much  altered.  This  old  woman's 
fancy  has' recurred  so  strongly  to  my  mind,  that  I  am  determined 
to  see  with  mine  own  eyes,  ere  to-morrow's  dawn,  that  all  our 
guards  and  patrols  around  the  camp  are  on  the  alert." 

Arthur  made  the  necessary  communications  to  Colvin  and 
to  Thiebault,  and  then  retired  to  rest. 

It  was  ere  daybreak  of  the  first  of  January,  1477,  a  period 
long  memorable  for  the  events  which  marked  it,  that  the  Earl 
of  Oxford,  Colvin,  and  the  young  Englishman,  followed  only 
by  Thiebault  and  two  other  servants,  commenced  their  rounds 
of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  encampment.  For  the  greater  part 
of  their  progress  they  found  sentinels  and  guards  all  on  the 
alert  and  at  their  posts.  It  was  a  bitter  morning.  The  ground 
was  partly  covered  with  snow — that  snow  had  been  partly 
melted  by  a  thaw,  which  had  prevailed  for  two  days,  and  partly 
congealed  into  ice  by  a  bitter  frost,  which  had  commenced  the 
preceding  evening,  and  still  continued.  A  more  dreary  scene 
could  scarcely  be  witnessed. 

But  what  were  the  surprise  and  alarm  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford 
and  his  companions,  when  they  came  to  that  part  of  the  camp 
which  had  been  occupied  the  day  before  by  Campo-Basso  and 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


his  Italians,  who,  reckoning  men-at-arms  and  Stradiots,  amount 
ed  to  nigh  two  thousand  men — not  a  challenge  was  given — not  a 
horse  neighed — no  steeds  were  seen  at  picket — no  guard  on 
the  camp.  They  examined  several  of  the  tents  and  huts — they 
were  empty. 

"  Let  us  back  to  alarm  the  camp,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford ; 
here  is  treachery.'' 

"  Nay,  my  lord,"  said  Colvin,  "  let  us  not  carry  back  imper- 
fect tidings.  I  have  a  battery  an  hundred  yards  in  advance, 
covering  the  access  to  this  hollow  way  ;  let  us  see  if  my  German 
cannoniers  are  at  their  post,  and  I  think  I  can  swear  that  we 
shall  find  them  so.  The  battery  commands  a  narrow  pass,  by 
which  alone  the  camp  can  be  approached  ;  and  if  my  men  are 
at  their  duty,  I  will  pawn  my  life  that  we  make  the  pass  good 
till  you  bring  up  succors  from  the  main  body." 

*^  Forward,  then,  in  God's  name  !  "  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford. 

They  galloped,  at  every  risk,  over  broken  ground,  slippery 
with  ice  in  some  places,  encumbered  with  snow  in  others. 
They  came  to  the  cannon,  judiciously  placed  to  sweep  the  pass, 
which  rose  toward  the  artillery  on  the  outward  side,  and  then 
descended  gently  from  the  battery  into  the  lower  ground.  The 
waning  winter  moon,  mingling  with  the  dawning  light,  showed 
them  that  the  guns  were  in  their  places,  but  no  sentinel  was 
visible. 

The  villains  cannot  have  deserted!"  said  the  astonished 
Colvin — "  But  see,  there  is  light  in  their  cantonment. — Oh, 
that  unhallowed  distribution  of  wine  !  Their  usual  sin  of 
drunkenness  has  beset  them.  I  will  soon  drive  them  from 
their  revelry." 

He  sprung  from  his  horse,  and  rushed  into  the  tent  from 
whence  the  light  issued.  The  cannoniers,  or  most  of  them,  were 
still  there,  but  stretched  on  the  ground,  their  cups  and  flagons 
scattered  around  them  ;  and  so  drenched  were  they  in  wassail, 
that  Colvin  could  only  by  commands  and  threats,  awaken  two 
or  three,  who,  staggering  and  obeying  him  rather  from  instinct 
than  sense,  reeled  forward  to  man  the  battery.  A  heavy  rush- 
ing sound,  like  that  of  men  marching  fast,  now  was  heard  com- 
ing up  the  pass. 

It  is  the  roar  of  a  distant  avalanche,"  said  Arthur. 

"  It  IS  an  avalanche  of  Switzers,  not  of  snow,"  said  Colvin, 
—  '*Oh,  these  drunken  slaves  ! — The  cannon  are  deeply  loaded, 
and  well  pointed — this  volley  must  check  them  if  they  were 
fiends  and  the  report  will  alarm  the  camp  sooner  than  we  can 
do. — But,  oh,  these  drunken  villains !  " 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


423 


"  Care  not  for  their  aid,"  said  the  Earl ;  "  my  son  and  I  will 
each  take  a  linstock,  and  be  gunners  for  once/' 

They  dismounted,  and  bade  Thiebault  and  the  grooms  look 
to  the  horses,  while  the  Earl  of  Oxford  and  his  son  took  each  a 
linstock  from  one  of  the  helpless  gunners,  three  of  whom  were 
just  sober  enough  to  stand  by  their  guns. 

"  Bravo  !  "  cried  the  bold  Master  of  Ordnance,  "  never  was 
a  battery  so  noble.  Now,  my  mates — your  pardon,  my  lords, 
for  there  is  no  time  for  ceremony,  and  you, ye  drunken  knaves, 
take  heed  not  to  fire  till  I  give  the  word,  and  were  the  ribs  of 
these  tramplers  as  flinty  as  their  Alps,  they  shall  know  how  old 
Colvin  loads  his  guns.'' 

They  stood  breathless,  each  by  his  cannon.  The  dreaded 
sound  approached  nearer  and  more  near,  till  the  imperfect  light 
showed  a  dark  and  shadowy  but  dense  column  of  men,  armed 
with  long  spears,  pole-axes,  and  other  weapons,  amidst  which 
banners  dimly  floated.  Colvin  suffered  them  to  approach  to 
a  distance  of  about  forty  yards,  and  then  gave  the  word.  Fire! 
But  his  own  piece  alone  exploded ;  a  slight  flame  flashed  from 
the  touch-hole  of  the  others,  which  had  beeen  spiked  by  the 
Italian  deserters,  and  left  in  reality  disabled,  though  apparently 
fit  for  service.  Had  they  been  all  in  the  same  condition  with 
that  fired  by  Colvin,  they  would  probably  have  verified  his  pro- 
phecy ;  for  even  that  single  discharge  produced  an  awful  effect, 
and  made  a  long  lane  of  dead  and  wounded  through  the  Swiss 
column,  in  which  the  first  and  leading  banner  was  struck  down. 

"  Stand  to  it  yet,"  said  Colvin,  and  aid  me  if  possible  to 
reload  the  piece." 

For  this,  however,  no  time  was  allowed.  A  stately  form, 
conspicuous  in  the  front  of  the  staggered  column,  raised  up  the 
fallen  banner,  and  a  voice  as  of  a  giant  exclaimed,  What, 
countrymen  !  have  you  seen  Murten  and  Granson,  and  are 
you  daunted  by  a  single  gun  ? — Berne — Uri — Schwytz — banners 
forward!  Unterwalden,  here  is  your  standard! — Cry  your 
war-cries,  wind  your  horns  ;  Unterwalden,  follow  your  Lan- 
damman!" 

They  rushed  on  like  a  raging  ocean,  with  a  roar  as  deaf- 
ning,  and  a  course  as  impetuous.  Colvin,  still  laboring  to  reload 
his  gun,  was  struck  down  in  the  act.  Oxford  and  his  son  were 
overthrown  by  the  multitude,  the  closeness  of  which  prevented 
any  blows  being  aimed  at  them.  Arthur  partly  saved  himself 
by  getting  under  the  gun  he  was  posted  at  ;  his  father,  less  for- 
tunate, was  much  trampled  upon,  and  must  have  been  crushed 
to  death  but  for  his  armor  of  proof.  The  human  inundation, 
consisting  of  at  least  four  thousand  men,  rushed  down  into  the 


424 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


camp,  continuing  their  dreadful  shouts,  soon  mingled  with  shrill 
shrieks,  groans,  and  cries  of  alarm. 

A  broad  red  glare  rising  behind  the  assailants,  and  putting 
to  shame  the  pallid  lights  of  the  winter  morning,  first  recalled 
Arthur  to  a  sense  of  his  condition.  The  camp  was  on  fire  in 
his  rear,  and  resounded  with  all  the  various  shouts  of  conquest 
and  terror  that  are  heard  in  a  town  which  is  stormed.  Starting 
to  his  feet,  he  looked  around  him  for  his  father.  He  lay  near 
him  senseless,  as  were  the  gunners,  whose  condition  prevented 
their  attempting  an  escape.  Having  opened  his  father's  casque, 
he  was  rejoiced  to  see  him  give  symptoms  of  re-animation. 

"  The  horses,  the  horses  !  said  Arthur.  "  Thiebault,  where 
art  thou  ? 

"  At  hand,  my  lord,^'  said  that  trusty  attendant,  who  had 
saved  himself  and  his  charge  by  a  prudent  retreat  into  a  small 
thicket,  which  the  assailants  had  avoided  that  they  might  not 
disorder  their  ranks. 

"  Where  is  the  gallant  Colvin  ? ''  said  the  Earl ;  *'get  him  a 
horse,  I  will  not  leave  him  in  jeopardy.'' 

His  wars  are  ended,  my  lord,''  said  Thiebault ;  "  he  will 
never  mount  steed  more." 

A  look  and  a  sigh  as  he  saw  Colvin,  with  the  ramrod  in  his 
hand,  before  the  muzzle  of  the  piece,  his  head  cleft  by  a  Swiss 
battle-axe,  was  all  the  moment  permitted. 

"  Whither  must  we  take  our  course  ?  "  said  Arthur  to  his 
father. 

"  To  join  the  Duke,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford.  It  is  not  on 
a  day  like  this  that  I  will  leave  him." 

"  So  please  you,"  said  Thiebault,  "  I  saw  the  Duke,  followed 
by  some  half-score  of  his  guards,  riding  at  full  speed  across  this 
hollow  water-course,  and  making  for  the  open  country  to  the 
northward.    I  think  I  can  guide  you  on  the  track." 

"  If  that  be  so,"  replied  Oxford,  "  we  will  mount  and  follow 
him.  The  camp  has  been  assailed  on  several  places  at  once, 
and  all  must  be  over  since  he  has  fled." 

With  difficulty  they  assisted  the  Earl  of  Oxford  to  his  horse, 
and  rode  as  fast  as  his  returning  strength  permitted,  in  the 
direction  which  the  Provencal  pointed  out.  Their  other  attend- 
ants were  dispersed  or  slain. 

They  looked  back  more  than  once  on  the  camp,  now  one 
great  scene  of  conflagration,  by  whose  red  and  glaring  light 
they  could  discover  on  the  ground  the  traces  of  Charles's  re- 
treat. About  three  miles  from  the  scene  of  their  defeat,  the 
sound  of  which  they  still  heard,  mingled  with  the  bells  of  Nancy, 
which  were  ringing  in  triumph,  they  reached  a  half-frozen 


LIBRARY 
("ilVuRSllY  OF  lu.ii*ji« 
URBANA 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


swamp,  round  which  lay  several  dead  bodies.  The  most  con- 
spicuous was  that  of  Charles  of  Burgundy,  once  the  possessor 
of  such  unlimited  power — such  unbounded  wealth;  He  was 
partly  stripped  and  plundered,  as  were  those  who  lay  round 
him.  His  body  was  pierced  with  several  wounds,  inflicted  by 
various  weapons.  His  sword  was  still  in  his  hand,  and  the  sin- 
gular ferocity  which  was  wont  to  animate  his  features  in  battle, 
still  dwelt  on  his  stiffened  countenance.  Close  behind  him,  as  if 
they  had  fallen  in  the  act  of  mutual  fight,  lay  the  corpse  of  Count 
Albert  of  Geierstein  ;  and  that  of  Ital  Schreckenwald,  the  faith- 
ful though  unscrupulous  follower  of  the  latter,  lay  not  far  dis- 
tant. Both  were  in  the  dress  of  the  men-at-arms  composing  the 
Duke's  guard,  a  disguise  probably  assumed  to  execute  the  fatal 
commission  of  the  Secret  Tribunal.  It  is  supposed  that  a  party 
of  the  traitor  Campo-Basso's  men  had  been  engaged  in  the 
skirmish  in  which  the  Duke  fell,  for  six  or  seven  of  them,  and 
about  the  same  number  of  the  Duke's  guards,  were  found  near 
the  spot. 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  threw  himself  from  his  horse,  and 
examined  the  body  of  his  deceased  brother-in-arms,  with  all 
the  sorrow  inspired  by  early  remembrance  of  his  kindness. 
But  as  he  gave  way  to  the  feelings  inspired  by  so  melancholy 
an  example  of  the  fall  of  human  greatness,  Thiebault,  who  was 
looking  out  on  the  path  they  had  just  pursued,  exclaimed,  "To 
horse,  my  lord !  here  is  no  time  to  mourn  the  dead,  and  little 
to  save  the  living — the  Swiss  are  upon  us." 

"  Fly  thyself,  good  fellow,"  said  the  Earl;  "and  do  thou, 
Arthur,  fly  also,  and  save  thy  youth  for  happier  days.  I  cannot 
and  will  not  fly  further.  I  will  render  me  to  the  pursuers ;  if 
they  take  me  to  grace,  it  is  well ;  if  not,  there  is  one  above 
that  will  receive  me  to  His." 

I  will  not  fly,"  said  Arthur,  "and  leave  you  defenceless; 
I  will  stay  and  share  your  fate." 

"  And  I  will  remain  also,"  said  Thiebault ;  "  the  Switzers 
make  fair  war  when  their  blood  has  not  been  heated  by  much 
opposition,  and  they  have  had  little  enough  to-day." 

The  party  of  Swiss  which  came  up  proved  to  be  Sigismund, 
with  his  brother  Ernest,  and  some  of  the  youths  oi  Unter- 
walden.  Sigismund  kindly  and  joyfully  received  them  to 
mercy  ;  and  thus,  for  the  third  time,  rendered  Arthur  an  im- 
portant service  in  return  for  the  kindness  he  had  expressed 
toward  him. 

I  will  take  you  to  my  father,"  said  Sigismund,  "  who  will 
be  right  glad  to  see  you  ;  only  that  he  is  ill  at  ease  just  now 
£or  the  death  of  brother  Rudiger,  who  fell  with  the  banner  in 


426 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


his  hand,  Dy  the  only  cannon  that  was  fired  this  morning ;  the 
rest  could  not  bark ;  Campo-Basso  had  muzzled  Colvin's 
mastiffs,  or  we  should  many  more  of  us  have  been  served  like 
poor  Rudiger.    But  Colvin  himself  is  killed/' 

"  Campo-Basso,  then,  was  in  your  correspondence  ? said 
Arthur. 

"  Not  in  ours — we  scorn  such  companions — but  some  deal- 
ing there  was  between  the  Italian  and  Duke  Ferrand ;  and 
having  disabled  the  cannon,  and  filled  the  German  gunners 
soundly  drunk,  he  came  off  to  our  camp  with  fifteen  hundred 
horse,  and  offered  to  act  with  us.  But  *  No,  no  ! '  said  my 
father,  *  traitors  come  not  into  our  Swiss  host  ;'  and  so,  though 
we  walked  in  at  the  door  which  he  left  open,  we  would  not 
have  his  company.  So  he  marched  with  Duke  Ferrand  to 
attack  the  other  extremity  of  the  camp,  where  he  found  them 
entrance  by  announcing  them  as  the  return  of  a  reconnoitring 
party." 

"  Nay,  then/'  said  Arthur,  a  more  accomplished  traitor 
never  drew  breath,  nor  one  who  drew  his  net  with  such 
success." 

**You  say  well,"  answered  the  young  Swiss.  The  Duke 
will  never,  they  say,  be  able  to  collect  another  army  ?  " 

"  Never,  young  man,"  said  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  "for  he  lies 
dead  before  you."  * 

Sigismund  started  ;  for  he  had  an  inherent  respect,  and 
somewhat  of  fear,  for  the  lofty  name  of  Charles  the  Bold,  and 
could  hardly  believe  that  the  mangled  corpse  which  now  lay 
before  him  was  once  the  personage  he  had  been  taught  to 
dread.  But  his  surprise  was  mingled  with  sorrow  when  he  saw 
the  body  of  his  uncle,  Count  Albert  of  Geierstein. 

Oh,  my  uncle  !  "  he  said — my  dear  uncle  Albert !  has 
all  your  greatness  and  your  wisdom  brought  you  to  a  death,  at 
the  side  of  a  ditch,  like  any  crazed  beggar? — Come,  this  sad 
news  must  be  presently  told  to  my  father,  who  will  be  con- 
cerned to  hear  of  his  brother's  death,  which  will  add  gall  to 
bitterness,  coming  on  the  back  of  poor  Rudiger's.  It  is  some 
comfort,  however,  that  father  and  uncle  never  could  abide  each 
other." 

With  some  difficulty  they  once  more  assisted  the  Earl  of 
Oxford  to  horseback,  and  were  proceeding  to  set  forward, 
when  the  English  lord  said — "You  will  place  a  guard  here,  to 
save  these  bodies  from  further  dishonor,  that  they  may  be  in- 
terred with  due  solemnity." 


*  Note  F.    Charles  the  Bold. 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN 


427 


By  our  Lady  of  Einsiedlen  !  I  thank  you  for  the  hint," 
said  Sigismund.  Yes,  we  should  do  all  that  the  Church  can 
for  uncle  Albert.  It  is  to  be  hoped  he  has  not  gambled  away 
his  soul  beforehand,  playing  with  Satan  at  odds  and  evens.  I 
would  we  had  a  priest  to  stay  by  his  poor  body  ;  but  it  matters 
not,  since  no  one  ever  heard  of  a  demon  appearing  just  before 
breakfast." 

They  proceeded  to  the  Landamman's  quarters  through 
sights  and  scenes  which  Arthur,  and  even  his  father,  so  well 
accustomed  to  war  in  all  its  shapes,  could  not  look  upon 
without  shuddering.  But  the  simple  Sigismund,  as  he  walked 
by  Arthur's  side,  contrived  to  hit  upon  a  theme  so  interesting 
as  to  divert  his  sense  of  the  horrors  around  them. 

Have  you  further  business  in  Burgundy,  now  this  Duke  of 
yours  is  at  an  end  1 " 

"  My  father  knows  best,"  said  Arthur ;  "  but  I  apprehend 
we  have  none.  The  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  who  must  now  suc- 
ceed to  some  sort  of  authority  in  her  late  husband's  dominion, 
is  sister  to  this  Edward  of  York,  and  a  mortal  enemy  to  the 
House  of  Lancaster,  and  to  those  who  have  stood  by  it  faith- 
fully. It  were  neither  prudent  nor  safe  to  tarry  where  she  has 
influence." 

"  In  that  case,"  said  Sigismund,  "  my  plan  will  fadge 
bravely.  You  shall  go  back  to  Geierstein,  and  take  up  your 
dwelling  with  us.  Your  father  will  be  a  brother  to  mine,  and 
a  better  one  than  uncle  Albert,  whom  he  seldom  saw  or  spoke 
with ;  while  with  your  father  he  will  converse  from  morning  till 
night,  and  leave  us  all  the  work  of  the  farm.  And  you,  Arthur, 
you  shall  go  with  us,  and  be  a  brother  to  us  all,  in  place  of 
poor  Rudiger,  who  was,  to  be  sure,  my  real  brother,  which  you 
cannot  be  :  nevertheless,  I  did  not  like  him  so  well,  in  respect 
he  was  not  so  good-natured.  And  then  Anne — cousin  Anne — 
is  left  all  to  my  father's  charge,  and  is  now  at  Geierstein — and 
you  know.  King  Arthur,  we  used  to  call  her  Queen  Guenover." 

"  You  spoke  great  folly,  then,"  said  Arthur. 

"But  it  is  great  truth — For,  look  you,  I  loved  to  tell  Anne 
tales  of  our  hunting,  and  so  forth,  but  she  would  not  listen  a 
word  till  I  threw  in  something  of  King  Arthur,  and  then  I 
warrant  she  would  sit  still  as  a  heath-hen  when  the  hawk  is  in 
the  heavens.  And  now  Donnerhugel  is  slain,  you  know  you 
may  marry  my  cousin  when  you  and  she  will,  for  nobody  hath 
interest  to  prevent  it." 

Arthur  blushed  with  pleasure  under  his  helmet,  and  almost 
forgave  that  new-year's  morning  all  its  complicated  distresses. 

"  You  forget,"  he  replied  to  Sigismund,  with  as  much  in- 


428 


ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN, 


difference  as  he  could  assume,  "  that  I  may  be  viewed  in  youl 
country  with  prejudice  on  account  of  Rudolph's  death," 

Not  a  whit,  not  a  whit ;  we  bear  no  malice  for  what  is 
done  in  fair  fight  under  shield.  It  is  no  more  than  if  you  had 
beat  him  in  wrestling  or  at  quoits— only  it  is  a  game  cannot  be 
played  over  again." 

They  now  entered  the  town  of  Nancy  ;  the  windows  were 
hung  with  tapestry,  and  the  streets  crowded  with  tumultuous 
and  rejoicing  multitudes,  whom  the  success  of  the  battle  had 
relieved  from  great  alarm  for  the  formidable  vengeance  of 
Charles  of  Burgundy. 

The  prisoners  were  received  with  the  utmost  kindness  by 
the  Landamman,  who  assured  them  of  his  protection  and  friend- 
ship. He  appeared  to  support  the  death  of  his  sou  Rudiger 
with  stern  resignation. 

"  He  had  rather,"  he  said,  his  son  fell  in  battle  than  that 
he  should  live  to  despise  the  old  simplicity  of  his  country,  and 
think  the  object  of  combat  was  the  gaining  of  spoil.  The  gold 
of  the  dead  Burgundy,"  he  added,  "would  injure  the  morals  of 
Switzerland  more  irretrievably  than  ever  his  sword  did  their 
bodies." 

He  heard  of  his  brother's  death  without  surprise,  but  ap- 
parently with  emotion. 

It  was  the  conclusion,"  he  said,  "  of  a  long  tissue  of  am- 
bitious enterprises,  which  often  offered  fair  prospects,  but 
uniformly  ended  in  disappointment." 

The  Landamman  further  intimated,  that  his  brother  had 
apprized  him  that  he  was  engaged  in  an  affair  of  so  much 
danger  that  he  was  almost  certain  to  perish  in  it,  and  had 
bequeathed  his  daughter  to  her  uncle's  care,  with  instruc- 
tions respecting  her. 

Here  they  parted  for  the  present,  but  shortly  after,  the 
Landamman  inquired  earnestly  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford  what  his 
motions  were  like  to  be,  and  whether  he  could  assist  them. 

"  I  think  of  choosing  Bretagne  for  my  place  of  refuge," 
answered  the  Earl,  "where  my  wife  has  dwelt,  since  the  battle 
of  Tewkesbury  expelled  us  from  England." 

"Do  not  so,"  said  the  kind  Landamman,  "but  come  to 
Geierstein  with  the  Countess,  where,  if  she  can,  like  you,  en- 
dure our  mountain  manners  and  mountain  fare,  you  are  welcome 
as  to  the  house  of  a  brother,  to  a  soil  where  neither  conspiracy 
nor  treason  ever  flourished.  Bethink  you,  the  Duke  of  Bretagne 
is  a  weak  prince,  entirely  governed  by  a  wicked  favorite,  Peter 
Landais.  He  is  as  capable — I  mean  the  minister — of  selling 
brave  men's  blood,  as  a  butcher  of  selling  bullock's  flesh;  and 


ANNE  OP  GRtKkSTElN 


420 


you  know,  there  are  those,  both  in  France  and  Burgundy,  that 
thirst  after  yours." 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  expressed  his  thanks  for  the  proposal, 
and  his  determination  to  profit  by  it,  if  approved  of  by  Henry 
of  Lancaster,  Earl  of  Richmond,  whom  he  now  regarded  as 
his  sovereign. 

To  close  the  tale,  about  three  months  after  the  battle  of 
Nancy,  the  banished  Earl  of  Oxford  resumed  his  name  of 
Philipson,  bringing  with  his  lady  some  remnants  of  their  former 
wealth,  which  enabled  them  to  procure  a  commodious  residence 
near  to  Geierstein  ;  and  the  Landam.man's  interest  in  the  state 
procured  for  them  the  right  of  denizenship.  The  high  blood, 
and  the  moderate  fortunes,  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  and  Arthur 
de  Vere,  joined  to  their  mutual  inclination,  made  their  marriage 
in  every  respect  rational ;  and  Annette  with  her  bachelor  took 
up  their  residence  with  the  young  people,  not  as  servants,  but 
mechanical  aids  in  the  duties  of  the  farm  ;  for  Arthur  con- 
tinued to  prefer  the  chase  to  the  labors  of  husbandry,  which 
was  of  little  consequence,  as  his  separate  income  amounted,  in 
that  poor  country,  to  opulence.  Time  glided  on,  till  it  amounted 
to  five  years  since  the  exiled  family  had  been  inhabitants  of 
Switzerland.  In  the  year  1482,  the  Landamman  Biederman 
died  the  death  of  the  righteous,  lamented  universally,  as  a 
model  of  the  true  and  valiant,  simple-minded  and  sagacious 
chiefs,  who  ruled  the  ancient  Switzers  in  peace,  and  headed 
them  in  battle.  In  the  same  year,  the  Earl  of  Oxford  lost  his 
noble  Countess. 

But  the  star  of  Lancaster,  at  that  period,  began  again  to 
culminate,  and  called  the  banished  lord  and  his  son  from  their 
retirement,  to  mix  once  more  in  politics.  The  treasured  neck- 
lace of  Margaret  was  then  put  to  its  destined  use,  and  the 
produce  applied  to  levy  those  bands  which  shortly  after  fought 
the  celebrated  battle  of  Bosworth,  in  which  the  arms  of  Oxford 
and  his  son  contributed  so  much  to  the  success  of  Henry  VII. 
This  changed  the  destinies  of  De  Vere  and  his  lady.  Their 
Swiss  farm  was  conferred  on  Annette  and  her  husband ;  and 
the  manners  and  beauty  of  Anne  of  Geierstein  attracted  as 
much  admiration  at  the  English  Court  as  formerly  in  the  Swiss 
Chalet. 


NOTES  TO  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Note  A,  p.  xii. — Remarks  on  the  Novel. 

[Ann^  of  Geierstem^  which  appeared  in  May  1829,  may  be  almost  called 
the  last  work  of  Scott's  imaginative  genius,  and  was  received  at  least  as  well 
as  the  Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  or  indeed  as  any  novel  of  his,  after  the  Crusa- 
ders. Its  pages  display  in  undiminished  perfection  all  the  skill  and  grace  of 
the  mere  artist,  with  occasional  outl^reaks  of  the  old  poetic  spirit.  Indeed, 
the  various  play  of  fancy  in  the  combination  of  persons  and  events,  and  the 
airy  liveliness  of  both  imagery  and  diction,  may  well  justify  us  in  applying 
to  the  Author  what  he  beautifully  says  of  his  King  Rene — 

**  A  mirthful  man  he  was  ;  the  snows  of  age 
Fell,  but  they  did  not  chill  him." — Chap.  xxix. 

It  is  a  common  saying  that  there  is  nothing  so  distinctive  of  genius  as 
the  retention,  in  advanced  years,  of  the  capacity  to  depict  the  feelings  of 
youth  with  all  their  original  glow  and  purity.  But  I  apprehend  this  blessed 
distinction  belongs  to,  and  is  the  just  reward,  of  virtuous  genius  only. 
.  .  .  .  Perhaps  Scott  has  nowhere  painted  such  feelings  more  delici- 
ously  than  in  those  very  scenes  of  Anne  of  Geierstein,  which  offers  every 
now  and  then,  in  some  incidental  circumstance  or  reflection,  the  best  evi- 
dence that  they  are  drawn  by  a  gray-headed  man. — J.  G.  Lockhart.] 

Note  B,  p.  161. — German  Dungeon. 

[In  connection  with  the  description  of  this  dungeon,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  Author,  in  composing  this  novel,  derived  considerable  assistance 
from  a  journal  of  foreign  travel,  the  work  of  his  intimate  friend  the  late 
James  Skene  of  Ruljislaw.  It  is  also  curious  to  observe,  that  in  the  Arch- 
oeologia  Scoiica^  i'^-3»  vol.  iii.  p.  17,  there  appears  an  account  by  Mr. 
Skene  of  a  "  suite  of  apartments,  excavated  from  the  rocks  on  which  the 
castle  of  Baden,  in  Swabia,  stands,  supposed  to  have  been  connected  with 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Secret  Tribunal  in  that  country."] 

Note  C,  p.  184. — Public  Executioner. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that,  in  the  middle  ages,  the  office  of  public 
executioner  was  esteemed  highly  honorable  all  over  Ciermany,  It  still  is, 
in  such  ])arts  of  that  countrv  as  retain  the  old  custom  of  execution  by  stroke 
of  sword,  very  far  from  being  held  discreditable  to  the  extent  to  which  we 
carry  our  feelings  on  the  subject,  and  which  exposed  the  magistrates  of  a 


j\ror£S. 


43 » 


Scotch  town, — I  rather  think  no  less  a  one  than  Glasgow, — to  a  good  deal 
of  ridicule,  when  they  advertised,  some  few  years  ago,  on  occasion  of  the 
death  of  their  hangman,  that  none  but  persons  of  respectable  character" 
need  apply  for  the  vacant  situation.  At  this  day,  in  Chiiva,  in  Persia,  and 
probably  in  other  Oriental  kingdoms,  the  Chief  Executioner  is  one  of  the 
great  officers  of  state,  and  is  as  proud  of  the  emblem  of  his  fatal  duty  as 
any  European  Lord  Chamberlain  of  his  Golden  Key. 

The  circumstances  of  the  strange  trial  and  execution  of  the  Knight  of 
Hagenbach  are  detailed  minutely  by  M.  de  Barante,  from  contemporary 
MS.  documents;  and  the  reader  will  be  gratified  by  a  specimen  of  that 
writer's  narrative.  A  translation  is  also  given  for  the  benefit  of  many  of 
my  kind  readers. 

"  De  toutes  parts  on  etait  accourus  par  milliers  pour  assister  au  proces 
de  ce  cruel  gouverneur,  tant  la  haine  etait  grande  contre  lui.  Desa  prison, 
il  entendait  retentir  sur  le  pont  le  pas  des  chevaux,  et  s'enquerait  a  son 
geolier  de  ceux  qui  arrivaient:  soit  pour  etre  ses  juges,  soit  pour  ^tre 
temoins  do  son  supplice.  Parfois  le  geolier  repondait,  *  Ce  sont  des  etran- 
gers;  je  ne  les  connais  pas.'  *  Ne  sont-ce  pas,' disait  le  prisonnier,  *  des 
gens  assez  mal  vetus,  de  haute  taille,  de  forte  apparence,  montes  sur  des 
chevaux  aux  courtes  oreilles  ? '  et  si  le  geolier  repondait :  '  Qui.' — ^  Ah  ce 
sont  les  Suisses,'  s'ecriait  Hagenbach  ;  '  Mon  Dieu  ayez  pitie  de  moi !  '  et  il  se 
rappelait  toutes  lesinsultes  qu'il  leur  avait  faites,  toutes  ses  insolences  en- 
vers  eux.  II  pensait,  mais  trop  tard,  que  c'etait  leur  alliance  avec  lamaison 
d'Autriche  qui  etait  cause  de  sa  perte.  Le  4  Mai,  1474,  apres  avoir  ete  mis 
a  la  question,  il  fut,  a  la  diligence  d' Hermann  d'Eptingen,  gouverneur  pour 
I'archiduc,  amene  devant  ses  juges,  sur  la  place  publique  de  Brisach.  Sa 
contenance  etait  ferme  et  d'un  homme,  qui  ne  craint  pas  le  mort.  Henri 
Iselin  de  Bale  porta  la  parole  au  nom  d' Hermann  d'Eptingen,  agissant  pour 
le  seigneur  du  pays.  II  parla  a  peu  pres  en  ces  termes  :  *  Pierre  de  Hagen- 
bach, chevalier,  maitre  d'hotel  de  Monseigneur  le  Due  de  Bourgogne,  et 
son  gouverneur  dans  le  pays  de  Seratte  et  Haute  Alsace,  auraitdu  respecter 
les  privileges  reserves  par  I'acte  d'engagement  ;  mais  il  n'a  pas  moins  frotte 
aux  pieds  les  lois  de  Dieu  et  des  hommes,  que  les  droits  jures  et  garantis  au 
pays.  II  a  faitmettre  a  mort  sans  jugement  quatre  honnetes  bourgeois  de 
Seratte  ;  il  a  depouille  la  ville  de  Brisach  de  sa  jurisdiction,  et  y  a  etabli 
juges  et  consuls  de  son  choix  ;  il  a  rompu  et  disperse  les  communautes  de 
la  bourgeoisie  et  des  metiers;  il  a  leve  des  impots  par  sa  seule  volonte  ; 
il  a,  contre  toutes  les  lois,  loge  chez  les  habitans  des  gens  de  guerre — Lom- 
bards, Fran9ais,  Picards,  ou  Flamands  ;  et  a  favorise  leur  desordres  et  pil- 
lages. II  leur  a  meme  commande  d'egorger  leurs  botes  durant  la  nuit,  et 
avait  fait  preparer,  pour  y  embarquer  les  femmes  et  les  enfans,  des  bateaux 
qui  devaient  etre  submerges  dans  le  Rhin.  Enfin  lors  meme  qu'il  rejette- 
lait  de  telles  cruautes  sur  les  ordres  qu'il  a  re9us,  comment  pourrait  il  s'ex- 
cuser  d'avoir  fait  violence  et  outrage  ^  I'honneur  de  tant  de  filles  et  femmes 
et  meme  de  saintes  religieuses  } ' 

"  D'autres  accusations  furent  portees  dans  les  interrogatoires ;  et  des 
temoins  attesterent  les  violences  faites  aux  gens  de  Mulhausen  et  aux  mar- 
chands  de  Bale. 

"  Pour  suivre  toutes  les  formes  de  la  justice,  on  evait  donne  un  avocat 
i  I'accuse.  *  Messire  Pierre  de  Hagenbach,' dit-il  ,*  ne  reconnait  d'autre 
juge  et  d'autre  seigneur  que  Monseigneur  le  Due  de  Bourgogne,  dont  il 
avait  commission,  et  recevait  les  commandemens.  II  n'avait  nul  droit  de 
controler  les  ordres  qu'il  etait  charge  d'executor;  et  son  devoir  etait  d'ob^r. 
Ne  sait-on  pas  quelle  soumission  les  gens  de  guerre  doivent  hi  leur  seigneur 
et  maitre  ?  Croit-on  que  le  landvogt  de  Monseigneur  le  Due  eiit  a  lui  re- 
montrer  et  ^  lui  resister  >    Et  monseigneur  n'a-t-il  pas  ensuite,  par  sa  pre- 


432 


2\rOTES. 


sence,  confirm^  et  ratifie  tout  ce  qui  avait  fait  en  son  nom  ?  Si  dci 
impots  ont  ete  demandes,  c*est  quMl  avait  besoin  d'argent.  Pour  les  recue- 
illir  il  a  bien  fallu  punir  ceux  qui  se  refusaienta  payer,  C'est  ce  que  Mon- 
seigneur  le  Due,  et  meme  I'empereur,  quand  ils  sont  venus,  ont  reconnu 
necessaire.  Le  logement  des  gens  de  guerre  etait  aussi  la  suite  des  ordres 
du  Due*  Quant  a  la  jurisdiction  de  Brisach;  lelandvogt  pouvait-il  souffrir 
cette  resistance  ?  Enfin,  dans  une  affaire  si  grave,  oil  il  y  va  de  la  vie,  con- 
vient-il  de  produire  comme  un  veritable  grief,  la  dernier  dont  a  parle  Tac- 
cusateur  ?  Parmi  ceux  qui  ecoutent,  y  en  a-t-il  un  seul  qui  puisse  se  vanter 
dene  pas  avoir  saisi  les  occasions  de  se  divertir?  N'est-il  pas  clair  que 
Messire  de  Hagenbach  a  seulement  profile  de  la  bonne  volonte  de  quelques 
femmes  ou  filles  ;  ou,  pour  mettre  les  choses  au  pis,  qu'il  n'a  exerce  d'autre 
contrainte  envers  elles  qu'au  moyen  de  son  bon  argent  ?  ' 

Les  juges  siegerent-long  temps  sur  leur  tribunal.  Douze  heures  en- 
tieres  passerent  sans  que  1' affaire  fut  terminee.  Le  sire  de  Hagenbach, 
toujours  ferme  et  calme,  n'allegua  d'autres  defenses,  d'autres  excuses,  que 
celles  qu'il  avait  donne  deja  sous  la  torture — les  ordres  et  la  volonte  de 
son  seigneur,  qui  etait  son  seul  juge,  et  le  seul,  qui  put  lui  demander 
compte. 

'*  Enfin,  ^  sept  heures  du  soir,  a  la  clarte  des  flambeaux,  les  juges,  apr^s 
avoir  declare  qu'a  eux  appartenait  le  droit  de  prononcer  sur  les  crimes 
imputes  au  landvogt,  le  firent  rappeler;  et  rendirent  leur  sentence  qui  le 
condamna  a  mort.  II  ne  s'emeut  pas  d'avantage  ;  et  demanda  pour  toute 
grace  d'avoir  seulement  la  tete  tranchee.  Huit  bourreaux  des  diverses  villes 
se  presenterent  pour  exicuter  I'arret.  Celui  de  Colmar,  qui  passait  pour 
le  plus  adroit,  fut  prefere.  Avant  de  le  conduire  a  I'echafaud,  les  seize 
chevaliers  qui  faisaient  partie  des  juges  requirent  que  Messire  de  Hagen- 
bach fut  degrade  de  sa  dignite  de  chevalier  et  de  tons  ses  honneurs.  Pour 
lors  s'avan9a  Gaspard  Hurter,  heraut  de  I'empereur;  it  il  dit :  *  Pierre  de 
Hagenbach,  il  me  deplait  grandement  que  vous  ayez  si  mal  employe  votre 
vie  mortelle:  de  sorte  qu'il  convient  que  vous  prediez  non-seulement  la 
dignite  et  ordre  de  chevalerie,  mais  aussi  la  vie.  Votre  devoir  etait  de 
rendre  la  justice,  de  proteger  la  veuve  et  I'orphelin  ;  de  respecter  les  femmes 
et  les  filles,  d'honorer  les  saints  pretres  ;  de  vous  opposer  ^  toute  injuste 
violence  ;  et,  au  contraire,  vous  avez  commis  tout  ce  que  vous  deviez  em- 
pecher.  Ayant  ainsi  forfait  au  noble  ordre  de  chevalerie,  et  aux  sermens 
que  vous  aviez  jures,  les  chevaliers  ici  presens  m'ont  enjoint  de  vous  en 
oter  les  insignes.  Ne  les  voyant  pas  sur  vous  en  ce  moment,  je  vous  pro- 
clame  indigne  chevalier  de  Saint  George,  au  nom  et  k  I'honneur  duquel  on 
vous  avait  autrefois  honore  de  I'ordre  de  chevalerie.*  Puis  s'avan9a  Her- 
mann d'Eptingen  :  *  Puis  qu'on  vient  de  te  degrader  de  chevalerie,  je  te 
depouille  de  ton  collier,  chaine  d'or,  anneau,  poignard,  eperon,  gantelet. 
II  les  lui  prit  et  lui  en  frappa  le  visage,  et  ajouta  :  *  Chevaliers,  et  vous  qui 
desirez  le  devenir,  j'espere  que  cette  punition  publique  vous  servira  d'ex- 
emple,  et  que  vous  vivrez  dans  la  crainte  de  Dieu,  noblementet  villamment, 
selon  la  dignite  de  la  chevalerie  et  I'honneur  de  votre  nom.*  Enfin,  le 
prevot  d'Einsilheim  et  marochal  de  cette  commission  de  juges  se  leva,  et 
s'adressant  au  bourrcau,  lui  dit :  *  Faites  selon  la  justice.* 

"  Tous  les  juges  monterent  a  cheval  ainsi  qu' Hermann  d'Eptingen.  Au 
milieu  d'eux  marchait  Pierre  de  Hagenbach,  entre  deux  pretres.  C'etait 
pendant  la  nuit.  Des  torches  eclairaient  la  marche  ;  une  foule  immense  se 
prcssait  autour  de  ce  triste  cortege.  La  condamne  s'entretenait  avec  son 
confesseur  d'un  air  pieux  et  recueilli,  mais  ferme  ;  se  recommandant  aussi 
aux  prieres  de  tous  ceux  qui  I'entouraient.  Arrivd  dans  une  prairie  devant 
la  porte  de  la  ville,  il  monta  sur  Te'chafaud  d'un  pas  assur(^ ;  puis  Levant 
le  voix  ; — 


NOTES. 


433 


*  Je  n'ai  pas  pear  de  la  mort/  dit-il ;  *  encore  que  je  ne  Tattendisse  pas 
de  cette  sort,  mais  bien  les  armes  a  la  main ;  que  je  plains  c'est  tout  le 
sang  que  le  mien  fera  couler.  Monseigneur  ne  lai«sera  point  ce  jour  sans 
vengeance  pour  moi.  Je  ne  regrette  ni  ma  vie,  ni  mon  corps.  J'etais 
homme — priee  pour  moi.*  II  s'entretint  encore  un  instant  avec  son  con- 
fesseur,  presenta  la  tete  et  re9ut  le  coup."— M.  DE  Barante,  torn.  x.  p. 
197. 

Translation. 

*  Such  was  the  detestation  in  which  this  cruel  governor  was  held,  that 
multitudes  flocked  in  from  all  quarters  to  be  present  at  his  trial.  He  heard 
from  his  prison  the  bridge  re-echo  with  the  tread  of  horses,  and  would  ask 
of  his  jailer  respecting  those  who  were  arriving,  whether  they  might  be  his 
judges,  or  those  desirous  of  witnessing  his  punishment.  Sometimes  the 
jailer  would  answer,  *  These  are  strangers  whom  I  know  not.' — *  Are  not 
they,'  said  the  prisoner,  *  men  meanly  clad,  tall  in  stature,  and  of  bold  mien, 
mounted  on  short-eared  horses  ?  '  And  if  the  jailer  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative, *  Ah,  these  are  the  Swiss,'  cried  Hagenbach.  '  My  God,  have  mercy 
on  me  ! '  and  he  recalled  to  mind  all  the  insults  and  cruelties  he  had  heaped 
upon  them.  He  considered,  but  too  late,  that  their  alliance  with  the  house 
of  Austria  had  been  his  destruction. 

"  On  the  4th  of  May,  1474,  after  being  put  to  the  torture,  he  was  brought 
before  his  judges  in  the  public  square  of  Brisach,  at  the  instance  of  Her- 
mann d'Eptingen,  who  governed  for  the  Archduke.  His  countenance  was 
firm,  as  one  who  feared  not  death.  Henry  Iselin  of  Bale  first  spoke  in  the 
name  of  Hermann  d'Eptingen,  who  acted  for  the  lord  of  the  country.  He 
proceeded  in  nearly  these  terms: — *  Peter  de  Hagenbach,  knight,  steward 
of  my  lord  the  Duke  of  Burgund}^  and  his  governor  in  the  country  of  Ser- 
atte  and  Haute  Alsace,  was  bound  to  observe  the  privileges  reserved  by 
act  of  compact,  but  he  has  alike  trampled  under  foot  the  laws  of  God  and 
man,  and  the  rights  which  have  been  guaranteed  by  oath  to  the  country. 
He  has  caused  four  worshipful  burgesses  of  Seratte  to  be  put  to  death 
without  trial  ;  he  has  spoiled  the  city  of  Brisach,  and  established  there 
judges  and  consuls  chosen  by  himself  ;  he  has  broken  and  dispersed  the 
various  communities  of  burghers  and  craftsmen  ;  he  has  levied  imposts  of 
his  own  will  ;  contrary  to  every  law,  he  has  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants 
soldiers  of  various  countries — Lombards,  French,  men  of  Picardy,  and 
Flemings,  and  has  encouraged  them  in  pillage  and  disorder;  he  has  even 
commanded  these  men  to  butcher  their  hosts  during  night,  and  had  caused 
boats  to  be  prepared  to  erhbark  therein  women  and  children  to  be  sunk  in 
the  Rhine.  Finally,  should  he  plead  the  orders  which  he  had  received  as 
an  excuse  for  these  cruelties,  how  can  he  clear  himself  of  having  dishonored 
so  many  women  and  maidens,  even  those  under  religious  vows  ?  * 

"  Other  accusations  were  brought  against  him  by  examination,  and  wit- 
nesses proved  outrages  committed  on  the  people  of  Mulhausen,  and  the 
merchants  of  Bale. 

"  That  every  form  of  justice  might  be  observed,  an  advocate  was  ap- 
pointed to  defend  the  accused.  *  Messire  Peter  de  Hagenbach,'  said  he, 
'  recognizes  no  other  judge  or  master  than  my  lord  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
whose  commission  he  bore,  and  whose  orders  he  received.  He  had  no 
control  over  the  orders  he  was  charged  to  execute  ; — his  duty  was  to  obey. 
Who  is  ignorant  of  the  submission  due  by  military  retainers  to  their  lord 
and  master  ?  Can  any  one  believe  that  the  landvogt  of  my  lord  the  Duke 
could  remonstrate  with  or  resist  him  ?  And  has  not  my  lord  confirmed  and 
ratified  by  his  presence  all  acts  done  in  his  name  ^   Xf  imposts  had  been 


434 


NOTES. 


levied,  it  was  because  he  had  need  of  money;  to  obtain  it,  it  was  necessary 
to  punish  those  who  refused  payment ;  this  proceeding  my  lord  the  Duke, 
and  the  Emperor  himself,  when  present,  have  considered  as  expedient. 
The  quartering  of  soldiers  was  also  in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  the 
Duke.  With  respect  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Brisach,  could  the  landvogt  per- 
mit any  resistance  from  that  quarter  ?  To  conclude,  in  so  serious  an  affair 
— one  which  touches  the  life  of  the  prisoner — can  the  last  consideration  be 
really  considered  a  grievance  ?  Among  all  those  who  hear  me,  is  there  one 
man  who  can  say  he  has  never  committed  similar  imprudences  ?  Is  it  not 
evident  that  Messire  de  Hagenbach  has  only  taken  advantage  of  the  good- 
will of  some  girls  and  women  ;  or,  at  the  worst,  that  his  money  was  the 
onlv  restraint  imposed  upon  them  ?  * 

"  The  judges  sat  for  along  time  on  the  tribunal.  Twelve  hours  elapsed 
before  the  termination  of  the  trial.  The  Knight  of  Hagenbach,  always 
calm  and  undaunted,  brought  forward  no  other  defence  or  excuse  than  what 
he  had  before  given  when  under  the  torture  :  viz.  the  orders  and  will  of  his 
lord,  who  alone  was  his  judge,  and  who  alone  could  demand  an  explanation. 
At  length,  at  seven  in  the  evening,  and  by  the  light  of  torches,  the  judges, 
after  having  declared  it  their  province  to  pronounce  judgment  on  the  crimes 
of  which  the  landvogt  was  accused,  caused  him  to  l3e  called  before  them, 
and  delivered  their  sentence — condemning  him  to  death.  He  betrayed  no 
emotion,  and  only  demanded,  as  a  favor,  that  he  should  be  beheaded. 
Eight  executioners,  of  various  towns,  presented  themselves  to  execute  the 
sentence  ;  the  one  belonging  to  Colmar,  who  was  accounted  the  most  expert 
was  preferred. 

Before  conducting  him  to  the  scaffold,  the  sixteen  knights  who  acted 
as  judges,  required  that  Messire  de  Hagenbach  should  be  degraded  from 
the  dignity  of  knight,  and  from  all  his  honors.  Then  advanced  Caspar 
Hurter,  herald  of  the  Emperor,  and  said  : — *  Peter  de  Hagenbach,  I  deeply 
deplore  that  you  have  so  employed  your  mortal  life,  that  you  must  lose  not 
only  the  dignity  and  honor  of  knighthood,  but  your  life  also.  Your  duty 
was  to  render  justice,  to  protect  the  widow  and  orphan,  to  respect  women 
and  maidens,  to  honor  the  holy  priests,  to  oppose  every  unjust  outrage  ; 
but  you  have  yourself  committed  what  you  ought  to  have  opposed  in  others. 
Having  broken,  therefore,  the  oaths  which  you  have  sworn,  and  having  for- 
feited the  noble  order  of  knighthood,  the  knights  here  present  have  enjoined 
me  to  deprive  you  of  its  insignia.  Not  perceiving  them  on  your  person  at 
this  moment,  I  proclaim  you  unworthy  Knight  of  St.  George,  in  whose 
name  and  honor  you  were  formerly  admitted  in  the  order  of  Knighthood.' 
Then  Hermann  d'Eptingen  advanced,  *  Since  you  are  degraded  from  knight- 
hood, I  deprive  y©u  of  your  collar,  gold  chain,  ring,  poniard,  spur,  and 
gauntlet'  He  then  took  them  from  him,  and,  striking  him  on  the  face, 
added: — *  Knights,  and  you  who  aspire  to  that  honor,  I  trust  this  public 
punishment  will  serve  as  an  example  to  you,  and  that  you  will  live  in  the 
fear  of  God,  nobly  and  valiantly,  in  accordance  with  the  dignity  of  knight- 
hood, and  the  honor  of  your  name.'  At  last  the  provost  of  Einse.lheim,  and 
marshal  of  that  commission  of  judges,  arose,  and  addressing  himself  to  the 
executioner — *  Let  justice  be  done.' 

All  the  judges,  along  with  Hermann  d'Eptingen,  mounted  on  horse- 
back ;  in  the  midst  of  them  walked  Peter  de  Hagenbach  between  two 
priests.  It  was  night,  and  they  marched  by  the  light  of  torches  ;  an  im- 
mense crowd  pressed  around  this  sad  procession.  The  prisoner  conversed 
with  his  confessor,  with  pious,  collected,  and  firm  demeanor  recommending 
himself  to  the  prayers  of  the  spectators.  On  arriving  at  a  meadow  without 
the  gate  of  the  town,  he  mounted  the  scaffold  with  a  firm  step,  and  elevating 
his  voice,  exclaimed ; — 


NOTES. 


435 


'*  I  fear  not  death,  I  have  always  expected  it  ;  not,  indeed,  in  thi3 
manner,  but  with  arms  in  my  hand.  I  regret  alone  the  blood  which  mine 
will  cause  to  be  shed  ;  my  lord  will  not  permit  this  day  to  pass  unavenged. 
I  regret  neither  my  life  nor  body.  I  was  a  man — pray  for  me  !  *  He  con- 
versed an  instant  more  with  his  confessor,  presented  his  head,  and  received 
the  blow." — M.  de  Barante,  tom.  x.  p.  197. 

Note  D,  p.  338. — Provencal  Troubadours. 

The  smoothness  of  the  Proven9al  dialect,  partaking  strongly  of  the  Latin, 
which  had  been  spoken  for  so  many  ages  in  what  was  called  for  distinction's? 
sake  the  Roman  Province  of  Gaul,  and  the  richness  and  fertility  of  a  country 
abounding  in  all  that  could  delight  the  senses  and  soothe  the  imagination, 
naturally  disposed  the  inhabitants  to  cultivate  the  art  of  poetry,  and  to 
value  and  foster  the  genius  of  those  who  distinguished  themselves  by 
attaining  excellence  in  it.  Troubadours,  that  is,  Jiiiders  or  inventorsy 
equivalent  to  the  northern  term  of  makers^  arose  in  every  class,  from  tho 
lowest  to  the  highest,  and  success  in  their  art  dignified  men  of  the  meanest 
rank,  and  added  fresh  honors  to  those  who  were  born  in  the  Patrician 
file  of  society.  War  and  love,  more  especially  the  latter,  were  dictated  to 
them  by  the  chivalry  of  the  times  as  the  especial  subjects  of  their  verse. 
Such,  too,  were  the  themes  of  our  northern  minstrels.  But  whilst  the 
latter  confined  themselves  in  general  to  those  well-known  metrical  histories 
in  which  scenes  of  strife  and  combat  mingled  with  adventures  of  enchant- 
ment, and  fables  of  giants  and  monsters  subdued  by  valiant  champions, 
such  as  best  attracted  the  ears  of  the  somewhat  duller  and  more  barbarous 
warriors  of  northern  France,  of  Britain,  and  of  Germany — the  more  lively 
Troubadours  produced  poems  which  turned  on  human  passion,  and  on  love, 
affection,  and  dutiful  observance,  with  which  the  faithful  knight  was  bound 
to  regard  the  object  of  his  choice,  and  the  honor  and  respect  with  which 
she  was  bound  to  recompense  his  faithful  services. 

Thus  far  it  cannot  be  disputed  that  the  themes  selected  by  the  Trouba- 
dours were  those  on  which  poetry  is  most  naturally  exerted,  and  with  the 
best  chance  of  rising  to  excellence.  But  it  usually  happens  that  when  any 
one  of  the  fine  arts  is  cultivated  exclusively,  the  taste  of  those  who  practice 
and  admire  its  productions  loses  sight  of  nature,  simplicity  and  true  taste, 
and  the  artist  endeavors  to  discover,  while  the  public  learn  to  admire, 
some  more  complicated  system,  in  which,  pedantry  supersedes  the  dictates 
of  natural  feeling,  and  metaphysical  ingenuity  is  used  instead  of  the  more 
obvious  qualifications  of  simplicity  and  good  sense.  Thus,  with  the  unani-  • 
mous  approbation  of  their  hearers,  the  Troubadours  framed  for  themselves 
a  species  of  poetry  describing  and  inculcating  a  system  of  metaphysical 
affection,  as  inconsistent  with  nature  as  the  minstrel's  tales  of  magicians 
and  monsters  ;  with  this  evil  to  society,  that  it  was  calculated  deeply  to  in- 
jure its  manners  and  its  morals.  Every  Troubadour,  or  good  Knight,  who 
took  the  maxims  of  their  poetical  school  for  his  rule,  was  bound  to  choose 
a  lady-love,  the  fairest  and  noblest  to  whom  he  had  access,  to  whom  he  ded- 
icated at  once  his  lyre  and  his  sword,  and  who,  married  or  single,  was  to 
be  the  object  to  whom  his  life,  words,  and  actions  were  to  be  devoted.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  lady  thus  honored  and  distinguished,  was  bound,  by  ac- 
cepting the  services  of  such  a  gallant,  to  consider  him  as  her  lover,  and  on 
all  due  occasions  to  grace  him  as  such  with  distinguished  marks  of  personal 
favor.  It  is  true,  that,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  the  intercourse 
betwixt  her  lover  and  herself  was  to  be  eritirely  of  a  Platonic  character, 
and  the  loyal  swain  was  not  to  require,  or  the  chosen  lady  to  bestow,  any- 
thing beyond  the  favor  she  might  in  strict  modesty  bestow.    Even  under 


43^ 


NOTES. 


this  restriction,  the  system  was  like  to  make  wild  work  with  the  dotnestic 
peace  of  families,  since  it  permitted,  or  rather  enjoined,  such  familiarity 
betwixt  the  fair  dame  and  her  poetical  admirer  ;  and  very  frequently  human 
passions,  placed  in  such  a  dangerous  situation,  proved  too  strong  to  be 
confined  within  the  metaphysical  bounds  prescribed  to  them  by  so  fantastic 
and  perilous  a  system.  The  injured  husbands  on  many  occasions  avenged 
themselves  with  severity,  and  even  with  dreadful  cruelty,  on  the  unfaithful 
ladies,  and  the  musical  skill  and  chivalrous  character  of  the  lover  proved 
no  protection  to  his  person.  But  the  real  spirit  of  the  system  was  seen  in 
this,  that  in  the  poems  of  the  other  Troubadours,  by  whom  such  events  are 
recorded,  their  pity  is  all  bestowed  on  the  hapless  lovers,  while,  without  the 
least  allowance  for  just  provocation,  the  injured  husband  is  held  up  to  exe- 
cration. 

Note  E,  p.  339.  —Parliament  of  Love. 

In  Provence,  during  the  flourishing  time  of  the  Troubadours,  Love  was 
esteemed  so  grave  and  formal  a  part  of  the  business  of  life,  that  a  Parlia- 
ment or  High  Court  of  Love  was  appointed  for  deciding  such  questions. 
This  singular  tribunal  was,  it  may  be  supposed,  conversant  with  more  of 
imaginary  than  of  real  suits ;  but  it  is  astonishing  with  what  cold  and  pedan- 
tic ingenuity  the  Troubadours  of  whom  it  consisted  set  themselves  to  plead 
and  to  decide,  upon  reasoning  which  was  not  less  singular  and  able  than 
out  of  place,  the  absurd  questions  which  their  own  fantastic  imagination 
had  previously  devised.  There,  for  example,  is  a  reported  case,  of  much 
celebrity,  where  a  lady  sitting  in  company  with  three  persons,  who  we»-e 
her  admirers,  listened  to  one  with  the  most  favorable  smiles,  while  she 
pressed  the  hand  of  the  second,  and  touched  with  her  own  the  foot  of  the 
third.  It  was  a  case  much  agitated  and  keenly  contested  in  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Love,  which  of  the  rivals  had  received  the  distinguishing  mark  of 
the  lady's  favor.  Much  ingenuity  was  wasted  on  this  and  similar  cases  of 
which  there  is  a  collection,  in  all  judicial  form  of  legal  proceedings,  under 
the  title  of  Arrets  (T  Amour  (Adjudged  cases  of  the  Court  of  Love.) 

Note  F,  p.  426. — Charles  the  Bold. 

The  following  very  striking  passage  is  that  in  which  Philip  de  Commines 
sums  up  the  last  scene  of  Charles  the  Bold,  whose  various  fortunes  he  had 
long  watched  with  a  dark  anticipation  that  a  character  so  reckless,  and 
#       capable  of  such  excess,  must  sooner  or  later  lead  to  a  tragical  result: — 

As  soon  as  the  Count  de  Campo-Basso  arrived  in  the  Duke  of  Lorrain's 
army,  word  was  sent  to  him  to  leave  the  camp  immediately,  for  they  would 
not  entertain  nor  have  any  communication  with  such  traytors.  Upon  which 
message  he  retir'd  with  his  party  to  a  Castle  and  Pass  not  far  off,  where  he 
fortified  himself  with  carts  and  other  things  as  well  as  he  could,  in  hopes, 
that  if  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  routed,  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of 
coming  in  for  a  share  of  the  plunder,  as  he  did  afterward.  Nor  was  this 
practice  with  the  Duke  of  Lorrain  the  most  execrable  action  that  Campo- 
Basso  was  guilty  of  ;  Init  before  he  left  the  army  he  conspired  with  several 
other  officers  (finding  it  was  imi:)racticable  to  attempt  anything  against  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy's  person)  to  leave  him  just  as  they  came  to  charge,  for 
at  that  time  he  supposed  it  would  put  the  Duke  into  the  greatest  terror  and 
consternation,  and  if  he  fled,  he  was  sure  he  could  not  escape  alive,  for  he 
had  order'd  thirteen  or  fourteen  sure  men,  some  to  run  as  soon  as  the  Ger- 
mans came  up  to  charge  *cm,  and  others  to  watch  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
^nd  kill  him  in  the  rout,  which  was  well  enough  contrived;  I  myself  h^ve 


437 


Seen  two  6r  three  of  those  who  were  employed  to  kill  the  t)uke.  Having 
thus  settled  his  conspiracy  at  home,  he  went  over  to  the  Duke  of  Lorrain 
upon  the  approach  of  the  German  army  ;  but  finding  they  would  not  enter- 
tain him,  he  retired  to  Conde. 

The  German  army  march'd  forward,  and  with  'em  a  considerable  body 
cf  French  horse,  whom  the  King  had  given  leave  to  be  present  at  that 
action.  Several  parties  lay  in  ambush  not  far  off,  that  if  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy was  routed,  they  might  surprise  some  person  or  quality  or  take  some 
considerable  bootv.  By  this  every  one  may  see  into  what  a  deplorable  con- 
dition this  poor  Duke  had  brought  himself  by  his  contempt  of  good  counseh 
Both  armies  being  joyn*d,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  forces  having  been  twice 
beaten  before,  and  by  consequence  weak  and  dispirited,  and  ill  provided 
besides,  were  quickly  broken  and  entirely  defeated  :  Many  sav'd  themselves 
and  got  off  ;  the  rest  were  either  taken  or  kill'd  ;  and  among  'em  the  Duke 
of  Burgundv  himself  was  kill'd  on  the  spot.  One  Monsieur  Claude  of 
Bausmont,  Captain  of  the  Castle  of  Dier  in  Lorrair,  kill'd  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy.  Finding  his  army  routed,  he  mounted  a  swift  horse,  and 
endeavoring  to  swim  a  little  river  in  order  to  make  his  escape,  his  horse 
fell  with  him  and  overset  him  :  The  Duke  cry'd  out  for  quarter  to  this 
gentleman  who  was  pursuing  him,  but  he  being  deaf,  and  not  hearing  him, 
immediately  kill'd  and  stripp'd  him,  not  knowing  who  he  was,  and  left  him 
naked  in  the  ditch,  where  his  body  was  found  the  next  day  after  the  battle; 
which  the  Duke  of  Lorrain  (to  his  eternal  honor)  buried  with  great  pomp 
and  magnificence  in  St.  George's  Church,  in  the  old  town  of  Nancy,  himself 
and  all  his  nobility,  in  deep  mourning,  attending  the  corpse  to  the  grave. 
The  following  epitaph  was  sometime  afterward  ingrav'd  on  his  tomb;— 

*  Carolus  hoc  bitsto  Burgtindce  gloria  geittis 
Condititr^  Enropce  qui  f nit  ante  timor,* 

I  saw  a  seal  ring  of  his,  since  his  death,  at  Milan,  with  his  arms  cut 
curiously  upon  a  sardonix  that  I  have  seen  him  often  wear  in  a  ribbon  at  his 
breast,  which  was  sold  at  Milan  for  two  ducats,  and  had  been  stolen  from 
him  by  a  rascal  that  waited  on  him  in  his  chamber.  I  have  often  seen  the 
Duke  dress'd  and  undress'd  in  great  state  and  formality,  and  attended  by 
very  great  persons;  but  at  his  death  all  this  pomp  and  magnificence  ceas'd, 
and  his  family  was  involved  in  the  same  ruin  with  himself,  and  very  likely 
as  a  punishment  for  his  having  deliver'd  up  the  Constable  not  long  before, 
out  of  a  base  and  avaricious  principle  ;  but  God  forgive  him.  I  have 
known  him  a  powerful  and  honorable  Prince,  in  as  great  esteem,  and  as 
much  courted  by  his  neighbors  (when  his  affairs  were  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition), as  any  Prince  in  Europe,  and  perhaps  more;  and  I  cannot  conceive 
what  should  provoke  God  Almighty's  displeasure  so  highly  against  him, 
unless  it  was  his  self-love  and  arrogance,  in  appropriating  all  the  success  of 
his  enterprises,  and  all  the  renown  he  ever  acquir'd,  to  his  own  wisdom  and 
conduct,  without  attributing  anything  to  God.  Yet,  to  speak  truth,  he  was 
master  of  several  good  qualities  :  No  Prince  ever  had  a  greater  ambition  to 
entertain  young  noblemen  than  he,  nor  was  more  careful  of  their  education; 
His  presents  and  bounty  were  never  profuse  and  extravagant,  because  he 
gave  to  many,  and  had  a  mind  everybody  should  taste  of  it.  No  Prince 
was  ever  easier  of  access  to  his  servants  and  subjects.  Whilst  I  was  in 
his  service  he  was  never  cruel,  but  a  little  before  his  death  he  took  up  with 
that  humor,  which  was  an  infallible  sign  of  the  shortness  of  his  life.  He 
was  very  splendid  and  curious  in  his  dress,  and  in  everything  else,  and  in- 
deed a  little  too  much.  He  paid  great  honors  to  all  ambassadors  and  for- 
eigners, and  entertain'd  them  nobly:   His  ambitious  desire  of  fame  was 


438 


insatiable,  and  it  was  that  which  induced  him  to  be  eternally  in  warS,  more 
than  any  other  motive.  He  ambitiously  desired  to  imitate  the  old  Kings 
and  Heroes  of  antiquity,  whose  actions  still  shine  in  History,  and  are  so 
much  talked  of  in  the  world,  and  his  courage  was  equal  to  any  Prince  of  his 
time. 

"  But  all  his  designs  and  imaginations  were  vain  and  extravagant,  and 
turn'd  afterward  to  his  own  dishonor  and  confusion,  for  'tis  the  conquerors 
and  not  the  conquer'd  that  purchase  to  themselves  renown.  I  cannot  easily 
determine  toward  whom  God  Almighty  show'd  his  anger  most,  whether 
toward  him  who  died  suddenly  without  pain  or  sickness  in  the  field  of 
battle,  or  toward  his  subjects  who  never  enjoy'd  peace  after  his  death,  but 
were  continually  involv'd  in  wars,  against  which  they  were  not  able  to  main- 
tain themselves,  upon  accounts  of  the  civil  dissentions  and  cruel  animosi- 
ties that  arose  among  'em  ;  and  that  which  was  the  most  insupportable, 
was,  that  the  very  people,  to  whom  they  were  now  obliged  for  their  defence 
and  preservation,  were  the  Germans,  who  were  strangers,  and  not  long 
since  their  profess'd  enemies.  In  short,  after  the  Duke's  death,  there  was 
not  a  neighboring  state  that  wish'd  them  to  prosper,  nor  even  Germany 
that  defended  'em.  And  by  the  management  of  their  affairs,  their  under- 
standing seem'd  to  be  as  much  infatuated  as  their  master's,  for  they  re- 
jected all  good  counsel,  and  pursued  such  methods  as  directly  tended  to 
their  destruction  ;  and  they  are  still  in  such  a  condition,  that  though  they 
have  at  present  some  little  ease  and  relaxation  from  their  sorrows,  yet  it  is 
with  great  danger  of  a  relapse,  and  'tis  well  if  it  turns  not  in  the  end  to  their 
utter  ruin. 

*'  I  am  partly  of  their  opinion  who  maintain  that  God  gives  Princes,  as 
he  in  his  wisdom  thinks  fit,  to  punish  or  chastise  the  subjects;  and  he  dis- 
poses the  affection  of  subjects  to  their  Princes,  as  he  has  determined  to 
raise  or  depress  'em.  Just  so  it  has  pleas'd  him  to  deal  with  the  House  of 
Burgundy;  for  after  a  long  series  of  riches  and  prosperity,  and  six-and-twenty 
years'  peace  under  three  Illustrious  Princes,  predecessors  to  this  Charles 
(all  of  'em  excellent  persons,  ajid  of  great  prudence  and  discretion),  it 
pleased  God  to  send  this  Duke  Charles,  who  involv'd  them  in  bloody  wars, 
as  well  winter  as  summer,  to  their  great  affliction  and  expense,  in  which 
most  of  their  richest  and  stoutest  men  were  either  killed  or  utterly  undone. 
Their  misfortunes  continu'd  successively  to  the  very  hour  of  his  death;  and 
after  such  a  manner,  that  at  the  last  the  whole  strength  of  their  country  was 
destroy' d,  and  all  kill'd  or  taken  prisoners  who  had  any  zeal  or  affection  for 
the  House  of  Burgundy,  and  had  power  to  defend  the' state  and  dignity  of 
that  family;  so  that  in  a  manner  their  losses  were  equal  to,  if  not  over- 
balanc'd  their  former  prosperity  ;  for  as  I  have  seen  those  Princes  heretofore 
puissant,  rich,  and  honorable,  so  that  it  fared  the  same  with  their  subjects; 
for  I  think  I  have  seen  and  known  the  greatest  part  of  Europe  ;  yet  I  never 
knew  any  province,  or  country,  tho'  perhaps  of  a  larger  extent,  so  abound- 
ing in  money,  so  extravagantly  fine  in  furniture  for  their  horses,  so  sump- 
tuous in  their  buildings,  so  profuse  in  their  expenses,  so  luxurious  in  their 
feasts  and  entertainments,  and  so  prodigal  in  all  respects,  as  the  subjects  of 
these  Princes,  in  my  time;  but  it  has  pleased  God  at  one  blow  to  subvert 
and  ruin  this  illustrious  family.  Such  changes  and  revolutions  in  states 
and  kingdoms,  God  in  his  providence  has  wrought  before  we  were  born,  and 
will  do  so  again  when  we  are  in  our  graves  ;  for  this  is  a  certain  maxim, 
that  the  i:)rosperity  or  adversity  of  Princes  are  wholly  at  his  disposal."— 
CoMMiNES,  Book  V.  Chap.  9. 


INDEX  TO  ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 


Adversity  and  prosperity,  6. 
Affections,  domestic,  294. 
Agnes,  Queen,  148, 
Aix,  343. 

Albert.    See  Geierstein. 
Alpine  scenery,  5 
Alsace,  scenery  of,  197. 

Anne  of  Geierstein  rescues  Arthur  on  the 
Alps,  21.  Description  of  her,  35.  Takes 
the  bow  to  Arthur,  42.  Her  origin,  52. 
Ill,  128.  Stops  the  duel,  64.  At  Graffs- 
lust,  85.  Apparition  of,  92,  267.  Rescues 
Arthur  from  the  dungeon,  163.  Warns 
Arthur  on  the  road,  200.  At  Arnheim 
Castle,  248.  Interview  with  Arthur,  259. 
And  Schreckenwald,  268.  Travels  to 
Strassburg  276.  Her  memento  to  Arthhr, 
312.    Marriage,  429. 

Anne  of  Geierstein,  tlie  novel,  note,  430. 

Anne  Veilchen  at  Arnheim,  246.  Tells  Anne 
of  Arthur's  arrival,  248.  Child  by  her  mis- 
tress, 262.  Her  reflections,  272,  settled, 
429- 

Antonio  the  guide  6.  Entreats  Philipson, 
16. 

Apollyon,  Geierstein's  steed,  116. 

Arnheim,  Barons  of,  their  supernatural 
power,  III,  265. 

Arnheim  Castle,  Arthur's  arrival  at,  248. 

Arnheim,  Herman  of,  history  of,  116.  Mar- 
ries the  Persian,  125,  263. 

Arnold.    See  Pjiederman. 

Arthur    See  Philipson. 

Arthur,  King,  96. 

Bale,  inhospitality  of,  77.  Rescue  from, 
180. 

Baniberg,  Bishop  of,  123. 

Banished  men  unwelcome,  393. 

Barante,  quotation  from,  431. 

Bartholomew,  the  false  guide,  198. 

Beauty  in  suffering,  87. 

Berchtold  of  Offringen,  147. 

Biederman,  Arnold,  the  Landamman,  31.  33. 
Interview  with  Schreckenwald,  53.  Stops 
the  dual,  63.  Refused  admittance  into  BSle, 
78.  Respect  for  Philipson,  135.  Rescues 
the  Pliiiipsons,  165.  Shut  into  the  dungeon 
183.  At  the  Council,  189.  Before  Charles 
the  Bold,  326.    Death,  429. 


Biederinan,  Ernest,  reproved  by  his  father, 
80. 

Biederman,  Rudiger,  43,  96.  Death  of,  426, 
Biederman,  Sigismund,  the  slothful,  89. 
Sees  the  apparition,  130.  Devotion  for 
Arthur,  170.  Recovers  the  casket,  191. 
Meets  Arthur  at  Aix,  376.  Returns  the 
casket,  381.  Dances  at  Aix,  387.  Aids 
Arthur  at  Nancy,  425. 
Black  Forest,  197. 

Black  Priest  of  St.  Paul's.  See  Geierstein, 
Albert. 

Block,  Martin,  the  Burgundian  deputy,  325. 
Blue  Knight  of  Bale.    See  Ferrand. 
Boisgelin,  Lady  of,  370. 
Bonstetten,  Nicholas,  72. 
Bow  of  Buttisholz  shot  by  Arthur,  41. 
Breisaoh,  140.    Stormed  by  the  Balese,  179. 
Breisach.    See  Breisach. 
Burgundian  Camp,  290.    Parliament,  319. 
Burgundy,    Duke    of.     See    Charles  the 
Bold. 

Buttisholz,  battle  of,  43, 

Cabestainy,  William,  337. 

Camp,  Burgundian,  290. 

Campo-Basso,  305,  310.  Defends  his  honor, 
330.  Treachery  of,  406.  Deserts  the 
Duke,  426. 

Caspar,  the  stable-master,  117. 

Charlet,  the  Landamman's,  32. 

Charles  the  Bold,  exactions  on  the  Swiss. 
76,  77.  Interview  with  Philipson,  292,  his 
dreams  of  Provence,  297.  Disguised  as  a 
Walloon,  306.  Opposed  by  his  parliament 
320.  Spurns  the  Swise  deputies,  326. 
housed  by  Philipson,  402.  Summoned  by 
the  Secret  Tribunal,  411.  Death  of,  424. 
note  on,  438. 

Cologne,  Archbishop  of,  note,  386. 

Colvin,  Henry,  291.  His  estimate  of  Charles's! 
troops,  300.  Brings  bad  news  to  Philip- 
son, 396,    Killed  at  his  guns,  413. 

Comines  Philip  des,  401. 

Commerce,  novelty,  the  motto  of,  293. 

Compass,  mariner's,  7. 

Contay,  M,  de,  401. 

Cornwall  chivalry,  96. 

Dannischbmbnd,  the  Persian,  xi3,  363 


440 


INDEX. 


Dawn  on  the  A  ps,  5^. 

De  Vere  (Earl  of  Oxford).    See  Philipson. 

Death  tries  nobility,  153. 

Deputies,  Swiss,  71.    Go  to  the  rescue  of 

Philipson,  173.  Council  of ,  in  Ferette,  188. 

Before  Charles  the  Bold,  325. 
Diamond  of  Sanci,  292. 
Dijon,  316. 

Domestic  affections,  294. 

Donnerhugei,  Rudolph,  35.  Chagrin  at 
Arthur's  success,  45.  Duel  with  him,  63. 
Acts  guard  at  GrafPs-lust,  88.  Asks 
Arthur  to  join  the  league,  104.  His  tale  of 
the  Geiersteins,  111.  Goes  to  the  rescue  of 
the  Philipsons,  170.  Throws  down  his 
challenge  to  Burgundy,  326,  Encounter 
with  Arthur,  and  death,  413. 

Double  walkers,  note^  131. 

Duel  between  Arthur  and  Donnerhugel,  59, 
413. 

Dungeon,  German,  note,  430. 

Edward  JV.,  58,  67.    Invades  France,  285. 

Peace  with  Louis,  333. 
Einsiedlen,  our  Lady  of,  21. 
English  merchants,  142.    Reserve.  32. 
Ernest.    See  Biederman. 
Executioner,  public,  note  on,  430. 

Fame,  unsubstantial,  295. 

Ferette,  Castle  of,  71.    Dungeon  of,  161. 

Note,  430.    Stormed  by  the  Balese,  179. 
Ferrand  de  Vaudeniont  as  the  Blue  Knight 

of  Bale,  185.    Arrival  at  Aix,  372.  Frees 

Arthur,  413. 
Ferry,  chapel  of,  205. 
Feudal  liberties,  317. 
Fire,  sacred,  118. 
Flying  Stag  Inn,  277. 

German  Inn,  215,  277. 

Geierstein,  Court  Albert  of,  50.  Asks  back 
his  daughter,  55.  Marriage  of,  113.  (As 
Priest  of  St.  Paul's)  warns  Hagenbach, 
147.  Rescues  Arthur  from  the  dungeon, 
163.  Meets  Philipsonou  the  road,  207. 
And  at  the  mn,  226.  In  tne  Vehme-ger- 
icht,  234.  Speaks  for  the  Burgundian 
estates,  320.  As  a  Carmelite  brings  the 
letter  to  Queen  Margaret,  363.  Interview 
with  Arthur  about  his  daughter,  413.  Ap- 
pointed to  kill  the  Duke,  416.  Death  of, 
424. 

Geierstein,  Anne  of.    See  Anne. 

Geierstein,  Castle  of,  12,  28,  48. 

Geierstein,  family  of,  48. 

Goethe's  Goetz  of  Berlichingen,  197, 

Goetz  of  Berlichingen,  197. 

Golden  Fleece  Inn,  211J. 

GrafFs-lust,  82. 

Gratian,  Father,  219. 

Grandson,  battle  of.    See  Granson. 

Gransfm,  battle  of,  376. 

Guides,  blame  sure  to  fall  on  the,  18. 

Hagenbach,  Archibald,  71.  Consults 
with  Kilian,  141.  Warned  by  the  Priest, 
146.  Rol)s  and  imprisons  the  Philipsons, 
152.  Insults  the  deputies,  178.  Execution 
of,  183.    Note  on,  431. 

Hans,  the  hermit  boatman,  205. 

Hermione,  the  Persian,  122. 


Hochspringen,  Duke  of,  124. 
Horses,  attention  to,  217, 

If  I  hit  mast,  and  line,  and  bird,  45. 
Ingelram  de  Couci,  43. 
Inn,  German,  215,  277. 
Ital.    See  Schreckenwald. 

Kilian,  the  Bavarian,  i4i« 
Kirch-hoff,  207. 

^La  Ferette.    See  Ferette. 
La  Riviere  Castle,  400. 
Lammergeier,  20. 

Lancaster  and  York  parties,  288,  293. 
Landamman.    See  Biederman,  Arnold* 
Laurenz  Neipperg.    See  Ferrand. 
Lou  Garagoule,  360. 

Louis  IX.,  connection  with  the  Swiss,  38 

67.    Peace  with  Edward  IV.,  333. 
Love,  Parliament  of,  >tote^  437. 
Love,  the  parent  of  brave  actions,  366. 
Lucerne,  3. 

Margaret  of  Anjou  meeting  with  the  Phil 
ipsons  m  Strassburg  Cathedral,  279.  At 
St.  Victoire,  356.  Scene  on  the  battlement 
361.  Requests  Rend  to  resign  his  domin 
ions,  371.    Death  of,  388. 

Matthew  of  Doncaster,  42. 

Measures  of  good  and  evil,  232. 

Memory,  character  of  Author's,  \. 

Mengs,  John,  the  innkeeper,  218.  Apolo 
gies,  229. 

Mercenary  soldiers,  305. 

Minstrels,  Provengal,  note  on,  396. 

Mont  St.  Victoire,  354. 

Morat,  battle  of,  396. 

IVfount  Pilatus,  6. 

Murten,  battle  of,  436. 

Myrebeau,  Sire  de,  320. 

Nancy,  battle  of,  423. 

Neuchatel  Lake.    See  Neufchatel. 

Neufchatel  Lake,  376. 

Novelty,  the  motto  of  commerce,  293. 

Opal,  the  Geierstein,  121,  123,  127,  263. 
Oxford,  Earl  of.    See  Philipson,  Seignor. 

Palgrave's  history  of  the  Vehme-gericht,  a. 

Parliament  of  Burgundy  3iq. 

Parliament  of  Love,  note,  437. 

Philipson,  Arthur,  traveling  in  the  Alps,  3. 
Rescued  by  Anne,  22.  Shoots  the  Boyr 
of  Buttisholz,  44.  Duel  with  Donner- 
hugel, 60.  At  Graffs-lust,  87.  Sees  the 
apparition  of  Anne,  92.  Asked  to  join 
Rudolph's  league,  105.  In  the  dungeon 
of  Ferette,  161.  And  rescued  by  Anne, 
163.  Apprises  the  Swiss  of  the  danger, 
169.  Warned  by  Anne  on  the  road,  200. 
Separates  from  his  father,  204.  Arrives  at 
Arnheim  Castle,  245.  ^  Interview  with 
Anne,  259.  Discloses  his  rank,  266.  Ac- 
companies her  to  Strassburg,  272.  Meets 
Queen  Margaret,  284.  Anne's  memento, 
312.  Journey  to  Provence,  336.  Inter- 
view with  King  Rend.  346.  Interview 
with  the  Queen  at  St.  Victoire,  356.  Dis- 
covers the  invisible  ink,  366.  Second 
challenge  from  Rudolph,  409.    And  en- 


INDEX. 


441 


counter,  413.  Interview  with  Anne's 
father,  513.    The  union,  429. 

Philipson,  Seignor  (De  Vere,  Earl  of  Ox- 
ford), traveling  as  a  merchant,  3.  Anxiety 
for  his  son's  safety,  16.  Presents  Anne 
with  ear-rings,  65.  Parts  from  the  dele- 
gates, 135.  Robbed  and  nnprisoned  by 
Hagenbach,  152.  Rescued  from  the  dun- 
geon, 181.  Recovers  his  casket,  192.  Re- 
pairs to  Strassburg,  195.  Separates  from 
his  son,  202.  Meets  the  Priest  of  St. 
Paul's,  209.  At  the  inn,  215.  His  bed 
lowered  into  the  Vehme-gericht,  230. 
Meets  Queen  Margaret  in  Strassburg 
Cathedral,  279.  Interview  with  Charles, 
292.  Pleads  for  the  Swis:  deputies,  300, 
335,  Letter  to  the  Queen,  363.  Attends 
her  funeral,  391.  Rouses  Charles  to  ac- 
tion, 402.  And  finds  Charles  c^p  unde- 
fended, 421.    Return  to  England,  429. 

Piiatus,  Mount,  6. 

Pontius  Pilate,  Swiss  legend  of,  6. 

Priest  of  St.  Paul's.   See  Geierstein,  Albert. 

Prospenty  and  adversity,  6. 

Provence,  341. 

Provence,  Parliament  of  Love,  note^  436, 
Proven^l  Troubadours,  note  on,  435. 
Public  faith,  143. 

Rank  and  duty,  255. 

Raymond  de  Roussiilon,  337. 

Red  Land,  233.  NoteiA,\' 

Ren^,  King,  283.  Charles's  estimate  01,299, 
Account  of,  339.  Interview  with  Arthur, 
346.  Dressed  as  King  Solomon,  353. 
Signing  away  his  dominions,  372, 

Reserve,  English,  32. 

Rhine,  river,  77,  197,  244. 

Rhinegrave  mutineers,  272* 

Ridicule  before  the  ladies,  34. 

Ritual,  Rene's  love  of,  352. 

Riviere  Castle,  400. 

Robber  knights,  71. 

Rudiger.    See  Biederman. 

Rudolph.    See  DonnerhugeL 

St.  Gall  Library,  i. 


St.  Paul's,  Priest  of.   See  Geierstein,  Albert. 

St.  Victoire  Convent,  355. 

Scharfgerichter.    See  Steinernherz. 

Schreckenwald,  Ital,  52.  Interview  with  Anne 
at  Arnheim,  268.  And  conducts  her  to 
Strassburg,  272.    Death  of,  424. 

Secret  Tribunal.    See  Vehme. 

Sigismund.    See  Biederman. 

Song,  measures  of  good  and  evil,  232. 

Sorcery  in  middle  ages,  114. 

Steinernherz,  Francis,  the  executioner,  150. 
Executes  his  own  master,  183. 

Steinfeldt,  Baroness,  125. 

Stradiots,  409. 

Strasbourg.    See  Strassburg. 

Strassburg  Cathedral,  279. 

Storm  in  the  Alps,  11. 

Sturmthal,  Malchior,  72. 

Supper,  German,  at  the  Golden  Fleece,  220. 

Swiss  wars,  2,  43,  67,  376.    Wine,  38.  Very 

Scots.  308.    Deputies,  see  deputies. 
Switzerland  in  1474,  3. 
Sybilla  of  Arnheim,  128. 

Thibault,  the  Provencal,  336. 
Troubadours,  Provencal,  note  on,  435« 

Vaudemont.    See  Ferrand. 

Vehme-gericht,  the  Secret  Tribunal,  231. 
Scroll  presented  to  Charles,  309.  President 
of,  note^  386.  Summons  Charles,  410. 
Palgrave's  history  of,  2. 

Veilchen.    See  Annette. 

Vere  (Earl  of  Oxford).    See  Philipson. 

Vice,  misplaced  praise  on,  338. 

Vienne,  Archbishop  of,  318. 

Vulture,  Alpine,  21. 

Waldstetten,  Countess,  122. 
Wolf-fanger,  the  hound,  98. 
Wolves,  Swiss,  danger  of,  72. 

York  and  Lancaster  parties,  287,  293. 

Zimmerman  Adanij  iv.  72. 


